Bowie, David - I'd Rather Be High Lyrics






Nabokov is sun-licked now
Upon the beach at Grunewald
Brilliant and naked just
The way that authors look

Clare and Lady Manners drink
Until the other cows go home
Gossip till their lips are bleeding
Politics and all

I'd rather be high
I'd rather be flying
I'd rather be dead
Or out of my head
Than training these guns on those men in the sand
I'd rather be high

The Thames was black, the tower dark
I flew to Cairo, find my regiment
City's full of generals
And generals full of shit

I stumble to the graveyard and I
Lay down by my parents, whisper
Just remember duckies
Everybody gets got

I'd rather be high
I'd rather be flying
I'd rather be dead
Or out of my head
Than training these guns on those men in the sand
I'd rather be high

I'm seventeen my looks can prove it
I'm so afraid that I will lose it
I'd rather smoke and phone my ex
Be pleading for some teenage sex
Yeah

I'd rather be high
I'd rather be flying
I'd rather be dead
Or out of my head
Than training these guns on the men in the sand
I'd rather be high
I'd rather be high





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Bowie, David I'd Rather Be High Comments
  1. J.... 8....

    people condemning drug usage (a personal choice) yet endorsing war; that's why the world sucks and kills

  2. S.... H....

    His lyrics are at Best ordinary. His tunes dried up after the TONIGHT album. He briefly reemerged with TIN MACHINE ALBUM 1.
    GAME OVER

  3. C.... B....

    Who wouldn’t rather be high than suffer the atrocities of war....we are just walking, talking primates, who seemingly hate one another. Brilliant song.

  4. H.... M....

    This song is so underrated it hurts. One of my favorite on The Next Day for sure.

  5. M.... T....

    Riddle me this:

    The Bruce Wayne Chronical on Star News Paper

  6. P.... ....

    It can have multiple co-existing meanings. Rather be physically high than be in a low lying trench, ditch, or grave. Rather be high of spirits/partying. But it can also means that the soldier would rather be high in heaven with his friends than feel so dead, or so often see death, during and after the war. Or rather be flying a plane, fighting some clearly identifiable enemy, than fighting the other enemies that life can bring, including loneliness, depression, societal changes.

  7. R.... J....

    I slept on the piano !🎹🎹🎹🎹

  8. I.... S....

    He was a heathen.Shame b-cos he was the best artist in my lifetime.Im 65, and heard them all.

  9. R.... M....

    David Bowie is my ideal! Such a fantastic artist. Was amazing until the end ,but he is eternal ! ❤️

  10. D.... M....

    nunca dimensioné lo genial que es esta canción hasta que no vi este remix

  11. L.... T....

    0:43 what bowie

  12. F.... F....

    ...Venetian mix? why, as I am Venetian.

  13. S.... 7....

    Mysterious and beautiful lyrics!
    More people should listen to this song

  14. M.... R....

    Una de las mejores canciones de The Next Day. Louis Vuitton lo utilizó como corte de difusión para una campaña publicitaria con Bowie, en 2014. Exquisito.

  15. M.... ....

    Sadly missed genius

  16. w.... ....

    I sought the truth.

    w.... ....

    History is written by the victor.Checkmate.

    w.... ....

    zwei Töchter

  17. L.... S....

    Thank you david

  18. W.... K....

    The lyrics are brilliant!

  19. W.... K....

    The true the masterpiece from next day.

  20. M.... T....

    #StillAwaitingThatFuture

  21. y.... ....

    your on the high disc now..routing for us....xxoo

  22. b.... ....

    Think I might prefer this to the album mix. The harpsichords sound glorious.

  23. A.... D....

    David bowie good music my favourite song is let's dance

  24. A.... D....

    god bless David

  25. A.... C....

    i'd rather be dead

  26. V.... R....

    Perfect combination of lyrics and war videos, Bowie was unique.

  27. t.... f....

    Bowie stayed real. Every other artist that I can think of lost their spark/motivation after their first album, but Bowie seemed to have never put out a lazy song.

    t.... f....

    Every other artist you can think of has only made one good album? Haha

  28. C.... C....

    Difícil escolher uma música desse disco! Esse som é demais! RIP :'(

  29. M.... T....

    #AtLeastProfesizedInTheFuture

  30. M.... T....

    #ThisIsMeAllDay

  31. R.... L....

    fantastic!

  32. A.... J....

    The man was a brilliant songwriter, pianist, guitarist and creative genius. Don't be sad though, look what he gave us.

  33. A.... N....

    one of the best song in the album, actually every song in it is masterpiece!!!!

  34. P.... ....

    I love this song.

  35. J.... d....

    como se extraña por dios

  36. l.... t....

    Very relatable for me here in America

  37. K.... C....

    Shit, I miss him.

  38. P.... R....

    Love this song, but displaying the lyrics really detracts. Too karaoke.

  39. A.... ....

    Such a great song and the video just adds so much to it.

  40. C.... D....

    sadly I jist discovered this song by stumbling on that 2013 Louis Vuitton ad. Beautiful song.

    C.... D....

    its ok, me too ......

