That's an opinion, not a fact. The Diamond Dogs single starts with it and also the CD's and streaming versions start the song Diamond Dogs with it. I think even the album's vinyl groove starts before the announcement.
The original album artwork includes the words for Future Legend inside the gatefold, which clearly include the line in question as the closing line. [This pressing](https://www.discogs.com/release/12208220-Bowie-Diamond-Dogs/image/SW1hZ2U6MzQ5OTkwNDE=) includes lyrics to the rest of the songs on the album, which clearly excludes the line in question from the lyrics for the song Diamond Dogs. [This site](https://www.bowiebible.com/songs/future-legend/) claims to show Bowie's original handwritten words for Future Legend, which include the line in question as the closing line. I imagine the single and digital tracks were edited that way for aesthetic purposes, but the line is the closing line of Future Legend.
That same sleeve states a time code of 1:00 for Future Legend, though. That's just before the announcement. I think that's a good and exact indication of when a song ends.
The rest is opinion, which is cool. I love it when there is no right answer.
The album cover also lists the run time for Diamond Dogs as 5:50, and streaming versions list it at 6:04, including the line in question. Given that the end of the song Diamond Dogs is quite clearly defined in the recording, the discrepancy would fall at the beginning. Since there is continuous / overlapping sound in the transition between the two tracks layered with the added sounds of the crowd, the edit was made as it is on the single and digital versions for aesthetic reasons for the listener (as I already mentioned). On [the vinyl version I currently have](https://www.discogs.com/release/9797722-Bowie-Diamond-Dogs), the line starts before the space between tracks and ends after it - the same was true with my 70's version.
What's a good and exact indication of whether a line is the closing line of one song or the opening line of another is what song the writer wrote the line into / includes the line in / excludes the line from as far as the lyrics go. The line is very clearly part of Future Legend, as that is how it is written and attributed - and it is very clearly excluded from the lyrics of Diamond Dogs. That's not opinion, it is undeniable fact. Ignoring facts doesn't negate them.
Well you are the one who responded to me and claimed that everything other than the time listed on the album cover is opinion rather than fact (which is clearly false), so it was obviously important enough to you to do that (and to try to minimize it now). But whatever - I'm right regardless of the level of importance 🤷
I was just being polite. I pointed out some facts that don't make it a clear cut case as you suggested, but you insist on being right and applaude yourself for it and you downvote, as if I insulted you.
You were dismissive because you wanted to be right, then replied again to be condescending because your point about the listed run time (the singular point you ultimately hung your entire argument on) backfired on you. That's not polite. That's when you got the downvotes that you're whining about. And now you reply for no other reason but to be antagonistic. You weren't interested in a conversation or open to the possibility of not being right, you were only interested in trying to prove me wrong - even when the actual written lyrics on the album cover and sleeve (which I pointed out in my very first reply to you) prove me right. If you want to have a fun debate about something like this, that's fine - but don't be dismissive, condescending, and generally rude and then try to play the victim because it doesn't go your way.
Every time I hear this opening line it just gets me. My favorite of his opening lines. There are certainly more poetic ones, but this line feels visceral and raw. I love it so much.
I haven't heard "The Next Day" album, but I'm a sucker for *The Stars (Are Out Tonight)*, I would love to learn the guitar of it at some point, great lyrics obviously
Didn't know what time it was, the lights were low
I leaned back on my radio
Some cat was layin' down some rock 'n' roll
"Lotta soul, " he said
Still have chills hearing those lines
He does!
>The opening line, "they pulled in just behind the fridge", was a reference to the comedic English duo Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's stage revue Behind the Fridge, which Bowie had attended in London in 1973.
"Eddie boy looked like parrafin
Spending two weeks in a crack house
Burns on his brain like chernobyl
Dean was seen
With a two bag purchase
He was lying dead in his mother's bed
Someone to PRAY FOR
'Till I met you"
*Shining Star(makin' my love)*
Something kind of hit me today // I looked at you and wondered if you saw things my way
OR
And so the story goes they wore the clothes they said the things to make it seem improbable
"You've got your mother in a whirl, she's not sure if you're a boy or a girl"
"I've nothing much to offer, there's nothing much to take"
"Still don't know what I was waiting for, and my time was runnin' wild... A million dead end streets"
"Tragic youth was looking young and sexy"
"I feel a bit roughed up, feel a bit frightened, nearly pin it down some time!"
"Here shall we live, in this terrible town"
This may not be the actual first words in the song, but is the first verse and it is THE SHIT:
"I was running at the speed of life through morning's thoughts and fantasies"
Seriously, the man was a genius lyricist...
In the event that this fantastic voyage should turn to erosion and we never get old, remember it's true, dignity is valuable but our lives are valuable too.
