All the Madmen

Album: The Man Who Sold The World (1970)
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  • Day after day
    They send my friends away
    To mansions cold and grey
    To the far side of town
    Where the thin men stalk the streets
    While the sane stay underground

    Day after day
    They tell me I can go
    They tell me I can blow
    To the far side of town
    Where it's pointless to be high
    'Cause it's such a long way down

    So I tell them that
    I can fly, I will scream, I will break my arm
    I will do me harm
    Here I stand, foot in hand, talking to my wall
    I'm not quite right at all, am I?

    Don't set me free, I'm as heavy as can be
    Just my librium and me
    And my E.S.T. makes three

    'Cause I'd rather stay here
    With all the madmen
    Than perish with the sad men roaming free
    And I'd rather play here
    With all the madmen
    For I'm quite content they're all as sane
    As me

    (Where can the horizon lie
    When a nation hides
    Its organic minds
    In a cellar, dark and grim
    They must be very dim)

    Day after day
    They take some brain away
    Then turn my face around
    To the far side of town
    And tell me that it's real
    Then ask me how I feel

    Here I stand, foot in hand, talking to my wall
    I'm not quite right at all

    Don't set me free, I'm as helpless as can be
    My libido's split on me
    Gimme some good 'ole lobotomy

    'Cause I'd rather stay here
    With all the madmen
    Than perish with the sad men
    Roaming free
    And I'd rather play here
    With all the madmen
    For I'm quite content
    They're all as sane as me

    Zane, zane, zane
    Ouvre le chien
    Zane, zane, zane
    Ouvre le chien
    Zane, zane, zane (ah ah ah)
    Ouvre le chien
    Zane, zane, zane (ah ah ah)
    Ouvre le chien
    Zane, zane, zane (ah ah ah)
    Ouvre le chien
    Zane, zane, zane (ah ah ah)
    Ouvre le chien
    Zane, zane, zane (ah ah ah)
    Ouvre le chien
    Zane, zane, zane (ah ah ah)
    Ouvre le chien
    Zane, zane, zane (ah ah ah)
    Ouvre le chien
    Zane, zane, zane (ah ah ah)
    Ouvre le chien Writer/s: David Bowie
    Publisher: BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
    Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Comments: 3

  • David Horton from Croydon, United KingdomThe facts, if i have them right, are, that David Bowies half brother Terry Burns, who unfortunatly comitted suicide, was in the hospital called Cane Hill in Croydon, Surrey, near london.

    He attempted to kill himself by jumping out of one of the hospital ward windows, but he survived and Cane Hill had some wards that were three story's high, some time after this failed attempt he was successful in managing to escape from the grounds of the hospital and arrive down at South Coulsdon station, where unfortunatly he succeded in throwing himself in front of a train, the hospital is now in the throws of being demolished.

    Just for the record Michael Cain the actor's brother was a patient here also and wait for it so was Charlie Chaplins mother, i live in Croydon and have visited the hospital myself, albeit illegaly, it was very dangerous, the floors were all rotten, my brother and i, were walking around the wards and nearly went through the floor to the next floor we felt the floor giveway so we stept back rather sharpish, very scary, so is the hospital, extremely spooky i can tell you, i have given you a web link to try out, take a look for your selves, ok. www.abandoned-britain.com/PP/canehill/1.htm and also en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cane_Hill - good hunting dont get to frightened. From Dave Horton, Croydon.
  • Aida from Zagreb, Croatiait came from the title of a surreal film by Luis Bunel and Salvator Dali called "Le Chein Andalou" (1929.)- famous by shocking scene of person's eyeball being slit with a straight razor.

    p.s. love the song
  • Pascal from Avignon, France"Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le chien" : Zane... Open the dog. In French "le chien" is also the hammer of a gun : this might be related to suicide. But why are these words in French ? Except for this, the sentence doesn't make any sense.
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