Rock & Roll History

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Velvet Goldmine, original title, "He's a Goldmine", is the name of a song by David Bowie that was recorded for his album, The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars, but wasn't put on the final version of the album because as even Bowie admitted, "the lyrics were a little bit too provocative."

Velvet Goldmine

You got crazy legs, you got amazing head
You got rings on your fingers and your hair's hot red
You got wit from my tongue, your name on the sun
I clutch you close to my breast
Cause you're the only one, who uses school to pleasure

You make me act real gone, you make me crawl along
I had to ravish your capsule, suck you dry
Feel the teeth in your bones, heal your head with my own
Why if I don't have you home, we'll have to fight alone
Hang all together

Velvet Goldmine, you stroke me like the rain
Snake it, take it, panther princess you must stay
Velvet Goldmine, naked on your chain
I'll be your king volcano ride for you again and again
My Velvet Goldmine

You're my taste, my trip, I'll be your master zip
I'll suck your hair for kicks, you'll make me jump to my feet
So you'll give me your hand, give me your sound
Let my sea wash your face, I'm falling, I can't stand
Oooh! clutch your make up

Velvet Goldmine, you stroke me like the rain
Snake it, take it, panther princess you must stay
Velvet Goldmine, naked on your chain
I'll be your king volcano ride for you again and again
My Velvet Goldmine

Oh, shoot you down, bang bang

Velvet Goldmine, you stroke me like the rain
Snake it, take it, panther princess you must stay
Velvet Goldmine, naked on your chain
I'll be your king volcano ride for you again and again
My Velvet Goldmine

Velvet Goldmine, Velvet Goldmine, my Velvet Goldmine
Velvet Goldmine, Velvet Goldmine

(It was later issued as a flip side of a re-release of Space Oddity and then on a 1990 Rykodisc re-release of Ziggy Stardust.)

Todd Haynes had planned to use Bowie's music for his film but after reading the script, Bowie refused permission because he claimed to have his own Ziggy film planned. However, Todd says that the title was too good not to use. Because titles cannot be copyrighted, nothing prevented him from calling his film Velvet Goldmine.