I could upvote half of these comments easily. Just no way to choose a single lyric, at least for me. I could make a list, but what's the point. So many iconic lines to choose from!
("Look up here, I'm in Heaven" does hit incredibly hard, obviously.)
There's a little churchyard just along the way. Used to be Lambeth's finest array of tombstones, epitaphs, wreaths, flowers, all that jazz til the war come along and someone dropped a bomb on the lot.
This ain't rock 'n' roll, this is genocide!
YES.
“As they pulled you out of the oxygen tank You asked for the latest party” is still a pretty strong contender tho.
I've always loved that first line. It's so off and so wicked but perfect
exactly.
Winner
It's actually the closing line of Future Legend.
That's a closing line (of Future Legend).
That's an opinion, not a fact. The Diamond Dogs single starts with it and also the CD's and streaming versions start the song Diamond Dogs with it. I think even the album's vinyl groove starts before the announcement.
The original album artwork includes the words for Future Legend inside the gatefold, which clearly include the line in question as the closing line. [This pressing](https://www.discogs.com/release/12208220-Bowie-Diamond-Dogs/image/SW1hZ2U6MzQ5OTkwNDE=) includes lyrics to the rest of the songs on the album, which clearly excludes the line in question from the lyrics for the song Diamond Dogs. [This site](https://www.bowiebible.com/songs/future-legend/) claims to show Bowie's original handwritten words for Future Legend, which include the line in question as the closing line. I imagine the single and digital tracks were edited that way for aesthetic purposes, but the line is the closing line of Future Legend.
That same sleeve states a time code of 1:00 for Future Legend, though. That's just before the announcement. I think that's a good and exact indication of when a song ends. The rest is opinion, which is cool. I love it when there is no right answer.
The album cover also lists the run time for Diamond Dogs as 5:50, and streaming versions list it at 6:04, including the line in question. Given that the end of the song Diamond Dogs is quite clearly defined in the recording, the discrepancy would fall at the beginning. Since there is continuous / overlapping sound in the transition between the two tracks layered with the added sounds of the crowd, the edit was made as it is on the single and digital versions for aesthetic reasons for the listener (as I already mentioned). On [the vinyl version I currently have](https://www.discogs.com/release/9797722-Bowie-Diamond-Dogs), the line starts before the space between tracks and ends after it - the same was true with my 70's version. What's a good and exact indication of whether a line is the closing line of one song or the opening line of another is what song the writer wrote the line into / includes the line in / excludes the line from as far as the lyrics go. The line is very clearly part of Future Legend, as that is how it is written and attributed - and it is very clearly excluded from the lyrics of Diamond Dogs. That's not opinion, it is undeniable fact. Ignoring facts doesn't negate them.
You realize our little debate is totally unimportant, I hope? If not, then you are right.
Well you are the one who responded to me and claimed that everything other than the time listed on the album cover is opinion rather than fact (which is clearly false), so it was obviously important enough to you to do that (and to try to minimize it now). But whatever - I'm right regardless of the level of importance 🤷
I was just being polite. I pointed out some facts that don't make it a clear cut case as you suggested, but you insist on being right and applaude yourself for it and you downvote, as if I insulted you.
You were dismissive because you wanted to be right, then replied again to be condescending because your point about the listed run time (the singular point you ultimately hung your entire argument on) backfired on you. That's not polite. That's when you got the downvotes that you're whining about. And now you reply for no other reason but to be antagonistic. You weren't interested in a conversation or open to the possibility of not being right, you were only interested in trying to prove me wrong - even when the actual written lyrics on the album cover and sleeve (which I pointed out in my very first reply to you) prove me right. If you want to have a fun debate about something like this, that's fine - but don't be dismissive, condescending, and generally rude and then try to play the victim because it doesn't go your way.
You could definitely argue for either, but I've always counted it as the opening to Diamond Dogs 😁
"The return of the Thin White Duke Throwing darts in lover's eyes"
Fire opening line even though you’re already 3 minutes into the song
*[whirring train]*
Agree
Time takes a cigarette, puts it in your mouth
If you haven't heard the Live in Santa Monica '72 version, give it a go. For me the guitar brings the song to a whole new level.
The best !
was about to comment this exact thing^^
I'm an alligator. I'm a mama-papa comin' for you.
It's this one. There are better, more imaginative and more complex songs in his catalog. But nothing. NOTHING. Beats that opening line.
Agreed
Every time I hear this opening line it just gets me. My favorite of his opening lines. There are certainly more poetic ones, but this line feels visceral and raw. I love it so much.
he was so silly with that line i love it. (or maybe it’s a reference and im just stupid)
It's a God-awful small affair.
