Bowie, David - The Bewlay Brothers Lyrics






And so the story goes
they wore the clothes
They said the things
to make it seem improbable
The whale of a lie
like they hope it was
And the Goodmen of Tomorrow
Had their feet in the wallow
And their heads of Brawn
were nicer shorn
And how they bought their positions with saccharin and trust
And the world was asleep
to our latent fuss
Sighing, the swirl through the streets
Like the crust of the sun
The Bewlay Brothers
In our Wings that Bark
Flashing teeth of Brass
Standing tall in the dark
Oh, And we were Gone
Hanging out with your Dwarf Men
We were so turned on
By your lack of conclusions

I was Stone and he was Wax
So he could scream,
and still relax, unbelievable
And we frightened the small children away
And our talk was old
and dust would flow
Thru our veins and Lo!
it was midnight
Back o' the kitchen door
Like the grim face
on the Cathedral floor
And the solid book we wrote
Cannot be found today

And it was Stalking time
for the Moonboys
The Bewlay Brothers
With our backs on the arch
In the Devil-may-be-here
But He can't sing about that
Oh, And we were Gone
Real Cool Traders
We were so Turned On
You thought we were Fakers

Now the dress is hung,
the ticket pawned
The Factor Max that proved the fact
Is melted down
And woven on the edging of my pillow
Now my Brother lays upon the Rocks
He could be dead, He could be not
He could be You
He's Camelian, Comedian, Corinthian and Caricature
"Shooting-up Pie-in-the-Sky"
The Bewlay Brothers
In the feeble and the Bad
The Bewlay Brothers
In the Blessed and Cold
In the Crutch-hungry Dark
Was where we flayed our Mark
Oh, and we were Gone
Kings of Oblivion
We were so Turned On
In the Mind-Warp Pavilion

Lay me place and bake me Pie
I'm starving for me Gravy
Leave my shoes, and door unlocked
I might just slip away
Just for the Day, Hey!
Please come Away, Hey! [repeat ad inf.]





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Bowie, David The Bewlay Brothers Comments
  1. O.... M....

    A really haunting complex song that is inscrutable. 
    And the good men of tomorrow (war heroes)
    Had their feet in the wallow (trenches)
    And their heads of brawn (jingoism)
    Were nicer shorn (crew cuts)
    And how they bought their positions (rank) with saccharin (ingratiating attitude) and trust (loyalty)
    Interpretation: The good men of England went off to war, patriotic and positive, dutiful. Yet, they were lied to.
    Back in England: "And the world was asleep To our latent fuss" because everyone's attention was on the war. So what was this "fuss"? Perhaps the sense of feeling crushed by conservative traditions that finally sparked the social revolution of the 60's. (Out with the shorn heads in with the long hair)
    "Sang swirled through the streets" heralds the awakening of the Bewlay Bros who appear to be gargoyles alive and on the prowl, flying and stalking with there "backs on the arch" (hunched over). They are a byproduct of the "Whale of a lie", a great disillusion that swept through England.   "up high in the sky" strong references to drug use (heroin) which was inextricably linked to war veterans.

    "We were so turned on (british for "under the influence of drugs" [not a sexual reference])

  2. S.... R....

    DB's all: "Sure, I'll smuggle you drugs into rehab, Ig. But Imma hafta steal your rhythm section for Tin Machine as payment Yeet."

  3. G.... D....

    Took Hunky Dory over two years to make it to the top 5 in the uk. It was the success of Ziggy Stardust that got it noticed and also influenced RCA to release Life On Mars as a single in 1973.

  4. S.... C....

    And so the story goes they wore the clothes
    They said the things to make it seem improbable
    Whale of a lie like the hope it was

    And the good men tomorrow had their feet in the wallow
    And their heads of brawn were nicer shorn
    And how they bought their positions with saccharin and trust
    And the world was asleep to our latent fuss
    Sighings swirl through the streets like the crust of the sun, the Bewlay Brothers

    In our wings that bark
    Flashing teeth of brass
    Standing tall in the dark
    Oh, and we were gone
    Hanging out with your dwarf men
    We were so turned on
    By your lack of conclusions

    I was stone and he was wax so he could scream and still relax
    Unbelievable
    And we frightened the small children away
    And our talk was old and dust would flow
    Through our veins and though it was midnight back at the kitchen door
    Like the grim face on the cathedral floor
    The solid book we wrote cannot be found today
    And it was stalking time for the moon boys, the Bewlay Brothers

    With our backs on the arch
    And if the Devil may be here
    But he can't sing about that
    Oh, and we were gone
    Real cool traders
    We were so turned on
    You thought we were fakers

    And now the dress is hung, the ticket pawned
    The factor max that proved the fact is melted down
    Woven on the edging of my pillow
    And my brother lays upon the rocks
    He could be dead, he could be not, he could be you
    He's chameleon, comedian, Corinthian and caricature
    Shooting up pie in the sky
    Bewlay brothers
    In the feeble, in the bad
    Bewlay brothers

    In the blessed and cold
    In the crutch-hungry dark
    Was where we flayed our mark
    Oh, and we were gone
    Kings of Oblivion
    We were so turned on
    In the night walk pavilion

    Lay me place and bake me pie I'm starving for me gravy
    Leave my shoes, and door unlocked I might just slip away

    Just for the day, ay
    Please come away, ay
    Just for the day, ay
    Please come away, ay
    Please come away, ay
    Just for the day, ay
    Please come away, ay
    Please come away, ay
    Please come away, ay
    Please come away, ay
    Away
    Away

  5. r.... d....

