Candidate

David Bowie's 'Candidate' is a vivid, surreal exploration of societal decay and personal disillusionment. The song opens with a deal, likening the narrator to a political candidate, suggesting a facade or performance. This sets the stage for a journey through a metaphorical landscape where the future is uncertain and precarious. The 'set' that 'smells like a street' and the bar at the end create a sense of artificiality, hinting at the constructed nature of social interactions and the superficiality of public personas.

The lyrics delve into the darker aspects of human nature and society. References to 'poisonous people' spreading 'rumours and lies' evoke a world rife with deceit and manipulation. The mention of 'les tricoteuses,' women who knitted at public executions during the French Revolution, adds a historical layer of bloodlust and scandal. This imagery paints a picture of a society obsessed with sensationalism and the macabre, where even the most grotesque events become fodder for gossip and entertainment.

Bowie's mention of 'bullet proof faces' and figures like Charles Manson and Cassius Clay (Muhammad Ali) further underscores the theme of constructed identities and the commodification of infamy and heroism. The song's narrative weaves through various vignettes of urban life, from shops selling papier-mâché masks to the seedy underbelly of drug use and fleeting relationships. The closing lines, with their imagery of cruising, drug use, and a final act of jumping into a river, suggest a desperate search for meaning and connection in a fragmented world. 'Candidate' is a haunting reflection on the human condition, capturing the tension between appearance and reality, and the relentless pursuit of something genuine in a world of facades.