It's "thoughtful", not "tactful", waxy ears.
Oops Shelle, I was under the impression that English is your mother tongue.

/Carsten

What's it about?

This song induces in me the picture of some guy sitting in someone's kitchen, wondering about the world, and then putting all his thoughts into a song. This guy has either a hangover, or is coming down from a drug trip. His head is a bit dull. The weather outside is dry, clouds in the sky, but still the kitchen is filled with daylight. The guys is smoking, and the remains of an unfinished breakfast are on the kitchen table. Some girl was with him in the kitchen moments ago, but has left for a reason unknown.

The window in the kitchen is to the left of the guy. When he looks over the table, he looks into the living room, with old fashioned furniture. A cat is lying on the sofa of the living room. Behind the sofa, there's a window with a curtain and a cactus on the ledge.

So this guy looks at the apartment wondering why this apartment is exactly like it is - you know, what happens to you when get down from a long high and then wonder if the world is real.

So he stares around and describes what he is seeing:
- the cactus at the window, which fits to the room
- the mobile spinning at the living room ceiling
- the cat that puts her head between her paws
- he looks out the window to see a new shop openend
- the girl who owns the apartment likes to give away her cacti, as she has too many off-shoots and no idea where to put them - will they all find a home?
- and then the sun comes out and he starts feeling a bit better, thinking that there's a secret message hidden

This guy should probably take less drugs.

/Carsten

I can see that, carsten. Now you're opening up the age-old debate of whether Clara is a cat or dog. I've honestly ARGUED with people over that one. I don't have a strong feeling either way . . . but surprisingly, some Bowie fans are dead-set that Clara must be one, and not the other, animal.

Oh, and Strawman, when do we get your "rough idea" of what the song is about?

zigbot

I can see that, carsten. Now you're opening up the age-old debate of whether Clara is a cat or dog.
No way - I said very clearly it's a cat 8^)

I've honestly ARGUED with people over that one.
Well, if you wanna fight about it...

I don't have a strong feeling either way . . . but surprisingly, some Bowie fans are dead-set that Clara must be one, and not the other, animal.

Na, I think we're all educated enough to not be dogmatic about this?

/Carsten

it's a jaxtaposition of statements similar to how a movie switches easily from scene to scene. if you put a Burroughs spin to it, the poem could be like this:

Your tactful cactus surveys its prairie down by the city collision
The mobile spins your window to find the home key
Clara puts all the branches that is in her head between the paws
They've opened a West side room to the shops but the sun pins the sky to the cacti of her will

visit this page:
cut-up


A Toe Nail

In reply to:

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I was under the impression that English is your mother tongue.

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My bad.

I completely forgot that irony is a foreign language to you Germans.


He'll have you wrestling midgets in border towns for ten percent of the net.

I completely forgot that irony is a foreign language to you Germans.

Irony? I looked it up in the dictionary, but cannot find it. This is some housewife stuff isn't it? Like ironing your man's shirts, I guess?

/Carsten

In reply to:

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Oh, and Strawman, when do we get your "rough idea" of what the song is about?

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Actually, I know exactly what this lyric is all about, but I'm not prepared to share it with anybody else because I believe that presuming to assume the workings of another mans mind, especially when it's within songwriting, is a ridiculous notion - doubly especially when it comes to Bowie's lyrics.

So there.

You are the master

crack

..'bater.