    Leave my shoes and door unlocked I might just . . .

  6. P.... J....

    Beautiful song. Masterpiece

  7. G.... ....

    I miss you Bowie.

    G.... ....

    I do too.

  8. d.... j....

    This album is so amazing when you are too high everyday

  9. F.... K....

    Best song from one his best albums.

  10. D.... R....

    Extremely underrated song.

  11. J.... H....

    This reminds me of the last song on tadpoles by the bonzo dog doo dah band - Readymades

  12. T.... D....

    The last song I listened too while in Arizona... such a surreal feeling. Staring at the sky while listening to this

    T.... D....

    Congrats on your escape from dystopia

  13. N.... S....

    Taking 4-5 hours of walking after work and listening to this over and over again, looking how sun goes down, people and cars get lesser, staying alone and then walking back to home.

  14. N.... C....

    in some areas of this song David reminds me of Lou Reed who was a great influence.

  15. D.... B....

    Oh yes, yes, the best way to listen to this is alone in a darkened room with headphones, for a world is in there.

    Oh and this, in the beginning, there is for the life of me a creaking sound like a chair and what sounds like David lighting up a cigarette.
    Peace for all the Moonboys

    D.... B....

    I just noticed that!! First time listening on my headphones...I thought it was MY chair creaking! You can hear our Dave taking a breath between each line.

    D.... B....

    Thanks for pointing it out. I think you're totally right.

  16. J.... w....

    Ziggy your among the star men now

    J.... w....

    Always remembered, always missed, always all around us :)

    J.... w....

    @Esme Jay couldn't have said it better myself

    J.... w....

    Awww, thank you, @James who needs to know !! :)

  17. M.... M....

    and it was stalking time for the moonboys 🌖 🌖

  18. C.... S....

    Those cartoon character - like voices at the end sound peculiarly like the "Oh by jingo" chorus on After All ( from Man Who Sold The World ). One even sounds like it could be the ole laughing gnome for that matter!

  19. H.... T....

    Again and again, Bowie shows us what an amazing talent he was....a true genius.

  20. H.... ....

    ...it all made sense to me. Beautiful work.

    H.... ....

    What does it say? Interpret it for me please.

  21. T.... ....

    First couple lines sound more like Dylan than Dylan does.

    T.... ....

    Totally, a 'caricature' of Dylan.

    T.... ....

    David is even a better Dylan than Dylan.
    Inevitably the best at anything... 😉

  22. A.... K....

    Beautiful!

  23. U.... ....

    This was Lou Reed's favorite Bowie song.

    U.... ....

    @Gene Clark I thought it was about him and his brother...?

    U.... ....

    @Kevin Ozbirn half brother

    U.... ....

    Yeah, his brother James. Lol

    U.... ....

    @Gene Clark All wrong, this song was inspired by and contains references to his half-brother, but he himself said the lyrics don't mean much of anything, telling his producer that they were written for an American audience to "read into" the nonsensical lyrics, and he likely applied meaning to the song after he wrote it.
    The "Bewlay Bros." is the publishing company Bowie started early in his career, and it's also a shorthand for the trio of David, Iggy Pop, and Colin Thurston while they were all working on Iggy's record.

    U.... ....

    I've seen and read many references official books and documentaries that say this song is about gargoyles that come alive at night and attack and/or kill people at night.

  24. T.... F....

    Its recollections of an old man waiting to die. Alone, deeply affected, and unwilling.
    To stand tall in the dark...

  25. B.... M....

    Genius.

    B.... M....

    Great song...but I read somewhere that David always said this song was actually about nothing at all...

    B.... M....

    @Evatte Hendrick But it's not true
    It is about his brother

    B.... M....

    @Evatte Hendrick Songs are about what they mean to you. I highly doubt it's about nothing.

    B.... M....

    Too late to ask David Bowie again...please read my comment again instead.

  26. G.... A....

    It's about his brother, who was eventually institionalized.

    G.... A....

    I was just turned on by your lack of conclusions. 😉

    G.... A....

    +Evatte Hendrick
    He said that when asked about it back in the '70s, but apparently later on, he admitted it was at least in part inspired by his brother.

    G.... A....

    THAT is one individuals personal reading. It's about whatever you want it to be about I guess, .. . he sometimes worked THAT WAY.

    G.... A....

    His brother lays upon the rocks -- it could be him, he could be not, he could be you
    He's a chameleon, comedian, Corinthian, and caricatured

    G.... A....

    @Evatte Hendrick His brother also was the subject of the song and music video for Jump They Say which came out in 1993 after his brother's suicide.

  27. M.... C....

    We were so turned on
    By your lack of conclusions