Home / Authors / David Bowie

David Bowie

David Bowie Quotes

Musician

David Bowie (January 8, 1947 – January 10, 2016) was a legendary British musician, singer, songwriter, and actor. Known as the 'chameleon of rock,' he was celebrated for his eclectic musical style, avant-garde stage personas, and constant reinvention. His career spanned decades, blending rock, pop, electronic, and soul. Iconic works include 'Space Oddity,' 'Heroes,' and 'Let's Dance.' Through characters like Ziggy Stardust, he challenged gender and identity norms, leaving a profound impact on popular culture.

Filter quotes by topic

All Thinking People Ifs Writing Kind Artist Rocks Wanted Feels I Can Knows Mean Song Want Way Years Superhuman World Art Looks

Famous David Bowie Quotes

“And the stars look very different today.”

Inspirational Science Song Stars Space Music Songs Song Lyrics

Author:David Bowie

“Songwriting as an art is a bit archaic now. Just writing a song is not good enough.”

Writing Art Enough Song Bits Art Is Songwriting Good Enough Not Good Enough

Book:David Bowie: The Last Interview

Source: David Bowie: The Last Interview

“A song has to take on character, shape, body and influence people to an extent that they use it for their own devices. It must affect them not just as a song, but as a lifestyle. The rock stars have assimilated all kinds of philosophies, styles, histories, writings, and they throw out what they have gleaned from that.”

People Writing Kind Philosophy Character Use Body Song Stars Influence Rocks Style Shapes Lifestyle All Kinds Devices Rock Star Influencing People

Book:David Bowie: The Last Interview

Source: David Bowie: The Last Interview

“I think the first song I ever wrote ... was called "Can't Help Thinking About Me." That's an illuminating little piece, isn't it?”

Thinking Firsts Littles Helping Song Pieces Illuminating

Author:David Bowie

“I am a moderately good singer. I am not a great singer but I can interpret a song, which I don't think is quite the same as singing it.”

Thinking I Can Song Singing Singers

Author:David Bowie

“David Bowie emerged as a rock star in the late '60s. And as Ken Tucker wrote, "In the face of the hippy era's sincerity, intimacy and generosity, Bowie presented irony, distance and self-absorption. His song 'Changes' announced the arrival of a new counterculture," unquote.”

Self Faces Song Stars Rocks Late Distance Intimacy Eras Generosity Irony Sincerity Rock Star Arrivals Absorption Bowie Self Absorption Counterculture

Author:David Bowie

“I think it's rather a waste of time endlessly singing the same songs every night for a year, and it's just not what I want to do.”

Thinking Want Years Night Song Waste Singing Wasting Time Every Night

Author:David Bowie

“What I like doing is writing and recording and much more on the, I guess, the - on that creative level. It's fun interpreting songs and all that, but I wouldn't like it as a living.”

Writing Song Fun Levels Creative Interpreting

Author:David Bowie

“I never really got the book together for the thing, so I had all the songs and the characters. But by the time we'd gotten it on the road and I'd been doing it for 18 months, oh God, I couldn't wait to move on to something else.”

Book Character Together Moving Song Waiting Months

Author:David Bowie

“Having not really written any generational songs - I think maybe two or three of the songs that I've ever written have any bearing on the age of the listener. My stuff tends to be far more concerned with the spiritual and with subjects like isolation and being miserable.”

Thinking Two Age Spiritual Song Three Stuff Written Subjects Concerned Miserable Isolation Listeners

Author:David Bowie

“I think a lot of that album ["Tonight" ] is still very good . . . the songs, but I think I was indifferent to the arrangements.”

Thinking Stills Song Very Good Albums Tonight Indifferent Arrangements

Author:David Bowie

“I went mainstream in a major way with the song "Let's Dance." And what I found I had done was put a box around myself. It was very hard for people to see me as anything other than the person in the suit who did "Let's Dance," and it was driving me mad - because it took all my passion for experimenting away.”

People Done Song Passion Mad Driving My Passion

Author:David Bowie

“Frankly, I mean, sometimes the interpretations I've seen on some of the songs that I've written are a lot more interesting than the input that I put in.”

Mean Sometimes Song Interesting Written Interpretation Nasty Input

Author:David Bowie

“Strangely, some songs you really don't want to write.”

Want Writing Reality Song

Author:David Bowie

“However, there's no theme or concept behind Heathen, just a number of songs but somehow there is a thread that runs through it that is quite as strong as any of my thematic type albums.”

Running Song Strong Numbers Behinds Type Concepts Albums Theme Thread Heathen Thematic

Author:David Bowie

“I wish myself to be a prop, if anything, for my songs. I want to be the vehicle for my songs. I would like to colour the material with as much visual expression as is necessary for that song.”

Ifs Want Song Wish Expression Materials Visuals Colour Vehicle Props

Author:David Bowie

“Hear this Robert Zimmerman, I wrote a song for you, about a strange young man called Dylan with a voice like sand and glue.”

Men Young Song Voice Strange Musical Young Man Sand Dylan Glue Zimmerman

Author:David Bowie

About the Author

Born: January 8, 1947
Died: January 10, 2016
Known for: Musician
Quotes: 412

Related Topics

Thinking People Ifs Writing Kind Artist Rocks Wanted Feels I Can Knows Mean Song Want Way Years Superhuman World Art Looks

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

David Bowie: The Last InterviewRelated source material

David Bowie: The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars - Off the RecordRelated source material

David Bowie: The Last Interview: and Other ConversationsRelated source material

The pocket book of David BowieRelated source material

Similar Authors

Patti SmithBrowse related quotes
Dolly PartonBrowse related quotes
Taylor SwiftBrowse related quotes
Madonna CicconeBrowse related quotes
Kristen StewartBrowse related quotes
George SaundersBrowse related quotes
Chuck KlostermanBrowse related quotes
Bruce SpringsteenBrowse related quotes
Marilyn MansonBrowse related quotes
Billy CorganBrowse related quotes