They can work with Satan while they dress like the saints

Mr Bowie takes his next step towards world domination, in the company of Marion Cotillard, Gary Oldman, and some very sleazy pseudo-religiosity...

David Bowie - The Next Day

Look into my eyes he tells her
I’m gonna say goodbye he says yeah
Do not cry she begs of him goodbye yeah
All that day she thinks of his love yeah

They whip him through the streets and alleys there
The gormless and the baying crowd right there
They can’t get enough of that doomsday song
They can’t get enough of it all

Listen to the whores he tells her
He fashions paper sculptures of them
Then drags them to the river‘s bank in the cart
Their soggy paper bodies wash ashore in the dark
And the priest stiff in hate now demanding fun begin
Of his women dressed as men for the pleasure of that priest

Here I am
Not quite dying
My body left to rot in a hollow tree
Its branches throwing shadows
On the gallows for me
And the next day
And the next
And another day

Ignoring the pain of their particular diseases
They chase him through the alleys chase him down the steps
They haul him through the mud and they chant for his death
And drag him to the feet of the purple headed priest

First they give you everything that you want
Then they take back everything that you have
They live upon their feet and they die upon their knees
They can work with Satan while they dress like the saints
They know god exists for the devil told them so
They scream my name aloud down into the well below

Here I am
Not quite dying
My body left to rot in a hollow tree
Its branches throwing shadows
On the gallows for me
And the next day
And the next
And another day

I love it!

David Bowie official website

But I hope they live forever

We are on the eve of something special. For tomorrow, our leading Patron Saint Mr David Bowie's first album in a decade The Next Day is released to a slavering public.

Heaven only knows how many column inches have been devoted to the former "Thin White Duke"/"Ziggy Stardust"/"Aladdin Sane" since the music world was wrong-footed by the completely unexpected release of Where Are We Now? on his birthday in January. The whole album was streamed on iTunes in advance of its release, which whipped up further frenzy among those who actually have an iPod (I don't).

I, instead, have reserved my excitement and anticipation for the day itself, and I look forward to picking up my copy tomorrow (probably at HMV - to help the poor buggers out). Until then I only have the singles upon which to make a judgement.

Here's the second one from the album (already!) - with a rather fab and unnerving video featuring Tilda Swinton - it's The Stars (Are Out Tonight):

David Bowie - The Stars (Are Out Tonight)

Stars are never sleeping
Dead ones and the living

We live closer to the earth
Never to the heavens
The stars are never far away
Stars are out tonight

They watch us from behind their shades
Brigitte, Jack and Kate and Brad
From behind their tinted window stretch
Gleaming like blackened sunshine

Stars are never sleeping
Dead ones and the living

Waiting for the first move
Satyrs and their child wives
Waiting for the last move
Soaking up our primitive world

Stars are never sleeping
Dead ones and the living

Their jealousy's spilling down
The stars must stick together
We will never be rid of these stars
But I hope they live forever

And they know just what we do
That we toss and turn at night
They're waiting to make their moves
But the stars are out tonight

Here they are upon the stairs
Sexless and not aware
They are the stars, they're dying for you
But I hope they live forever

They burn you with their radiant smiles
Trap you with their beautiful eyes
They're broke and shamed or drunk or scared
But I hope they live forever

Their jealousy's spilling down
The stars must stick together
We will never be rid of these stars
But I hope they live forever

And they know just what we do
That we toss and turn at night
They're waiting to make their moves on us
But the stars are out tonight

The stars are out tonight
The stars are out tonight

http://www.davidbowie.com/the-next-day

As long as there's you

And so, typically catching everyone on the back foot, Mr David Bowie has surprised the world by releasing a new single on this, his 66th birthday!

And here it is - Where Are We Now?:

David Bowie - Where Are We Now?

It's as engmatic as one might expect. It's apparently a tribute to his time spent in Berlin. It's Mr B's first single for ten years, and will be followed by a new album The Next Day which is due to be released in March. How exciting!

[If that doesn't play - visit the David Bowie website]