Help me find a song from my youth!
August 3, 2011 3:28 PM

I'm looking for an early 70s David Bowie song about a strung out guy outside a girl's house.

Back in college my roommate had a couple of Bowie albums on an unlabeled cassette tape that I used to listen to over and over and over. One of the albums had a song about a guy sitting on a park bench outside a girl's house. He is in rough shape, probably coming down off something, certainly flithy, maybe bloody. Of course he's lamenting his position in life vis a vis the girl. For the life of me I cannot find it on any of his albums. It seems like it should be around Hunky Dory or Aladdin Sane.

Here's another one (although I'm not sure if its from the same album). All I can remember is the lyrics "I can see outside my window walking down the street my girl with another guy" I am crazy? Or do these songs exist?

Thanks MeFi
posted by pandabearjohnson to Media & Arts (9 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
#2 is Here Comes the Night on Pin Ups.
posted by Admiral Haddock at 3:37 PM on August 3, 2011


Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed.

Great song with a nice Bo Diddley feel.
posted by monospace at 3:42 PM on August 3, 2011


Queen Bitch?

Duh pu thu ku kun ba pa ta da da
Ah yeah
Oh yeah
I'm up on the eleventh floor
And I'm watching the cruisers below
He's down on the street
And he's try hard to pull sister Flo
Oh, my heart's in the basement
My weekend's at an all time low
'Cause she's hoping to score
So I can't see her letting him go
Walk out of her heart
Walk out of her mind
Oh not her

She's so swishy in her satin and tat
In her frock coat and bipperty-bopperty hat
Oh God, I could do better than that
oh yeah

She's an old-time ambassador
Of sweet talking, night walking games
And she's known in the darkest clubs
For pushing ahead of the dames
If she says she can do it
Then she can't do it, she don't make false claims
But she's a Queen, and such a queen
Such a laughter is sucked in their brains
Now she's leading him on
And she'll lay him right down
Yes she's leading him on
And she'll lay him right down
But it could have been me
Yes, it could have been me
Why didn't I say, why didn't I say, no, no, no

She's so swishy in her satin and tat
In her frock coat and bipperty-bopperty hat
Oh God, I could do better than that

So I lay down a while
And I gaze at my hotel wall
Oh the cot is so cold
It don't feel like no bed at all
Yeah I lay down a while
And I look at my hotel wall
And he's down on the street
So I throw both his bags down the hall
And I'm phoning a cab
'Cause my stomach feels small
There's a taste in my mouth
And it's no taste at all
It could have been me
Oh yeah, it could have been me
Why didn't I say, Why didn't I say, no, no, no

She's so swishy in her satin and tat
In her frock coat and bipperty-bopperty hat
Oh God, I could do better than that
Oh
You Betcha
Oh yeah
Uh hu
Mmm
posted by Ironmouth at 3:45 PM on August 3, 2011


OK, I can't believe I just spent an hour searching for that song on-line when Me Fi had the answer in minutes! I thought I was going nuts. Thanks moonspace an Admiral!
posted by pandabearjohnson at 3:46 PM on August 3, 2011


Queen Bitch is ostensibly about the queer/drag scene in New York City in the 70s. Great riff though.
posted by monospace at 4:20 PM on August 3, 2011


Here's another one (although I'm not sure if its from the same album). All I can remember is the lyrics "I can see outside my window walking down the street my girl with another guy" I am crazy? Or do these songs exist?

I bet you're thinking of "Here Comes The Night" off of Pin Ups.

Lyric: "I can see right out my window walkin' down the street my girl with another guyHis arms around her like it used to be with me Oh, it makes me want to die"

This is of course a cover of a van Morrison song, as the whole album is covers. Excellent album btw.
posted by VikingSword at 5:04 PM on August 3, 2011


The Queen Bitch song doesn't have any lyric close to what the OP quoted. Ironmouth, do not get into Bowie nerdery with me :)
posted by VikingSword at 5:07 PM on August 3, 2011


aargh - nevermind, I see Admiral Haddock had it first.
posted by VikingSword at 5:08 PM on August 3, 2011


The lyrics to "Unwashed and Somewhat Slightly Dazed", plus every other Bowie song, on Teenage Wildlife.
posted by Halloween Jack at 11:29 AM on August 4, 2011


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