The Bewlay Brothers
David Bowie * Track #11 On Hunky Dory
Download "The Bewlay Brothers"
Album Hunky Dory
The Bewlay Brothers by David Bowie
Release Date
Performed by
David BowieWrited by
David BowieAbout
“The Bewlay Brothers” is the eerie conclusion to Bowie’s landmark album, easy to dismiss as creepy nonsense.
But the meaning snaps into place when you learn the story of Terry Burns, Bowie’s older half-brother, who was hospitalized with schizophrenia and would eventually commit suicide in 1985.
Th...
The Bewlay Brothers Lyrics
[Verse 1]
And so the story goes, they wore the clothes
They said the things to make it seem improbable
The whale of a lie like the hope it was
And the goodmen tomorrow had their feet in the wallow
And their heads of brawn were nicely shorn
And how they bought their positions with saccharin and trust
And the world was asleep to our latent fuss
[Chorus 1]
Sighing, they swirl through the streets like the crust of the sun
The Bewlay Brothers
In our wings that bark
Flashing teeth of brass
Standing tall in the dark
Oh, and we were gone
Hanging out with your dwarf men
We were so turned on
By your lack of conclusions
[Verse 2]
I was stone and he was wax
So he could scream and still relax, unbelievable
And we frightened the small children away
And our talk was old and dust would flow
Through our veins and lo! It was midnight back at the kitchen door
Like the grim face on the cathedral floor
And the solid book we wrote cannot be found today
[Chorus 2]
And it was stalking time for the moonboys
The Bewlay Brothers
With our backs on the arch
And the Devil may be here
But he can't sing about that
Oh, and we were gone
Real cool traders
We were so turned on
You thought we were fakers
[Verse 3]
Now the dress is hung, the ticket pawned
The factor max that proved the fact is melted down
And woven on the edging of my pillow
And my brother lays upon the rocks
He could be dead, he could be not, he could be you
He's chameleon, comedian, Corinthian and caricature
[Chorus 3]
Shooting up pie-in-the-sky
The Bewlay Brothers
In the feeble and the bad
The Bewlay Brothers
In the blessed and cold
In the crutch-hungry dark
Was where we flayed our mark
Oh, and we were gone
Kings of oblivion
We were so turned on
In the mind-warp pavilion
[Outro]
Lay me place and bake me pie
I'm starving for me gravy
Leave my shoes, and door unlocked
I might just slip away, hey
Just for the day, (hey) hey
Please come away, hey
Just for the day, hey
Please come away, hey
Please come away
Just for the day
Please come away
Please come away
Please come away
Please come away
Away
Away
The Bewlay Brothers Q&A
Who wrote The Bewlay Brothers's ?
The Bewlay Brothers was written by David Bowie.
Who produced The Bewlay Brothers's ?
The Bewlay Brothers was produced by Ken Scott & David Bowie.
When did David Bowie release The Bewlay Brothers?
David Bowie released The Bewlay Brothers on Fri Dec 17 1971.
What did David Bowie say about "The Bewlay Brothers"?
In an interview with the Daily Mail, Bowie describes the genesis of the song:
The only pipe I have ever smoked was a cheap Bewlay. It was a common item in the late Sixties and for this song I used Bewlay as a cognomen – in place of my own. This wasn’t just a song about brotherhood so I didn’t want...