David Bowie: China Girl Meaning

Song Released: 1983

China Girl Lyrics

Oh oh oh ohoo little china girl
Oh oh oh ohoo little china girl

I could escape this feeling, with my china girl
I feel a wreck without my, little china girl
I hear her heart beating, loud as thunder
Saw the stars crashing

Im a mess...

1. 1TOP RATED

   #1 top rated interpretation:
   anonymous

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   May 5th 2011 !⃝

   It's about addiction to heroin plain and simple.
2. anonymous

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   Nov 28th 2022 !⃝

   Yes. Thank you. I was trying so hard to tell people that it was in mockery of the Chinese accent. U love this post. Thank you for making my dreams come true.
3. anonymous

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   Aug 24th 2017 !⃝

   Whatever it means I like it because I have fallen in love with a China Girl recently, and I can't stop listening to it. Even in 2017. Timeless application of great talent and song.
4. anonymous

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   Dec 30th 2016 !⃝

   It is about how shallow people are to bring out fine glassware and pretend to be more than they really are to the outside world - illusions of grandness and false self righteousness
5. anonymous

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   Sep 5th 2014 !⃝

   "I stumble into town, just like a sacred cow. Visions of swastikas in my head. Plans for everyone."
   
   You shouldn't mess with me
   I'll ruin everything you are
   I'll give you television
   I'll give you eyes of blue
   I'll give you a man who wants to rule the world"
   
   The song is about white supremacy and Hitlers blond, blue eyed, master race invading China with their superior technology, intelligence, sexuality and aggression,to eventually dominate China and the world.
6. kooljohn176

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   Nov 12th 2013 !⃝

   Bowie in this song sings about china girl that he is in love with, but it can also be a metaphor for ''heroin'' wich can lead to destruction even in the western civilization if we don't attend to it with caution and care by sitting at a table and enjoying a pot of tea, otherwise it can find its way in the future that gets put back together on the shoulder of the men who wants to rule the world of ''oz the great and powerful''.
7. anonymous

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   Sep 21st 2013 !⃝

   "I'll give you you television. I'll give you eyes of blue. I'll give you a man that wants to rule the world!
   
   These lines prove that this in fact is a "love story". This makes no sense in an america-china point of view. Eyes of blue and a man that wants to rule the world isn't appealing for china concerning politics, is it?
   
   Both Bowie and Iggy have had affairs with asian women, and these lyrics claim that the common white man feels superior to the asian woman, though having a deep passion for her. "it's in the white of his eye".
   
   The chineese girl is benefiting from the realtionship materially and finds him attractive, but she is disgusted by his political opinions. "pig/nazi-reference" in video.
   
   This song was written by Bowie and Iggy. IF this song does in fact have a drug-referrance, it has multiple layers in an unique way. Anyhow, as a critique towards western view on own superiority, it is absolutely brilliant.
8. anonymous

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   Mar 8th 2013 !⃝

   Bowie explains the song in "VH1 Storytellers." You can buy it from iTunes. He and Iggy wrote it during their very inspired days in Berlin when themes veered towards the nihilistic.
   
   I'm not sure how anyone would interpret this as a simple love song, with lyrics like "visions of swastikas in my head; plans for everyone." And maybe the China White drug interpretation is a double meaning, but that's not what Bowie describes in "Storytellers."
   
   The MTV video for "China Girl" is a little dumb and seems to focus on a love story, but there are some brief allusions to Western ethnocentrism.
   
   If Iggy Pop has stated that the song is about drugs, could someone please cite a source? I couldn't find that.
   
   Whatever the hell it's about, it's got a great bass riff.
9. anonymous

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   Feb 23rd 2012 !⃝

   I don't want to be rude, but iggy has said many times what this song is about, and sincerely it is crystal clear to me: heroin.
10. anonymous

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    Jan 20th 2012 !⃝

    since it was written, or co-written, or whatever by Iggy Pop it definately might be about heroin addiction, China White if I had to guess, thats why he's so ecstatic about being with her and such a wreck without her (withdrawel" and him going back and forth saying how much he loves her and how he's going to destroy her could mean he wants to be clean, but keeps coming back because of how good it feels. Then when the China girl turns out to be controlling him all along it shows how strong his addiction really is. The Bowie version sounds very pop-glamy so its easy to see that being about a simple love song or breaking down reacial barriers or what have you. The Iggy Pop song is a little more menacing so my interpretation might be different just because im such an Iggy fan
11. anonymous

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    Sep 20th 2011 !⃝

    addiction to opium would be my guess as it came from China... there is no political meaning to this song!
12. anonymous

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    May 24th 2011 !⃝

    It's about addiction to heroin, he has said this in several interviews
13. anonymous

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    Apr 27th 2011 !⃝

    I wonder if first poster realises Bowie is English, and thus is unlikely to be singing about a bilateral agreement between US and China.
    The girl the song is about now works as Maitre 'd
    at one of Auckland, NZ's top restaurants.
14. anonymous

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    Apr 8th 2011 !⃝

    US wasn't very importing much chinese junk and china wasn't buying our junk paper when this song was written. Therefore the first interpretation of the lyrics is nonsense. Maybe Japan Girl. Or Saudi Arabian Oil Girl (With the Full Length Berka).
15. dallasmusiclover

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    Aug 1st 2010 !⃝

    According to David Bowie in the Storytellers interview it was written while the Berlin Wall was torn down. Europe does not have communism anymore, and China is one of the few countries left who practice communism. In the song he mentions to his little China Girl he will ruin everything you are. Basically he is saying he can take away her freedoms if he sends her back to China. It is a dark love song.
16. Surfer_Coyote

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    Nov 18th 2008 !⃝

    David Bowie and Iggy Pop co-wrote the song.

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