Analyzing The Song 'The Man Who Sold The World'

The Man Who Sold the World: David Bowie and Nirvana Musicians, both amateur and professional, often “cover” other musicians’ work, usually making subtle changes in the piece in order to create a slightly altered version of the original, producing a cover song. One song, for example, is artist David Bowie’s “The Man Who Sold the World”, which was famously covered by the band Nirvana. David Bowie’s original song provides a theme of self-realization and “selling out”, as the speaker of the song finds an old friend of which the speaker believes to have died a long time ago. Commonly believed that the old friend is indeed the speaker’s former self, the old friend replies,” Oh no, not me, I never lost control” in a sarcastic tone, implying self doubt and denial, especially as how this is replaced by,” Who knows? Not me, I never lost control” in a later chorus. The old friend then states that he is,” The Man Who Sold The World”, as in sold his world, meaning that he had lost everything. The speaker laughs off the meeting and continues to travel around the world, watching the millions around him, concluding that they had also died a long time ago, referring to his earlier belief of his former self’s death, implying everyone had sold their world. Bowie then delivers his comment as everybody sells out, by compromising their ideals for
Nirvana’s cover of the song provides different set of instrumentals, such as removing the guiro and claves, replacing the organ with a cello, and altering a few notes on the main instruments, as well as creating a slightly