@josbar2835

3 years ago

My father (past tense) was both a poet and an English Professor and I learned to appreciate songs with lyrics that could stand apart from the music as worthy poems/stories. Ricochet has always captured my attention because of the image it paints. Bowie was definitely telling a story with this song, but I am not certain what it is. My latest guess is that this song refers to the Holocaust victims: "Like weeds on a rock face waiting for the scythe": These people are in a dismal, stagnant environment and the only escape is death, which seems inevitable. "Men wait for news while thousands are still asleep, dreaming of tram lines, factories, pieces of machinery, mine shafts, things like that.": These people are hoping to hear when the situation will change, when they might be rescued, while their sleep is filled with nightmares about their current situation. "March of Flowers, March of Dimes (charities), these are the prisons, these are the crimes.": There have been calls for people to help save the Russian Jews, whose only "crime" was being born Jewish. They are kept in concentration camps, which are indeed prisons. "Early, before the Sun, they struggle off to the gates. In their secret, fearful places, they see their lives unraveling before them" Are they made to get up and engage in labor that is inhumane, to the point where they ask how much longer they can survive? "Turn the holy pictures so they face the wall." Are the Jewish families having to hide any religious images in their homes to avoid further repercussions? "Sound of thunder, sound of gold, sound of the devil breaking parole, Ricochet, it's not the end of the world." Are these references to actual war, or people being shot; the secret gold bars possessed by the Nazi captors? Was "the devil breaking parole" a reference to Hitler's war crimes? And with World War II going on, his reign surely could not last forever (it's not the end of the world). "but when they get home, damp-eyed and weary, they smile and clutch their children to their eager breast, making unfulfillable promises, for who can bear to be forgotten?" Imagine what the captive parents would tell their children every night to keep their hopes up? Anything they could think of. And of course the children would never forget their parents (for who can bear to be forgotten). There is also a famous quote:"Those who forget history are destined to repeat it." We never want this to happen ever again. What a hauntingly, touching image Bowie paints. This is my interpretation of Ricochet. Does anyone else care to weigh in? I appreciate any feedback.

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