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Title: David Bowie-Quicksand View count: 105 Rating: 5.0 (2 ratings) Description: "Quicksand" is a song written by David Bowie in 1971 for the album Hunky Dory. This ballad features multi-tracked acoustic guitars and a string arrangement by Mick Ronson. Producer Ken Scott, having recently engineered George Harrison's album All Things Must Pass, attempted to create a similarly powerful acoustic sound with this track.[1] Lyrically the song, like much of Bowie's work at this time, was influenced by Buddhism, occultism, and Friedrich Nietzsche's concept of the Overman.[2] It refers to the magical society Golden Dawn and name-checks one of its most famous members, Aleister Crowley, as well as Heinrich Himmler, Winston Churchill and Greta Garbo.[3] NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray have described it as "Bowie in his darkest and most metaphysical mood",[2] while a contemporary review in Rolling Stone remarked on its "superb singing" and "beautiful guitar motif".[ It was released as the B-side of the single "Rock 'n' Roll Suicide" in April 1974. RCA included the song in the picture disc set Life Time. A demo version of the song was released as a bonus track on the Rykodisc release of Hunky Dory in 1990. I'm closer to the Golden Dawn Immersed in Crowley's uniform Of imagery I'm living in a silent film Portraying Himmler's sacred realm Of dream reality I'm frightened by the total goal Drawing to the ragged hole And I ain't got the power anymore No I ain't got the power anymore I'm the twisted name on Garbo's eyes Living proof of Churchill's lies I'm destiny I'm torn between the light and dark Where others see their targets Divine symmetry Should I kiss the viper's fang Or herald loud the death of Man I'm sinking in the quicksand of my thought And I ain't got the power anymore [CHORUS] Don't believe in yourself Don't deceive with belief Knowledge comes with death's release I'm not a prophet or a stone age man Just a mortal with the potential of a superman I'm living on I'm tethered to the logic of Homo Sapien Can't take my eyes from the great salvation Of bullshit faith If I don't explain what you ought to know You can tell me all about it On, the next Bardo I'm sinking in the quicksand of my thought And I ain't got the power anymore [CHORUS] Tags: david bowie, quicksand, hunky dory, Author: cannibaljuice |
