David Bowie – All The Madmen – RCA Records – 1972

All The Madmen

For Al, Gerard, Tony and all the rest of the three chord thrashers that remember this absolutely brilliant song ‘All The Madmen’ from ‘The Man Who Sold The World’ LP and to those folk who also remember the fanzine and record label, originally based in Yeovil, that was inspired and named after it later on in the decade. The record label that released wonderful material by bands like The Mob, The Astronauts, Flowers In The Dustbin etc.

This whole LP was recorded in 1970 but released after Bowie’s fame went global in 1972 by those nice people at RCA.

I have not uploaded the whole of this LP due to heavyweight copyright pressure which no doubt to come soon…Don’t blame me if you get a writ Tony…I never saw nuttin’ guv…!

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

Day after day
They tell me I can go
They tell me I can blow
To the far side of town
Where its pointless to be high
Cause its such a long way down

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?

Dont set me free, I’m as heavy as can be
Just my librium and me
And my E.S.T. makes three

Cause 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

(Where can the horizon lie
When a nation hides
Its organic minds
In a cellar…dark and grim
They must be very dim)

Day after day
They take some brain away
Then turn my face around
To the far side of town
And tell me that its real
Then ask me how I feel

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 libidos split on me
Gimme some good ole lobotomy

Cause 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

Zane, zane, zane
Ouvre le chien
Zane, zane, zane
Ouvre le chien
Zane, zane, zane (ah ah ah)