Pushing through the market square So many mothers sighing News had just come over We had five years left to cry in News guy wept and told us Earth was really dying Cried so much his face was wet Then I knew he was not lying I heard telephones, opera house, favourite melodies I saw boys, toys, electric irons and TVs My brain hurt like a warehouse It had no room to spare I had to cram so many things To store everything in there And all the fat-skinny people And all the tall-short people And all the nobody people And all the somebody people I never thought I'd need so many people A girl my age went off her head Hit some tiny children If the black hadn't a-pulled her off I think she would have killed them A soldier with a broken arm Fixed his stare to the wheel of a Cadillac A cop knelt and kissed the feet of a priest And a queer threw up at the sight of that I think I saw you in an ice-cream parlour Drinking milk shakes cold and long Smiling and waving and looking so fine Don't think you knew you were in this song And it was cold and it rained, so I felt like an actor And I thought of Ma and I wanted to get back there Your face, your race, the way that you talk I kiss you, you're beautiful, I want you to walk We've got five years, stuck on my eyes We've got five years, what a surprise We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot We've got five years, that's all we've got
Pushing through the market square So many mothers sighing News had just come over We had five years left to cry in News guy wept and told us Earth was really dying Cried so much his face was wet Then I knew he was not lying I heard telephones, opera house, favourite melodies I saw boys, toys, electric irons and TVs My brain hurt like a warehouse It had no room to spare I had to cram so many things To store everything in there And all the fat-skinny people And all the tall-short people And all the nobody people And all the somebody people I never thought I'd need so many people A girl my age went off her head Hit some tiny children If the black hadn't a-pulled her off I think she would have killed them A soldier with a broken arm Fixed his stare to the wheel of a Cadillac A cop knelt and kissed the feet of a priest And a queer threw up at the sight of that I think I saw you in an ice-cream parlour Drinking milk shakes cold and long Smiling and waving and looking so fine Don't think you knew you were in this song And it was cold and it rained, so I felt like an actor And I thought of Ma and I wanted to get back there Your face, your race, the way that you talk I kiss you, you're beautiful, I want you to walk We've got five years, stuck on my eyes We've got five years, what a surprise We've got five years, my brain hurts a lot We've got five years, that's all we've got
"Five Years" foi gravada em novembro de 1971 nos famosos Trident Studios, em Londres, com a banda de apoio dos Spiders from Mars – Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder e Mick Woodmansey.
Como faixa de abertura de *The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars*, a canção estabelece o conceito do álbum: um desastre apocalíptico destruirá a Terra em cinco anos, sendo salvado por um alienígena rockstar, Ziggy Stardust.
O terceiro verso da música é narrado por Bowie próprio, que rompe a perspectiva infantil dos primeiros versos e dirige-se diretamente ao ouvinte, intensificando o drama da letra.
A produção contou com a colaboração de Bowie e do renomado produtor Ken Scott, que juntos criaram o crescendo gradual da faixa, culminando em um clímax com arranjos de cordas e o grito de Bowie ao cantar o título.
Desde o lançamento, críticos elogiaram especialmente a composição de Bowie e a bateria de Mick Woodmansey, levando a faixa a ser considerada uma das melhores canções de abertura de todos os tempos.
"Five Years" foi incluída em quase todas as turnês de Bowie, desde o período Ziggy Stardust até as turnês Isolar (1976), Stage (1978) e Reality (2003), demonstrando sua importância constante no repertório do artista.
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