This song starts of sweet then turns dark and evil then almost tragis in tone....

but the part about "visions of swastikas in my head, plans for everyone" made me think of Nazi type imperialist ovetones, especially with his ultra saturated yallow blonde, clean cut, elite rich look he had at the time.

but then I was thinking the lyric right before said, "just like a sacred cow, I stumble into town"

and now I'm thinking he is referring to the Hindu swastika (which is what the Nazi party ripped off, my parents use the original swastika in their religious decor).... but that doesn't fit as logically....

watcha think?

the Iggy Pop version is better and the lyrics fit better with the tone of the album.

wait that didn't answer: nazi or hindu swastika? I used to hear the iggy pop one on vinyl.... but I heard the bowie one first on the radio back in '83. In Birmingham, England sitting in a cousin's shop eating crips and biscuits.

lilgish said:

Bowie wrote the song with Iggy in Berlin, 1977.

ufoclub said:

well, think about that album Tiny Girls, Sister Midnight, lots of weird sexual overtones. The song China Girl is about the white man and what he can do It’s in the white of my eyes

I can't answer your question either. But my favorite version of it is Bowie's recent (since '99) live version.

i can't specifically answer your question for certain, but i've always assumed it referred to the Nazi symbol.

To me the song is very much about power, control and obsession.... i love both Iggy's original and the Bowie recording.

Bowie's singing is so much better, Iggy kinda annoys me.

dawntreader said:

I love both China Girls but I prefer the 1977 version!

dawntreader said:

How dare you!

ufoclub said:

It's the Nazi swasztika, I doubt Iggy or David necessarily even knew of the hindu swas(z)tika, altough they just might have had - but I don't think it was common knowledge back then. But you can see the hindu-aspect complimenting the lyrics even to a greater deal if you want to.

The "plans for everyone" -part should be a dead giveaway for the "Nazi" aspect. He stumbles "into town just like a sacred cow" because he is entering the Asian realm too concerned about his own excellency. So the lyric should be taken as referring to the white man's behaviour on whole concerning other non-Western cultures, and then Pop/Bowie juxtapose that with the personal sentiment of "love" for the Asian woman. Basically "China Girl" is about (or rather refers to as no Bowie song is about anything in concrete) the phenomenon where you personally have the deepest, most intimate feeling you can feel towards anyone, yet from the outset you are taught to feel superior as a human being over her. I think many "intellect" European men can relate to that if they are honest about the scope of their thoughts when being attracted to an exotic woman that doesn't come from their own culture.

Yes, it's a "racist" love song, might take a bit to muster for some individuals, but I think there's rare honesty to it. I think it's a really well-written piece of art.

Novabreaker said:

well said.

i agree with you that Bowie probably meant the Nazi swastika, but I doubt he was not aware of the thousand year old swastika symbol as being asian especially with the hindhu stuff being very popular in the late 60's and early 70's popular music with hippie visits to asia and india ( they were in their teens and twenties then , correct?). The swastika is not just a hindu symbol, but even figures in other asian architecture and cermony outside of the country of india. And Bowie seems to show a well read keen intellect.

The odd thing is that "sacred cow" is not asian, but specifically hindu indian. Not chinese, not muslim, not japanese... they all eat cows! But when I think of a cow wandering into town (they are free to roam in India) they are usually "white".

Novabreaker said:

ufoclub said:

Oh, of course. Why didn't I take that into account? The guy was a buddhist in his teens afterall... It's prolly the both, that's how David has always written his songs anyway. In a very vague fashion.

There's some confusion whether the lyrics were by David or Iggy though. A lot of the credits mention the writer as Bowie, but in an interview from the 90s he suggested that the lyrics to China Girl were rather written by Iggy, he was complimenting Iggy on his writing skills as a lyricist.

Novabreaker said:

Brilliant!

GangstaFam said:

co-

Novabreaker said:

Go head on, Nova! I like both versions myself, although I lean towards Bowie cuz of Niles production.

dude, that song is about shooting heroin. china girl isn't a girl

medoc2003 said:

I think that interpretation is also valid. Some of the lyrics could definitely be alluding to heroin use:

I could escape this feeling with my China girl

I feel a wreck without my little China girl.
I hear my heart beating loud as thunder saw they stars crashi
I'm a mess without my little China girl


It's in the white of my eyes.

This is why I love Bowie so very much. There is usually more than one interpretation of his lyrics. You can read so much into it, and he usually encourages you to do so. Is 'Strangers When We Meet' about AIDS or Angela Bowie? Does he sing "the church of man love" or "the church of man, love" in Moonage Daydream?

And what the heck is The Bewlay Brothers about??? x7

calldapplwondery83 said:

About Bowie and his brother Terry

Yep, thought so, too. But how and what and why exactly?

In a documentary from Radio 2 in 2000, Bowie described the song as "another vaguely anecdotal piece about my feelings about myself and my brother, or my other doppelgãnger. I was never quite sure what real position Terry had in my life, whether Terry was a real person or whether i was actually refering to another part of me, and i think The Bewley Brothers was really about that."

noepie said:

it is so good you are back

dawntreader said:

I was never gone... just inactive

noepie said:

it is so good you are active again.

i remember you predicted i would be hooked on Bowie, and you were right.

even asked Herman: where is NOEPIE?

dawntreader said:

Very busy with his own two websites.

noepie said:

i know

i saw your wedding suit with the ziggy logo on it