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Anna Ternheim — China Girl
Album: Shoreline EP
Avg rating:
4.8

Your rating:
Total ratings: 150









Released: 0
Length: 3:48
Plays (last 30 days): 0
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I could escape this feeling with my China girl
I feel a wreck without my little China girl
I hear her heart beating loud as thunder
Saw the stars crashing

I'm a mess without my little China girl
Wake up in the morning, where's my little China girl
I hear her heart's beating loud as thunder
I saw the stars crashing down

I feel tragic like I'm Marlon Brando
When I look at my China girl
I could pretend nothing really meant too much
When I look at my China girl

I stumble into town
Just like a sacred cow
Visions of swastikas in my head
Plans for everyone
It's in the white of my eyes

My little China girl
You shouldn't mess with me
I'll ruin everything you are
You know it
I'll give you television
I'll give you eyes of blue
I'll give you a man who wants to rule the world

And when I get excited
My little China girl says,
"Oh baby just you shut your mouth."
She says, "Sh."
She says, "Sh."
She says
She says

And when I get excited
My little China girl says,
"Oh baby just you shut your mouth."

And when I get excited
My little China girl says,
"Oh baby just you shut your mouth."

She says, "Sh."
She says, "Sh."
Comments (63)add comment

David Bowie - "China Girl" Live at Olympia, Paris (2002):
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Eg0t136R8Gg

David Bowie
Live at Olympia, Paris
1 July, 2002

"Bowie is timeless...damn he started in the 60's,but he was great all the time. Even now."

 