  41. t.... ....

    wow! this is the most psychedelic video!

  42. P.... K....

    a cool genius gone.

  43. A.... H....

    The ending of this video give me chills.

  44. c.... ....

    Omg everybody get's got'. How that came to pass; A little lost without him in this world.

  45. R.... B....

    "I'd rather be dead, or out of my head..." :(

  46. M.... A....

    and Generals full of DICK

  47. M.... A....

    best video ever

  48. T.... ....

    I think the use of the harpsicord is rather brilliant in this song.

    T.... ....

    It's so good. It's also why I prefer this version to the original album cut.

    T.... ....

    I don't remember giving this a thumbs-up, but I concur with my forgotten past self in agreeing with this comment.

  49. S.... ....

    I loved all the tracks on The Next Day. RIP Bowie. Meaningful lyrics.

  50. W.... ....

    Super underrated just amazingly good

  51. A.... V....

    Incredible song !

  52. B.... ....

    1:33 Why is the word "shit" censored?

    B.... ....

    The people who made the video for Bowie wanted it to be like an old government propaganda film that was found. (Obviously Bowie's lyrics and music are not part of that propaganda: they are in ironic juxtaposition to it). You asked the question. You must not have known.

    B.... ....

    @Dustshoe Also bullshit. The lyrics are meant to go against what you are seeing in the video. What you see are scenes of human's past foolishness around war. While the lyrics are critical of exactly that.

    It's just censored because of VEVO. And you know I got the answer shortly after asking. It was a rhetorical question to begin with, anyway. 

    B.... ....

    You have not properly read my last post. If you go to a modern museum of art you might come across an installation that has two aspects to it. One might inform the other. This type of art leads to an overall, more rounded understanding of a situation, thing or event. In this video-song, the protagonist of war can see through the hype of government news and propaganda, can see from many different perspectives - there is more going on than meets the eye. The visual and the sound here are in tone in opposition to each other: but one informs the other. It's good art.

    B.... ....

    @Dustshoe Alright so we agree on that. Now how does that motivate the censoring of the word "shit". 

    B.... ....

    That was a horrible edit. Sending other men to their death requires that noun in that sentence in that spot. SHIT.

  53. I.... D....

    What a fantastic song! I hope that you David be well in touch. in heaven... We stay here for a while lesson your legacy. Thanks you, See you later :)

    I.... D....

    +Isabel D (Emphys) nah. David isn't in heaven. He's probably on mars. Or just floating in a most peculiar way. But regardless, the stars look very different today, without Bowie.

    I.... D....

    @loomynartylenny I agree with you. The stars are different without him :)

  54. C.... J....

    What a tune

  55. A.... G....

    thank's your leasson, ;Mr. Starman @ R.I P. .

  56. A.... G....

    thank's your leasson, ;Mr. Starman @ R.I P.

  57. A.... G....

    thank's your leasson, ;Mr. Starman @ R.I P.

  58. C.... E....

    This should have been spread around more. Love this video and music shows how he can send a message with creativity

    C.... E....

    +Cameron Ellis I know that's not right but well... Everybody around me knows this version of the song thanks to that mesmerising Louis Vuitton ad David Bowie starred in back in 2014.
    (That ad was unavoidable in France, everybody was talking about it).
    Wrong reasons... but right music!

    C.... E....

    +oONodokaOo oh wow never knew that! Doesn't matter how you meet his music that is pretty rad that everyone knows. I'm going to look up what you said he was in, sounds interesting.

    C.... E....

    +Cameron Ellis Love your open-mindedness! Do take a look at that ad, it's clearly Labyrinth-inspired :)
    I can't get enough of that song, it's been 2 years now...

  59. f.... ....

    David. You were the messiah, and will be spoken of that way for generations to come. Thank you for everything. You date stamped my life with your magic.

  60. l.... ....

    "Just remember Duckies, everybody gets got " love it

    l.... ....

    & the lines just before it

  61. A.... ....

    quite in Psychedelic Beatles style

  62. S.... H....

    this song is a classic

  63. C.... ....

    RIP David. Another brilliant one bites the dust.

  64. J.... D....

    Binge listening to Bowie's amazing catalog since his passing. This song really stuck out for me. It has such a zen feel to it!

    J.... D....

    SAME HERE!!

    J.... D....

    I FOLLOWED HIM CLOSELY FOR OVER 40 YEARS AND STILL FINDING GEMS LIKE THIS

  65. D.... A....

    I feel like a part of the world 🌍 is missing now

  66. K.... K....

    so appreciate his great body of work..right to the end.

  67. T.... J....

    Good night, sweet prince.

  68. M.... M....

    his most underrated song

    M.... M....

    Why this song hasn't gotten the attention it's deserved is beyond me. This song easily matches the talent of any Beatle Song on the White Album

    M.... M....

    +Richie Rover
    It surpasses most of the songs on the shite ( white ) album.

  69. S.... S....

    I'd rather be high too. don't we all

  70. A.... B....

    Rest in peace David.

  71. r.... f....

