Portobello Belle and Quicksand

Comparing our two lyrically-favourite songs:

Dire Straits "Portobello Belle" 1979

Bella donna’s on the high street
Her breasts upon the off beat
And the stalls are just the side shows
Victoriana’s old clothes
And yes her jeans are tight now
She gotta travel light now
She’s gotta tear up all her roots now

She got a turn up on the boots now
Yeah she thinks she’s tough
She ain’t no english rose
But the blind singer
He’s seen enough and he knows
Yes and he do a song
About a long gone irish girl
Ah but I got one for you my portobello belle

She sees a man upon his back there
Escaping from a sack there
And bella donna lingers
Her gloves they got no fingers
Yeah, the blind man singing irish
He get his money in a tin dish
Just a corner serenader
Upon a time he could have made her, made her
Yeah, she thinks she’s tough
She ain’t no english rose
Ah, but the blind singer
He’s seen enough and he knows
Yes and do a song
About a long gone irish girl
But I got one for you my portobello belle

Yes and these barrow boys are hawking
And a parakeet is squawking
Upon a truck a paper rhino
She get the crying of a wino
And then she get the reggea rumble
Bella donna’s in the jungle
But she ain’t no garden flower
These ain’t no distress in the tower
Oh, bella donna walks
Bella donna taking a stroll
But, she don’t care about your window box
Or your button hole
Yes and she sing a song about a long gone irish girl
But I got one for you my portobello belle

David Bowie "Quicksand" 1971

I'm closer to the Golden Dawn
Immersed in Crowley's uniform
Of imagery
I'm living in a silent film
Portraying
Himmler's sacred realm
Of dream reality
I'm frightened by the total goal
Drawing to the ragged hole
And I ain't got the power anymore
No I ain't got the power anymore

I'm the twisted name
on Garbo's eyes
Living proof of
Churchill's lies
I'm destiny
I'm torn between the light and dark
Where others see their targets
Divine symmetry
Should I kiss the viper's fang?
Or herald loud
the death of Man
I'm sinking in the quicksand
of my thought
And I ain't got the power anymore

[CHORUS]
Don't believe in yourself
Don't deceive with belief
Knowledge comes
with death's release

I'm not a prophet
or a stone age man
Just a mortal
with the potential of a superman
I'm living on
I'm tethered to the logic
of Homo Sapien
Can't take my eyes
from the great salvation
Of bullshit faith
If I don't explain what you ought to know
You can tell me all about it
On the next Bardo
I'm sinking in the quicksand
of my thought
And I ain't got the power anymore

[CHORUS]

Note: both songs are from the 70's (albiet different ends of the 70's) and both are by British performers :-) Also I believe the riff-esque nature of the guitar in the Dire Straits song lends possibly from The Rolling Stones and perhaps even more heavily from Marc Bolan and T-Rex (another British Band) with their song called "Get It On" - which has a similar hammer-on. Incidentally "Get It On" was completely plagiarised by Oasis in their song "Cigarettes & Alcohol". Being in a stadium with 70,000 people going nuts over that one is interesting. It's a classic riff.

I first heard Bowie's "Quicksand" off the Hunky Dory album when I was 14, and being 14 thought "This is great - this guy understands!" I always felt older than everyone else and here was someone else singing about some of the things that I was thinking about.

"Quicksand" is very introverted and self centric, it shows confusion, searching, realizing how tiny we all are in the scheme of things, knowing that in this life we can't see The Truth, so wanting to escape from this life to discover The Truth. Portobello Belle is a voyeuristic third party observing human interactions from afar, probably written by someone on their second life (a Buddhist might say :-), and comments on age old sexual struggles and ageing that we all go through. The Dire Straits song is much more "male" than the Bowie number which is probably androgenous.

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Children should not be physically or emotionally bullied by over controlling parents. Treat others as you would wish to be treated. Do you wish to be placed in a box? No. Well then don't do it to others. That's pretty easy for anyone alive to follow.