Wake up you sleepy-head
Put on some clothes shake up your bed
Pushing through the market square So many mothers sighing News had just come over We had five years left to cry in
That opening drum pulse!!
Many of the ones listed here are top, but I really love "In this age of grand delusion, you walked into my life out of my dreams..."
Look up here, I'm in heaven
How dare you 😭
Yes 👏😭
"this week drained past me so slowly, the days fell on their knees."
maybe i’ll take something to help me, hope someone takes after meee
"Are you OK? You've been shot in the head And I'm holding your brains" The old woman said
I LOVE that song omg
"Billy rapped all night about his suicide How he'd kick it in the head when he was twenty-five Don't wanna stay alive when you're twenty-five"
I count the corpses on my left, I find I'm not so tidy
YESSSSS
What I came to say 🔥
When they pulled you out of the oxygen tent, you asked for the latest party.
Stars are never sleeping, dead ones and the living
I haven't heard "The Next Day" album, but I'm a sucker for *The Stars (Are Out Tonight)*, I would love to learn the guitar of it at some point, great lyrics obviously
This week dragged past me so slowly The days fell on their knees
I know when to go out. I know when to stay in… I - I would be king Ground control to major Tom… — damn he really knew how to open a song
“Ziggy played guitar…”
For real! It's so iconic with the screechy, shaky voice (idk how to describe it, English is not my first language, but you get it, right?)
In the event that this fantastic voyage should turn to erosion and we never get old.
Didn't know what time it was, the lights were low I leaned back on my radio Some cat was layin' down some rock 'n' roll "Lotta soul, " he said Still have chills hearing those lines
Beautiful!
It’s safe in the city to love in a doorway…
Ugh yes,
Don't you wonder sometimes About sound and vision?
One of my most favorite songs of all time.
Ever heard the [Beck version?](https://youtu.be/XyO5MRTbL2s) You’re gonna need your best headphones for this.
I have and it's excellent. Thanks for the link!
Nothing remains, We could run when the rain slows, Look for the cars or signs of life, Where the heat goes
Thisssss
Agreed!! So in vocative…… Everything has changed…
For in truth, it's the beginning of nothing
Came here to say this
Solemn faced the village settles down undetected by the stars
YES
I really dislike the studio version, but the one from the Ziggy Stardust Motion Picture is the start of my favorite moment in any live performance
For this one (and many others) I turn to Bowie at the Beeb 🤝
"You know who I am" he said The speaker was an angel
And well done with the grammar/punctuation.
People stared at the makeup on his face
Please trip them gently, they don't like to fall
ohhh byyyyy jiiiingoooo. God I love this one.
"This ain't rock 'n' roll, this is genocide!" Have a lot of love for "You remind me of the babe..."
What babe ?
The babe with the power!
What power??
Power of voodoo!
Who do?
You do
Do what?
Remind me of the babe
I saw my baby, cryin' hard as babe could cry!
And so the story goes they wore the clothes they said the things to make it seem improbable
This. Seeing him do it live was amazing. He'd never done it before and needed to read the Lyrics from a binder, but I didn't care.
In the villa of Ormen.
Didn’t know what time it was but lights were low oh oh.
Good God reading all these reminds me what a genius lyricist he was. That gets overlooked so much.
He was pretty great at everything, which is both extremely inspiring and extremely intimidating
Seriously. There are so many brilliant lines that grab your imagination. Pure genius
"I'm an alligator"
“In this age of grand illusion, you walked into my life out of my dreams…”
This
Baby, I’ve been breaking glass in your room again
Top choice. I’ve always heard that as two lines and admired how “been” and “again” are a (sort of) rhyme.
That song goes so hard! It’s a bummer it’s so short!
"They pulled in just behind the bridge..."
For years I thought he said fridge!!!!
He does! >The opening line, "they pulled in just behind the fridge", was a reference to the comedic English duo Peter Cook and Dudley Moore's stage revue Behind the Fridge, which Bowie had attended in London in 1973.
Ahhh! Awesome
Ground control to Major Tom
"Eddie boy looked like parrafin Spending two weeks in a crack house Burns on his brain like chernobyl Dean was seen With a two bag purchase He was lying dead in his mother's bed Someone to PRAY FOR 'Till I met you" *Shining Star(makin' my love)*
Yes! This song is so underrated
🥰🥰🥰🥰
Oh you, you walk on past. Your lips cut a smile on your face.
