Day 335 | How Does The Grass Grow?

Though Bowie was not an especially political singer, this is clearly an anti-war song.  “How does the grass grow?  Blood, blood, blood. Where do the boys lie?  Mud, mud, mud.” Despite its grim lyrics, it is far from the most melancholy song on the album, and in that respect it is another instance of Bowie’s lyrics saying something different than the music he sets them against.  I can’t help but think of the Thomas Jefferson quote, “the tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.”  The phrase has been appropriated by extremists.  I don’t know if Bowie had the phrase in mind, but his song paints a muddy and bleak picture as a result of this particular form of plant-life nourishment.  That bring to mind Lodger’s “Fantastic Voyage” which makes the point that patriotic virtues are valuable, “but our lives are valuable too.”      Album: The Next Day