‘Kooks’: inside David Bowie’s endearing manifesto for non-conformity
‘Kooks’ may not be one of David Bowie‘s most popular or well-known tracks, but for many of his fans and those captivated by his outsider personas, it best reflects who he was as a person and visionary. Written for his son, ‘Kooks’ recognises otherness as beauty and celebrates what it means to be different, encouraging listeners to embrace their ‘kookiness’ with pride.
“I bought you a pair of shoes, a trumpet you can blow and a book of rules on what to say to people when they pick on you,” sings Bowie. “‘Cause if you stay with us, you’re gonna be pretty kooky too.” Given the nature of the song and its genesis, the affectionate and whimsical playfulness it evokes makes it one of Hunky Dory‘s standout tracks, offering a glimpse into Bowie’s position on personal and individualistic identity.
Writing the song under the warming light of newfound parenthood, Bowie channels his sentimentality into the track, encouraging the embracing of eccentricity. Although the song, with its jaunty piano melody and Bowie’s invitingly warm vocals, creates a warm and cosy atmosphere, its message reverberates his entire legacy, emphasising that uniqueness is something to hold dearly.
The song also seems to poke fun at those who appreciate Bowie’s music and artistry, offering a warning against letting yourself in too much while providing an invitation into his non-conformist world. All of this appears neatly packaged under the guise of the style of early 1970s Neil Young.
“The baby was born, and it looked like me, and it looked like Angie,” Bowie said. “The song came out like, ‘If you’re going to stay with us, then you are going to grow up bananas.'”
In Bowie’s view, being an outsider is something to cherish, but it’s also a life best lived without the anachronistic mindset of taking the world down with you; in other words, you can be a ‘kook’ and celebrate the fact without getting into trouble. “Don’t pick fights with the bullies or the cads / ‘Cause I’m not much cop at punching other people’s dads,” Bowie sings, “And if the homework brings you down / Then we’ll throw it on the fire and take the car downtown.”
Alongside Bowie’s overt extraction of innate ‘kookiness’, he also taps into a number of very real experiences of new parents, including how parents often navigate relationship changes and the ways this change can yield both serious and amusing associations, including buying too many clothes and products. However, he also frames uniqueness in a childlike light, recognising the fact we’re all kooks with flaws.
In ‘Kooks’, being ‘strange’ can be a wonderful thing even if it’s not perfect. There’s also something inherently comedic about the fact that, no matter what you do, if you stick around eccentricity, it’s only inevitable that that’s what you become, too, for better or worse. “Soon you’ll grow, but take a chance,” Bowie sings, opening his world to the possibility that his child might love their odd and endearing world enough to stick around.
