Closing Time | Panic in Detroit

Als u dacht dat de wereld nu op springen staat, moet u even terugspoelen naar eind jaren zestig, toen rassenrellen en militante groeperingen als de Weather Underground en de Black Panther Party de VS op deden schrikken.

Tegenwoordig denken we bij de jaren zestig vooral aan Flower Power en de preken van Martin Luther King, maar dat is dus een eenzijdig beeld.

‘Panic in Detroit’ verscheen in 1973, op Bowie’s album Alladin Sane. Op gitaar ziet u Adrian Belew (Zappa, Talking Heads, King Crimson).

He looked a lot like Che Guevara,
drove a diesel van;
Kept his gun in quiet seclusion,
such a humble man!
The only survivor of the National People’s Gang

Panic in Detroit
I asked for an autograph;
He wanted to stay home,
I wish someone would phone

Panic in Detroit!

He laughed at accidental sirens that broke the evening gloom;
The police had warned of repercussions
They followed none too soon:
A trickle of strangers were all that were left alive

Panic in Detroit
I asked for an autograph
He wanted to stay home,
I wish someone would phone

Panic in Detroit!

Putting on some clothes I made my way to school
And I found my teacher
crouching in his overalls

I screamed and ran to smash my favorite slot machine
And jumped the silent cars that slept at traffic lights

Having scored a trillion dollars
I made a run back home;
Found him slumped across the table,
a gun and me alone;
I ran to the window. Looked for a plane or two

Panic in Detroit
He’d left me an autograph
“Let me collect dust.”
I wish someone would phone