Kooks

Song written by David Bowie to his newborn son Duncan Jones.

David Bowie version

Bowie recorded the song on his 1971 album ‘Hunky Dory’. It was a pastiche of early Seventies Neil Young, as he was listening to a Neil Young record at home as he got the news of the arrival of his son.

Kim Wilde version

Kim Wilde recorded a cover of ‘Kooks’ for her 2011 album Snapshots as a duet with her husband Hal Fowler.

Versions

There are two versions of ‘Kooks’: the album version and the rough demo mix from the promotional cd of ‘Snapshots’.

Kim about ‘Kooks’

In 1971 I was 11 years old, and one of the best things about my life at that time was my parents’ record collection. There’s amazing albums in there, I mean my mum had all the really iconic women like Joni Mitchell, Carole King, Aretha Franklin, Dusty Springfield and then my father, you know he had all the rock ‘n’ roll stuff, of course, he had quite a lot of classical music, he had things like ‘Tommy’, which would go on to become a very important album for me, and one of the albums I loved most of all was ‘Hunky Dory’ by David Bowie. I used to really love every song on that, especially ‘Life on Mars’, which was so incredible. An incredible song that really got my imagination going as an 11-year-old. But one of the songs on the album’s called ‘Kooks’. I was really touched by that song because it was a song that Bowie had written for his son. Bowie didn’t look like the kind of guy that would be writing lullabies to children at the time. But for me, I really connected with the song very strongly, so for the ‘Snapshots’ album I thought ‘Wouldn’t it be great to do that with my husband Hal’, my husband has got a beautiful voice, and he sings all the time in the West End, We hadn’t sung together ever, to be recorded that is, we sung together at home but not recorded together. So it was a really special day, I’m really chuffed he’s on the album but not as chuffed as he is, he’s over the moon about it. Which is really sweet. So you know, maybe we should do some more! (1)

Credits

Bass guitar: Ricky Wilde
Guitars: Ricky Wilde
Keyboards: Ricky Wilde
Additional vocals by Kim Wilde & Hal Fowler
Produced by Ricky Wilde
Vocal production by Ricky Wilde

Interview source

(1) Track by track commentary, Sony Music, 2011.


Lyrics

Will you stay in our Lovers’ Story
If you stay you won’t be sorry
‘Cause we believe in you
Soon you’ll grow so take a chance
With a couple of Kooks
Hung up on romancing

Will you stay in our Lovers’ Story
If you stay you won’t be sorry
‘Cause we believe in you
Soon you’ll grow so take a chance
With a couple of Kooks
Hung up on romancing

We bought a lot of things to keep you warm and dry
And a funny old crib on which the paint won’t dry
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
‘Cause if you stay with us you’re gonna be pretty Kookie too

Will you stay in my Lovers’ Story
If you stay you won’t be sorry
‘Cause we believe in you
Soon you’ll grow so take a chance
With a couple of Kooks
Hung up on romancing

And if you ever have to go to school
Remember how they messed up this old fool
Don’t pick fights with the bullies or the cads
‘Cause I’m not much cop at punching
other people’s dads
And if the homework brings you down
Then we’ll throw it on the fire
And take the car downtown

Will you stay in our Lovers’ Story
If you stay you won’t be sorry
‘Cause we believe in you
Soon you’ll grow so take a chance
With a couple of Kooks
Hung up on romancing

Will you stay in our Lovers’ Story
If you stay you won’t be sorry
‘Cause we believe in you
Soon you’ll grow so take a chance
With a couple of Kooks
Hung up on romancing