David Bowie’s words echo through music history with the same power as his songs. From Ziggy Stardust to his final album, his words reveal an artist who thought deeply about art, identity, and human nature. So here are 75 of the best David Bowie quotes.
Born as David Robert Jones in London, Bowie transformed himself countless times throughout his career. His persona changes – from Aladdin Sane to the Thin White Duke – showed how one artist could contain multitudes.
More than just a pop singer or glam rock icon, Bowie was a philosopher of modern life. His groundbreaking work challenged our understanding of identity, sexuality, and fame long before these became common topics in the music industry.
Through studio albums, interviews, and his own writing, Bowie left us with moments of gold – observations that still feel revolutionary today. Whether discussing space travel with Major Tom or exploring life’s darker corners, his words carried weight.
These quotes capture both the artist and the man behind the starman waiting in the sky. They remind us why Bowie remains relevant long after his final bow.
David Bowie was famously close to former Beatle John Lennon. But did Bowie actually perform on or help write Lennon’s Imagine?
In a recent article, I explore Bowie and Lennon’s friendship and Bowie’s role in the song Imagine as well as other famous songs the pair collaborated on.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
55 Best David Bowie Quotes
- “I don’t know where I’m going from here, but I promise it won’t be boring.”
- “The truth is of course is that there is no journey. We are arriving and departing all at the same time.”
- “All my big mistakes are when I try to second-guess or please an audience. My work is always stronger when I get very selfish about it.”
- “Fame itself doesn’t really afford you anything more than a good seat in a restaurant.”
- “I always had a repulsive need to be something more than human. I felt very puny as a human. I thought, ‘F**k that. I want to be a superhuman.'”
- “As you get older, the questions come down to about two or three. How long? And what do I do with the time I’ve got left?”
- “Don’t you love the Oxford Dictionary? When I first read it, I thought it was a really really long poem about everything.”
- “I’m a born librarian with a sex drive.”
- “I’m an instant star, just add water and stir.”
- “Tomorrow belongs to those who can hear it coming.”
- “I feel confident imposing change on myself. It’s a lot more fun progressing than looking back. That’s why I need to throw curve balls.”
- “I’m always amazed that people take what I say seriously. I don’t even take what I am seriously.”
- “If it works, it’s out of date.”
- “Aging is an extraordinary process whereby you become the person you always should have been.”
- “I’m just an individual who doesn’t feel that I need to have somebody qualify my work in any particular way. I’m working for me.”
- “Once you lose that sense of wonder at being alive, you’re pretty much on the way out.”
- “You would think that a rock star being married to a supermodel would be one of the greatest things in the world. It is.”
- “Sometimes you stumble across a few chords that put you in a reflective place.”
- “Even though I was very shy, I found I could get onstage if I had a new identity.”
- “Make the best of every moment. We’re not evolving. We’re not going anywhere.”
- “Searching for music is like searching for God. They’re very similar.”
- “I’m a real self-educated kind of guy. I read voraciously. Every book I ever bought, I have. I can’t throw it away.”
- “Fame can take interesting men and thrust mediocrity upon them.”
- “If you feel safe in the area you’re working in, you’re not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you feel capable of being in.”
- “I find only freedom in the realms of eccentricity.”
- “Speak in extremes, it’ll save you time.”
- “There’s a terror in knowing what the world is about.”
- “I’m looking for backing for an unauthorized auto-biography that I am writing. Hopefully, this will sell in such huge numbers that I will be able to sue myself for an extraordinary amount of money.”
- “Music has given me over 40 years of extraordinary experiences. It’s been both my doorway of perception and the house that I live in.”
- “I had to resign myself, many years ago, that I’m not too articulate when it comes to explaining how I feel about things. But my music does it for me.”
- “I always thought I was intellectual about what I do, but I’ve come to the realisation that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing half the time.”
- “What I have is a malevolent curiosity. That’s what drives my need to write and what probably leads me to look at things a little askew.”
- “I don’t see any boundaries between any of the art forms. I think they all inter-relate completely.”
- “Confront a corpse at least once. The absolute absence of life is the most disturbing and challenging confrontation you will ever have.”
- “I’m not one of those guys that has a great worldview. I kind of deal with terror and fear and isolation and abandonment.”
- “That’s the shock: All cliches are true. The years really do speed by. Life really is as short as they tell you it is.”
- “Art was, seriously, the only thing I’d ever wanted to own. It has always been for me a stable nourishment. I use it.”
- “I change my mind a lot. I usually don’t agree with what I say very much. I’m an awful liar.”
- “What I like to do is try to make a difference with the work I do.”
- “I’m responsible for starting a whole new school of pretension.”
- “The Internet carries the flag of being subversive and possibly rebellious and chaotic, nihilistic.”
- “Growing up with my son is one of the greatest enjoyments that I have.”
- “I’ve always liked collecting something that nobody else knows about. I always liked everything until everybody else liked it.”
- “I guess it’s flattering that everyone believed I was those characters, but it also is dehumanizing.”
- “I couldn’t have written things like ‘Low’ and ‘Heroes,’ those particular albums, if it hadn’t have been for Berlin.”
- “Music itself is going to become like running water or electricity. So it’s like, just take advantage of these last few years because none of this is ever going to happen again.”
- “As an adolescent, I was painfully shy, withdrawn. I decided to do them in disguise so that I didn’t have to actually go through the humiliation of going on stage.”
- “I don’t crave applause. I’m not one of those guys who comes alive on stage. I’m much more alive at home.”
- “I’m in awe of the universe, but I don’t necessarily believe there’s an intelligence or agent behind it.”
- “There, in the chords and melodies, is everything I want to say. The words just jolly it along.”
- “I’m very good at what I do, and I don’t turn my hand to something unless I’m very good at it.”
- “If it’s not too loud, it’s not loud enough.”
- “I had no idea my sexuality would get so widely publicised. It was a very sort of off-the-cuff little remark.”
- “I’m an early riser. I get up between five and six, have coffee, and read for a couple of hours before everyone else gets up.”
- “I think fame itself is not a rewarding thing. The most you can say is that it gets you a seat in restaurants.”
Final Thoughts
David Bowie gave us more than just good things – he showed us how to embrace our different perspectives on life. From his debut album to his final recordings with Tony Visconti, his words challenged us to think deeper.
Unlike many pop singers who stayed in their pleasant place, Bowie constantly evolved. He turned terrible things into beautiful art, transformed youthful things into timeless wisdom, and helped a lot of kids feel less alone.
Beyond the sex symbol and rock star facades lived a thoughtful, family-oriented guy who understood real life’s complexities. His quotes, like his music, offer wisdom that resonates even more strongly in today’s social media age.
Whether dancing in red shoes on a Saturday night or contemplating life’s scary monsters, Bowie’s words remind us to stay curious and brave. He showed us that reinvention isn’t just for artists – it’s a gift we all possess.
These quotes stand as proof that David Bowie was more than a legendary singer – he was a guiding light for generations seeking their own truth.
David Bowie worked with many famous and talented guitar players. But was Bowie any good on guitar?
From Robert Fripp, to Adrian Belew, to Mick Ronson and Stevie Ray Vaughn, Bowie was known for recruiting guitar greats.
But in a recent article, I reveal just how much of a guitar virtuoso Bowie actually was and what well-known songs of his he actually plays on.
Just click that link to read it on my site.
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Bowie 2 by Stephen Luff is licensed under CC2.0