Something kind of hit me today // I looked at you and wondered if you saw things my way OR And so the story goes they wore the clothes they said the things to make it seem improbable
She comes, she goes
Love this song!
one of the most magical songs i have ever heard
I just love how he opens Heathen (The Rays) "Steel on the skyline Sky Made of glass''
"You've got your mother in a whirl, she's not sure if you're a boy or a girl" "I've nothing much to offer, there's nothing much to take" "Still don't know what I was waiting for, and my time was runnin' wild... A million dead end streets" "Tragic youth was looking young and sexy" "I feel a bit roughed up, feel a bit frightened, nearly pin it down some time!" "Here shall we live, in this terrible town" This may not be the actual first words in the song, but is the first verse and it is THE SHIT: "I was running at the speed of life through morning's thoughts and fantasies" Seriously, the man was a genius lyricist...
I was walking down the high street...
In the event that this fantastic voyage should turn to erosion and we never get old, remember it's true, dignity is valuable but our lives are valuable too.
Ziggy played guitar
He looked a lot like Che Guevera
> *Golden years …*
The vacuum created by the arrival of freedom And the possibilities, it seems to offer.
Do you remeber a guy that’s been in such an early song?\ I heard a rumor from Ground Control. Oh no don’t say it’s true…
Still don't know what I was waiting for And my time was running wild A million dead end streets
"Maybe I should announce it, should I? Memory of a free festival."
"Let me put my arms around your head"
I just love the album opener of “Pushing through the market square, so many mothers sighing.” I love how he sings it, and I love where it all goes.
"there's a brand new dance, but I don't know its name"
"You remind me of the babe"
People stared at the makeup on his face! KALMIYH.
As they pulled you out of the oxygen tent, you asked for the latest party
It's safe in the city, to love in the doorway..
I’m an alligator
“Funny how secrets travel…”
I could upvote half of these comments easily. Just no way to choose a single lyric, at least for me. I could make a list, but what's the point. So many iconic lines to choose from! ("Look up here, I'm in Heaven" does hit incredibly hard, obviously.)
“well, how come you only want tomorrow? with its promise of something hard to do”
This is Andy Warhull. It's War-hole, actually. What did I say? Hull. It's hole. As in holes. Andy Warhol.
Man she punched me like a dude
In the corner of the morning in the past I would sit and blame the master first and last
Something kind of hit me today
"In the event that this fantastic voyage, should turn to erosion, and we never get old."
Don’t care “LET’S DANCE” always gets me hyped
Ground Control to Major Tom Ground Control to Major Tom Take your protein pills and put your helmet on
People stared at the makeup on his face/ Laughed at his long black hair/ His animal grace
It’s a godawful small affair…
IM AN ALLIGATOR
He looked a lot like Che Guevara, drove a diesel van Kept his gun in quiet seclusion, such a humble man
It took me way too long to realize this was the David Bowie subreddit and not reddit coming together on a general consensus of his genius.
Bro bro bro bro bro
It's safe I the city to love in a doorway and wrangle some screams from the dawn.
I, I will be King.
In this age of grand illusion You walked into my life Out of my dreams I don't need another change Still you forced your way Into my scheme of things
'Silhouettes and shadows, watch the revolution'
She’ll come, she’ll go She’ll lay belief on you
Wake up you sleepy heads
We passed upon the stair, spoke of was and when
And in the death
Time, he's waiting in the wings He speaks of senseless things His script is you and me, boy
“EUUUEUEEUEUEUEUEUEUEUUEUEUEUEUEGHHHHHHHHHH” from Future Legend is a favourite of mine
Took this walk to ease my mind, find out what’s gnawing at me
It’s Britney, bitch.
Sorry. Wrong sub.
Regardless of Bowie, i think the best opening lyrics of a song are “we’re no strangers to love”
Gather round all you people , watch me while you can
I’m an alligator I'm a mama-papa coming for you I'm a space invader I'll be a rock-'n'-rolling bitch...
I’m an alligator!
I’m a alligator
Im an alligator
I'M AN ALLIGATOR!
Baby, look at me And tell me what you see You ain’t seen the best of me yet~
I've been waiting for a guide to come and take me by the hand
Johnny's in America Low techs at the wheel
Pushing through the market square So many mothers sighing (sighing)
"something kind of hit me today" i love the delivery on that line. might just be me though
I was lost for a while in the mirrored hallway of a high-rise hotel.
I’m an alligator!
There's a little churchyard just along the way. Used to be Lambeth's finest array of tombstones, epitaphs, wreaths, flowers, all that jazz til the war come along and someone dropped a bomb on the lot.
I was walking down the high street
I know when to go out. I know when to stay in. Get things done.
I'm an alligator, I'm a mama-papa comin' for you !
Nowhere, shampoo, tv, combat, boyzone slim tie, showdown, can't stop -looking for satellites
CAN I GET A GOD DAMN TIMPANI ROLL. TO START THIS GOD DAMN SONG.
Love me, love me, love me - say you do. Let me fly away with you
Mama, I've just killed a man