The original lyric sheet for David Bowie’s “Starman” is going up for auction in Los Angeles next month, and – bonus – it’s a first draft, with earlier variations on the iconic 1972 song’s verses.
For example, the eventual line “Some cat was layin’ down some get it on rock ‘n’ roll, he said” originally went, “Some cat was layin down some rock ‘n’ roll, ‘lotta soul, he said.” And by the time Bowie recorded the song for the Ziggy Stardust And The Spiders From Mars album, the line “Came back on a wave of phase” had become “Came back like a slow voice on a wave of phase haze.”
You get the idea. The lyric sheet is expected to go for between $4,000 and $6,000 when it’s sold in Julien’s “Icons and Idols: Rock ‘n’ Roll” auction on November 4. You can check out the full catalogue – which also includes Rod Stewart’s banjo, Jimi Hendrix’s necklace, a check signed by George Harrison, and Frank Zappa’s stuffed poodle – here, and use this as an excuse to enjoy the final version of the song below:
[h/t NME]