“All the Madmen” is about a man in a mental hospital who, despite been permitted to leave, decides he is better off in the asylum, because the real world is too cold and harsh for him, and he feels he connects better with the other residents of the hotel better than he does with people outside. His...
[Verse 1]
Day after day
They send my friends away
To mansions cold and grey
To the far side of town
Where the thin men stalk the streets
While the sane stay underground
[Verse 2]
Day after day
They tell me I can go
They tell me I can blow
To the far side of town
Where it's pointless to be high
Because it's such a long way down
[Pre-Chorus]
So I tell them that
I can fly, I will scream, I will break my arm
I will do me harm
Here I stand, foot in hand, talking to my wall
I'm not quite right at all (am I?)
Don't set me free, I'm as heavy as can be
Just my librium and me
And my E.S.T. makes three
[Chorus]
'Cause I'd rather stay here
With all the madmen
Than perish with the sad men roaming free
And I'd rather play here
With all the madmen
For I'm quite content they're all as sane as me
[Bridge]
Where can the horizon lie
When a nation hides
Its organic minds in a cellar, dark and grim
(Organic growth, there is a much underexplored…)
(He followed me home, mummy)
They must be very dim
(Can I keep him?)
[Verse 3]
Day after day
They take some brain away
Then turn my face around
To the far side of town
And tell me that it's real
Then ask me how I feel
[Pre-Chorus]
Here I stand, foot in hand, talking to my wall
I'm not quite right at all
Don't set me free, I'm as helpless as can be
My libido's split on me
Gimme some good 'ole lobotomy
[Chorus]
Because I'd rather stay here
With all the madmen
Than perish with the sadmen roaming free
And I'd rather play here
With all the madmen
For I'm quite content they're all as sane as me
[Outro]
Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le Chien
Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le Chien
Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le Chien
Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le Chien (Ouvre)
Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le Chien (Ouvre)
Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le Chien (Ouvre)
Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le Chien (Ouvre)
Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le Chien (Ouvre)
Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le Chien (Ouvre)
Zane, Zane, Zane, Ouvre le Chien (Ouvre)
Zane...
All the Madmen was written by David Bowie.
All the Madmen was produced by Tony Visconti.
David Bowie released All the Madmen on Wed Nov 04 1970.
Bowie confirmed in 1972 that the song is about his half-brother Terry, who was committed to Cane Hill asylum with schizophrenia in 1969:
‘All the Madmen’ was written for my brother and it’s about my brother. He’s the man inside, and he doesn’t want to leave. He’s perfectly happy there – perfectly h...