Posted 14 years ago by calypsus_1    [ Reply ]
stevo_b wrote:
Terrible album cover.....
Actually, I love it. Trying to get why some people find this disturbing I can only presume that since it's so easy to get a gun in America you could even be afraid of a sweet little girl playing with a toy. Or do you think girls shouldn't be playing with "boy toys"?
Posted 17 years ago by coentje    [ Reply ]
catmaven wrote:
Let's just not listen to songs that have "Girl" in the title, whether preceded by an adjective or not. That should take care of it.
Yeah, but does it matter if the tracks are performed by guys or not? What about "Material Girl"? Or "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun"? "Nasty Girl"? (Vanity 6, ) I could go on for a while.
Posted 18 years ago by jah_blessed    [ Reply ]
Though I agree with most of the negative comments below, I must emphasize another aspect: the lyrics. I see no purpose in songs that refer to adult females as girls, and the "China" adjective has to be offensive on two counts: the dated adjective is now used just for dishware, and pigeonholing the person by her ethnic group can only serve to diminish and denigrate. I resent "Cinnamon Girl" on similar grounds. Let's just not listen to songs that have "Girl" in the title, whether preceded by an adjective or not. That should take care of it.
Posted 18 years ago by rKokon    [ Reply ]
Don't you love the rating distribution graph for this track? (I'm with the flock who gave it a 1. I'm so unoriginal.)
Posted 18 years ago by jah_blessed    [ Reply ]
bschena wrote:
...hated the original. now i have a new version to hate too. though, odddly, i hate this one less.
Just about sums it up, except I don't actually hate this version. A 4.
Posted 18 years ago by algrif    [ Reply ]
Music, schmusic...I can't get past the awful photo on the cover of the CD. There ought to be a parental advisory warning for that!
Posted 18 years ago by meloman    [ Reply ]
FlatCat wrote:
How interesting that so many people hate this. By all rights, I should too, for all the reasons everyone lists. And yet somehow the smokey atmospherics are beguiling and I enjoy it.
I like the atmosphere, too - but not enough to like the song as a whole. It falls horribly flat, IMO.
Posted 18 years ago by winter    [ Reply ]
You people who are dissing this are nuts. It's beautiful. Though I love Bowie, you can actually hear the lyrics in this version, which is an improvement.
Posted 18 years ago by donutsprinkles    [ Reply ]
Anna gets points for balls for actually attempting a cover of this. Specifically, 2 points. ...hated the original. now i have a new version to hate too. though, odddly, i hate this one less.
Posted 18 years ago by bschena    [ Reply ]
Great and unusual version.
Posted 18 years ago by Jovica    [ Reply ]
It's not that I don't like it, but it just sounds so....strange... Really like Bowie's China Girl much better.
Posted 18 years ago by meadowwoods    [ Reply ]
I really really love this.
Posted 18 years ago by MrKite    [ Reply ]
How interesting that so many people hate this. By all rights, I should too, for all the reasons everyone lists. And yet somehow the smokey atmospherics are beguiling and I enjoy it.
Posted 18 years ago by FlatCat    [ Reply ]
Wow. I logged in, just so I could reduce my rating on this from a 2 to a 1...
Posted 18 years ago by Beanie    [ Reply ]
It's as if the original was boiled during two hours to kill all the life out of it, and then the resulting sludge was sieved and filtered to keep only the lyrics and some vague hints of the melody.
Posted 18 years ago by DrLex    [ Reply ]
I beg to disagree with most other comments. This song does perfectly well what all covers should do: discover something in a song that the "original" version missed. It's an intelligent move to underline the poetry and sentiment in Bowie's work. After all, sentiment (this cover) and melodrama (the original), are not that different ...
Posted 18 years ago by federico    [ Reply ]
This is just wrong.">
Posted 18 years ago by Stella    [ Reply ]
Make it stop!!!
Posted 18 years ago by KateD    [ Reply ]
This is atrocious!
Posted 18 years ago by jadewahoo    [ Reply ]
Fluffy, sleep-inducing... this woman has taken all the power out of this song and turned it into a vaguely petulant sigh.
Posted 18 years ago by turnergirl1of2    [ Reply ]
Hey! Since when did they let Yoko back into the recording studio?!! Someone must pay!
Posted 18 years ago by Mugro    [ Reply ]
Sick!
Posted 18 years ago by Herzan    [ Reply ]
Blah! Bill is tenacious, or more generously, aware that there is a wide spectrum to the RP audience, and so continues to play this song which avoids, just barely, being my first "1".
Posted 18 years ago by ScottN    [ Reply ]
What an incredible melody. But the song overshadows this singer. I'd like to hear the Bowie version please.
Posted 18 years ago by gtm256    [ Reply ]
I like it! Reminds me of Stina Nordenstam and her cover of "Purple Rain".
Posted 18 years ago by spaceman    [ Reply ]
Posted 18 years ago by Constantine    [ Reply ]
I'm not against covers, and rarely think any song should "never be covered" - even Bowie. Heck I usually like covers that vary from the original. But this is just bad. Ick. Awful. I don't rate very much music this low, but this is just a nasal whine away from a Placebo like 1. Excuse me, I have to go find the original just to get this out of my mind... Nevermind, more good stuff from Bill now.
