#David Bowie #glam rock #hard rock #art rock #classic rock
#electronic #singer-songwriter #pop rock #album rock #proto-punk
#experimental #1970s #Old Grey Whistle Test #music video
Wake up, you sleepy head
Put on some clothes, shake up your bed
Put another log on the fire for me
I've made some breakfast and coffee
Look out my window, what do I see
A crack in the sky and a hand reaching down to me
All the nightmares came today
And it looks as though they're here to stay
What are we coming to?
No room for me, no fun for you
I think about a world to come
Where the books were found by the golden ones
Written in pain, written in awe
By a puzzled man who questioned
What we were here for
All the strangers came today
And it looks as though they're here to stay
Look out at your children
See their faces in golden rays
Don't kid yourself, they belong to you
They're the start of the coming race
The earth is a bitch
We've finished our news
Homo Sapiens have outgrown their use
All the strangers came today
And it looks as though they're here to stay
I firmly believe that to know what this song means you must be familiar with the philosophy of "Thus Spoke Zarathustra" and Nietzsche's superman. The "homo superior" is a euphemism for this superman, the most conspicuous quality of whom, according to "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," was his contempt of the common man's morality. A superman is somebody who doesn't take on society's morals as his own, but rather somebody who creates his own morality through his own inner strength and clarity of vision. An example of this clarity of vision? In Zarathustra, the seer proclaims that, though he loves peace, he is happy when he sees war. Why? Because the idiots who fight are killing themselves, which will ideally eventually result in a purified world where those who are left are peaceful and lack the destructive urge to dominate their fellow man. Now, compare this attitude to the attitude of the anti-war masses during Vietnam. Their position that all war is inexcusable was, and is, dreadfully simple-minded and untenable. Now, for Bowie, this "advancement" to being supermen might just mean sexual liberation, since this was his coming out/homosexual debut. Regardless, at least he knows his philosophy. Btw, the Nietzschean imagery is all over this album, and this is why it's one of my all time favorites.
I am nearly certain that he does mean a superior human when he speaks of "Homo Superior”. One must remember that at the time of writing Hunky Dory, Bowie was beginning to get involved in the occult, magick, brain-change etc. There are many groups out there that take the stance that we are entering a new age, and therefore a new set of humans will come about as well. He also talks in this song of "the coming race", but they are still your children, and you must see them in "golden rays" which is another bit of magickal symbolism. Even in the first verse there is a bit of a prophesy of an apocalypse. You can find a lot of Occult symbolism on Hunky Dory, actually.
To set the record "straight" - Bowie is not gay and never has been. He claimed to be "bisexual" for a time in the 60/70s when it was hip to be "sexually liberated", but it was mostly an act. Even in his interviews he admits this. Also most people get caught up in the theatrical aspect of his characters. A lot of dumb people equate makeup and women's clothing on men as homosexual, but there is quite a difference. You are only a homosexual if you exclusively have sex with only the same gender as yourself. This has never been the case with Bowie.
From: https://songmeanings.com/songs/view/42518/
