Many of David Bowie’s lyrics are opaque, but Eight Line Poem does not even merit a title that gives a clue to its meaning. Maybe there is no literal interpretation, but for me, this poem is about life in the city and the growing urbanisation of modern life.
Here’s the actual lyrics to Eight Line Poem:
The tactful cactus by your window
Surveys the prairie of your room
The mobile spins to it’s collision
Clara puts her head between her paws
They’ve opened shops, down on the Westside
Will all the cacti find a home?
But the key to the city is in the sun
That pins the branches to the sky
And here’s my personal, less poetic interpretation, which runs to just seven lines …
An empty room, with a plant on the windowsill
The sound of a car crash in the distance
My cat, oblivious, puts her head between her paws
The city is becoming more about commerce
There’s less room for the city dwellers to live their lives
But the heart of the city is still
The life within it.
I really love Eight Line Poem. I don’t know of any other popular artist other than David Bowie who could have pulled it off. Tucked in between the twin classics of “Oh! You Pretty Things” and “Life on Mars”, Bowie’s exaggerated country crooning of “Will all the cactii find a home?” against Mike Ronson’s restrained but soulful guitar really is a unique and succinct contribution to probably Bowie’s best album, Hunky Dory.
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The tactful cactus by your window
(I am the cactus)
Surveys the prairie of your room
(I am looking for Clara, the girl I love)
The mobile spins to it’s collision
(I see her)
Clara puts her head between her paws
(She tries to avoid my initial reach)
They’ve opened shops, down on the Westside
(Her heart opens for a second)
Will all the cacti find a home?
(Will I be able to be her eternal lover)
But the key to the city is in the sun
(Fate will decide)
That pins the branches to the sky
(If I will forever hold my arms around her)
That is what I want this song to mean.
Well I think the Cactus can be seen as a metaphor for D. himself, being a somewhat sensitive guy looking at the world from a distance protecting himself with his thorns. Is he going to survive in the crazy and dangerous city? What I find most admirable about Bowie is that he went from the fearful, sensitive "london boys" guy to the outrageous Ziggy/Alladin character in order to show the world who he was. In many ways, I prefer the humane "London Boys" guy, but I feel Bowie has managed to keep this person alive underneath his other more aggressive personas.
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