Posted 18 years ago by islander    [ Reply ]
what a boring rendition...
Posted 18 years ago by tupicetti    [ Reply ]
Better than the original . . . not that that's much of an accomplishment.
Posted 18 years ago by Baby_M    [ Reply ]
What a pointless exercise.
Posted 18 years ago by Essbee    [ Reply ]
This is a travesty.
Posted 18 years ago by Squirrel    [ Reply ]
Holy heck, none of you have heard of "the music of Wing"? all all her songs are like this, except off key... c'mon Bill, Play Wing!
Posted 19 years ago by Paco3000    [ Reply ]
I think I could like this if sung by Emiliana Torrini accompinied by a m'bira. But as is it's lifeless.
Posted 19 years ago by randomprime    [ Reply ]
This song rivals Edie Brickell's cover of Hard Rain's a Gonna Fall as......awful...IMO
Posted 19 years ago by ScottN    [ Reply ]
Posted 19 years ago by Daveinbawlmer    [ Reply ]
serendipity_blue wrote:
Wow, she sucked all of the feeling out of this song.
I was wondering why I didn't much care for this. I think you've hit on my exact sentiment.
Posted 19 years ago by lester    [ Reply ]
I'm astonished at the comments and ratings this received. I first heard her sing it at a concert in Rotterdam and was completely captivated. This has it all for me and I reckon she's a true artist - I guess they're always the people who divide opinion. For me she stands out like a tap in the desert Oh and I actually also really like the artwork - it reminds me of Pixies artwork
Posted 19 years ago by MrKite    [ Reply ]
A refreshingly different rendition. On 2nd listen, still a 7 from me
Posted 19 years ago by maLeFunKtion    [ Reply ]
Terrible.
Posted 19 years ago by jah_blessed    [ Reply ]
For what reason?
Posted 19 years ago by ArbiterOfGoodTaste    [ Reply ]
serendipity_blue wrote:
Wow, she sucked all of the feeling out of this song.
Couldn't agree more. (Well, I guess I could, but I don't. I agree precisely to this exact extent.)
Posted 19 years ago by winter    [ Reply ]
OK, maybe I'm still reacting to how much I hated the Bowie version of this song...but I'm not liking this. Maybe I'll need to give it more than one listen. I'll withhold judgement for a bit, perhaps. And the cover art is disturbing at best.
Posted 19 years ago by Beanie    [ Reply ]
I'm so glad that the site is back up and running, so that I can loudly protest this song. Truly awful cover(s), IMO.
Posted 19 years ago by orionblu    [ Reply ]
wow. neat. different.
Posted 19 years ago by ChardRemains    [ Reply ]
Wow, she sucked all of the feeling out of this song.
Posted 19 years ago by serendipity_blue    [ Reply ]
I want to like this, but I just can't seem to. There's something about it that I don't care for, but I can't put my finger on it.
Posted 19 years ago by embo    [ Reply ]
I wonder how many people know, that although David Bowie wrote the lyrics, the first rendition of this song wasn't by Bowie, but by Iggy Pop on the album The Idiot, which was produced by Bowie...
Posted 19 years ago by MM_Prague    [ Reply ]
Couldn't agree with you more. stevo_b wrote:
Terrible album cover.....
Posted 19 years ago by Jacksonstat    [ Reply ]
Oh lord, at first listen, I thought this was the music of "WING" lol https://www.wingmusic.co.nz/index.html
Posted 19 years ago by Paco3000    [ Reply ]
This earns my first-ever RP "1" rating. Liked Bowie's version in the 80's, still OK today, but this hurts.
Posted 19 years ago by Bobcat    [ Reply ]
I shouldn't like it........but I do. Strangely compelling.
Posted 19 years ago by Mangle    [ Reply ]
i heart bowie and i love this cover! RP is really making me happy this wednesday afternoon. I just got back from NYC and don't hate being in my office.
Posted 19 years ago by mrrmt    [ Reply ]
Terrible album cover.....
Posted 19 years ago by stevo_b    [ Reply ]
Okay, not bad, not bad. It's almost holy matter to me to hear cover of this , but i think this one might make it. Have to digest it some more though... :-k brgds, "Fifi"
Posted 19 years ago by hujoppi    [ Reply ]
A STARTLING YET VERY GENTLE VOICE.MUST LISTEN TO THE LYRICS AGAIN
Posted 19 years ago by liamfm    [ Reply ]
Dave_Mack wrote:
Ick. I don't like the original version (dumb words and borderline offensive faux-Asian accompaniment) and I don't like this one.
lighten up
Posted 19 years ago by RiverCityRansom    [ Reply ]
I like it.
Posted 19 years ago by mrselfdestruct    [ Reply ]
Not a bad version of this song...course I am a fan of Anna Ternheim
Posted 19 years ago by Shesdifferent    [ Reply ]
Ick. I don't like the original version (dumb words and borderline offensive faux-Asian accompaniment) and I don't like this one.
Posted 19 years ago by Dave_Mack    [ Reply ]
It was the first "loud as thunder" that caught my ear and made me look at the playlist. Can't rate it yet. Need a few more listens.
Posted 19 years ago by AliGator    [ Reply ]
Call me mean names, but I don't really like Bowie's version of this song, so I find this a welcome variant.
Posted 19 years ago by Vogelfrei    [ Reply ]
A lot of first time tunes today. And just dawned on me, a cover of Bowie's China Girl. Works for me!
Posted 19 years ago by Faithful_Fool    [ Reply ]