    RIP Mr Bowie . A down to earth star man . I had the pleasure of talking to him at a London club during his work with Goldie . He was happy to talk to normal folk like me with a smile and give me a cigarette when prompted . (wish i saved it ) All the best Star Man . cutting edge to the grave !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

    r.... f....

    +roland fosdike you are so lucky

    r.... f....

    Lucky son of a gun, I'm glad you got to met him!

    r.... f....

    Lucky guy!

  72. Y.... R....

    I'd rather he still be alive.

    Y.... R....

    +Yuki Rabbit Yeah.

    Y.... R....

    This comment is a little too real...damn, I wish he could have performed this live. :(

    Y.... R....

    Here Here!!

    LOVE YOU MR. JONES💞💖💘💖💓💓💓❤💋💋💋💋

    Y.... R....

    Don't we all. Especially for his wife's and children's sakes.

  73. a.... k....

    great song, as we know war is shit. great man

  74. 0.... 0....

    Get that BLACK STAR away from you David Bowie, it is not becoming of a ROCK STAR, of your status, signed old friend 0 00.

  75. P.... ....

    I swear, it is so similar to that song at the end of the film, Bruno. Or am I crazy?

    P.... ....

    +Par Ker :: ur high man...

    P.... ....

    @rurka zsengadeer Haha too true.

  76. w.... ....

    Bowie channeling the Beatles (brilliantly).

    w.... ....

    +weaseldragon that's what I was gonna say, sounds like a Beatles or Stones song, but like Brian Jones style stones, def. has a certain feel to it

    w.... ....

    weaseldragon I agree! This reminds me so much of the Beatles

    w.... ....

    weaseldragon your a Meen”tcluk”callananna! You really need to hear it to appreciate the approach I’m coming from xxx

  77. d.... e....

    thank-you for the videos on YouTube David Bowie. Good to see you again, rather than just hear you. Need more videos of you! In my eyes & heart you are ageless, an icon, indestructible, unstoppable, & it was just always meant to be for you to do what you have done as an artist & personality as well as, what you continue to do. Please don't go away YET! we need your music videos now more than ever. The best to you & yours, Deborah Easler/10-11-2015/8:00AM/Sunday

  78. w.... ....

    and what now?

    w.... ....

    +Darrell Winsor ... we are left with k. west; .....

  79. E.... ....

    I'd Rather be High. I'd totally understand after living High in the 80thies

  80. M.... S....

    I love this cd, and love all the remixes that have come out of it. I wish I could find them for my iPod.

  81. J.... M....

    just remember, duckies, everybody gets got!

    J.... M....

    @Janine Mergl you need "got" to be gotten, wish,,,, and think of a happy place :-)

  82. L.... L....

    ..ALUCINANTE!!!!!!,,BRILLANTE!!!

  83. D.... ....

    Me again! Always commenting. If this video song was the latest offering by some young, bright thing labelled as the next big thing, we would have terms like 'genius', 'brave' and 'paradigm-shifting' labelled on said poor soul. And we'd have accolades galore at awards ceremonies.
    So why is it left to an old geezer from Sarf London, who is approaching 70 years of age, to make an anti-war song and video that amazingly uses old images to heap scorn very effectively on today's militant and violent mind-sets?! Is black-and-white archive footage not groovy enough for modern, colourful TVs? I don't get it. There is very little in terms of creatively being brave by artists today in the popular music industry, seemingly!

  84. K.... E....

    one day we will meet and who knows

  85. K.... E....

    love your work

  86. K.... E....

    go dave

  87. K.... R....

    Was at working thinking "I'd rather be high"and it brought me here

  88. l.... l....

    I'd rather see more Bowie!

  89. L.... P....

    Hooky and Byzantine and Baroque and emotional.  Prime-cut Bowie!  There are decades when he's not my favorite, but no other artist has ever had the consistent effect on me that he does.  He just cuts open my veins and pours himself in.  I've felt a visceral connection to his chord progressions ever since I was six, and I'm fifty-three.  

    L.... P....

    "He just cuts open my veins and pours himself in." Damned right.
    I've felt a visceral connection to his chord progressions ever since *I* was 6 -- and I'm 34! lol

    L.... P....

    +Lynne Perkins That's putting it graphically!

  90. K.... L....

    Tom Petty should cover this song.

  91. M.... H....

    What's not to like. Great tune and lyrics from the main man. Love the video too.

  92. W.... ....

    happy new years to everyone

  93. D.... ....

    In 1973, one of the original pop videos was filmed, Life On Mars?. A quite brilliant pop video. In 2013, we have another great video-song, I'd Rather Be High. 40 years between them. Who says creativity dies as you get older?

  94. S.... ....

    where have all the good times gone???????????/

  95. E.... ....

    David Bowie you are right. But remember what you can take safely. Stick to some good grass and music. Remember the times before the wall. It was not peace and harmony al the time. However the music was and as always is still splendid excellent. Thank you. 

  96. d.... ....

    a beatler "Beat it will ..." sounztones another you know nd i would rather be high, .

  97. P.... D....

    Well written David. Never agreed with you more than on this one!