The children of the Silent Generation are notably characterized by:ġ) their luckiness (as most of them were too young to fight in World War II before it ended, and instead grew up to be welcomed by a booming economy)Ģ) their “silence” and submissiveness when faced by political issues such as McCarthy’s Red Scare.
More specifically, the song refers to Americans born into the Silent Generation (mid 1920s – early 1940s Bowie was born shortly after this generation). Bowie explored such themes in other songs like “The Supermen”, “Quicksand”, “Oh! You Pretty Things”, “Cygnet Committee”, “Ziggy Stardust”, “Starman”, and “The Width of a Circle”, amongst many others. Such a character may have been the opposite of what Bowie sought to be, finding no meaning in life, never acting out, and never considering rebellion Bowie, a fan of Nietzsche’s philosophies, believed in progressing humanity and achieving greatness while maintaining unique morals (as opposed to, say, dying as a nameless and spineless Average Joe).
The fourth track off the second album belonging to Bowie’s Berlin Trilogy, “Sons of the Silent Age” calls to mind passive, submissive, bland, blasé, and average characters as often represented in literature such as the citizens of George Orwell’s 1984.
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