David Bowie's View Outside the Box
The epitome of the cool music chameleon who loved to create
Stunning visuals with lyrics that told us about Major Tom
His trials and travails that led ultimately to his demise
He was born David Robert Jones on January 8, 1947
A conventional name for a performer who was anything but
Changed his professional name to stand out more
Always seemed to radiate a certain type of presence
Even when he wasn't trying to be anything but himself
Had a few auspicious starts in his musical career
Went through multiple different groups and styles that went nowhere
Became a monster success with the Ziggy Stardust persona
Lived and breathed life as the Stardust character
Until it became too much and retired it in spectacular onstage fashion
Moved onto the plastic soul phase and the Thin White Duke
Commercial success in the 1980s and MTV heavy rotation
Gave him mountains of money, but left him without any passion
For the profession that made him famous
Took a step back and joined the band Tin Machine with mixed results
Returned to solo work after a few years with renewed vigor
Realized that it was best to be passionate about your work
Not catering to the Top 40 masses who liked everything a certain way
A touch of average with the right backbeat to it
After multiple attempts in the 1990s to shake up his image
Bowie became an elder statesmen in the music business
Health setbacks led him to become more of a mystery
Led to a musical comeback of sorts that provided an enigma
Since Bowie stopped giving interviews of any kind
Decided to let his music and videos speak for themselves
He was done trying to sell himself in order to sell records
The approach worked and his last two albums were a success
His death in 2016 to cancer was shocking and sad
Though his songs will live on whenever you turn on the radio
Taking you back to a place where times were happier
Moments in your youth where innocence reigned supreme
Allowed you to be an individual who could live and create
Outside the normal parameters of professionalism
It didn't have to follow any sort of pattern as long as it worked
Risk and comfort were concepts that never went hand in hand
Bowie knew that and always chose to take risks instead of the safe route
Time to follow suit as a tribute of sorts.
