THE TRUTH ABOUT DAVID BOWIE'S "JEAN GENIE"

This article was compiled on 26th May 1990 (dictionary notes) and 21st & 27th July 1992.

It was first issued in October 1992 (135 copies). And, then again in June 1993.

"'The Jean Genie' was recorded on the road, as he made use of RCA recording facilities in New York, Los Angeles and Nashville before approving the master for pre-Christmas release. It's a strange and likeable amalgam of musical influences ranging from Bo Diddley guitar licks to Lou Reed style lyrics. Bowie has always laughed at critics' interpretations of this song's meaning, especially those that bring in the name of french writer Jean Genet. In the past, David had usually been willing to help the press dissect his songs, but now he was enjoying their guessing games."
(From: 'DAVID BOWIE: A Biography in Words & Pictures' by Ed Kelleher; Sire-Chapell 1977)

The myth about David Bowie's "Jean Genie" is that it is a song about Jean Genet, or it is a song about Iggy Pop, or possibly partly about Genet and partly about Iggy. The idea that it is about Jean Genet must be largely down to the title. The idea that it is about Iggy Pop may in my view be partially correct in that some of the lyrics could be inspired by him - when questioned about this by disc jockey Nicky Campbell on Radio One in 1990 this is what Iggy also stated as his view on the matter.
After a careful look through the lyrics - consulting dictionaries - it is clear to me that most of the song's lyrics do not obviously relate to Pop or Genet any more than they relate to any other specific individual.
What I have found is that the song - more than anything else - describes an alien being, and I will in this report explain why this is so.

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word 'genie' was adopted by the french translators of the Arabian Nights from the Arab word 'Jinnee' - meaning "One of the sprites or goblins of Arabian demonology" - as the rendering which it "..resembled in sound and in sense." In english 'genie' has been commonly used in the singular and 'genii' in the plural. Amongst examples quoted by the OED is this from Smollett, 1748:
"If the plot... had been whispered by a genie, communicated by a dream, or revealed by an angel from on high."
Chambers 20th century dictionary gives under 'genie' - a jinnee (see jinn), which is defined as:
"..a class of spirits in Muslim mythology, formed of fire, living chiefly on the mountains of Kaf which encircle the world, assuming various shapes, sometimes as men of enormous size and portentous hideousness."
Meanwhile, Collins English Dictionary gives the following definitions:
1. (in fairy tales and stories) a servant who appears by magic and fulfils a person's wishes.
2. another word for jinni... Under 'Jinni' it gives alternative words jinnee, djinni, or djinny defined as: "a spirit in Muslim mythology who could assume human or animal forms and influence man by supernatural powers."
A longer definition of 'Jinn' is to be found in The Brewer Dictionary of Phrase and Fable: "A sort of fairies in Arabian mythology, the offspring of fire. They propagate their species like human beings, and are governed by a race of kings named Suleyman, one of whom 'built the pyramids.' Their chief abode is the mountain Kaf, and they appear to men under the forms of serpents, dogs, cats, monsters, or even human beings and become invisible at pleasure. The evil jinn are hideously ugly, but the good are exquisitely beautiful. According to fable, they were created from fire two thousand years before Adam was made of earth. The singular of jinnee.."

"The Jean Genie" was one of Bowie's big hit singles of the early-1970's - going silver in the U.K. It was taken from the "Aladdin Sane" LP. It is obvious, however, from the lyrics that it is not simply a song inspired by the genie figure in the Aladdin myth (although Bowie had, in fact, attended a pantomime version of Aladdin starring Cliff Richard on March 1st 1967).
A curious coincidence worth noting here is that in 1968 and 1969, Bowie would perform a song called "Life Is A Circus," which Kenneth Pitt states in his book "..was a song that Tony Visconti had heard performed by an American group callled Djin.." The Oxford Illustrated Dictionary gives a definition for jinn and djinn (with two 'n's unlike the group name):
"Order of spirits lower than angels, with supernatural power over men.."

Once it is understood that the song's title refers to a kind of 'supernatural' or 'alien' being - although the 'Jean' part can't be adequately explained by me as yet - many of the song's lyrics can be understood within this context.
All of the verses of the song end with the line 'Poor Little Greenie,' which seems to have been consciously derived from the well-known alien description 'Little Green Man' - perhaps combined with the Chuck Berry song title "Little Queenie."
Regarding the fourth line "Talking 'bout Monroe and walking on Snow White" - in the fairytale the human Snow White features with seven dwarves - that is with beings who are all small in size as are 'aliens' commonly described.
Re: The chorus "The Jean Genie lives on his back. The Jean Genie loves chimney stacks," there is here a link with the Father Christmas legend, in which he is supposed to come down the chimney with his gifts after travelling through the skies (of course, 'aliens' are also supposed to travel throught the skies).
Aliens have been described as being in some manner reptilian (in alleged autopsy reports etc.). The first line of the second verse connects with this apparent characteristic:
"Sits like a man but smiles like a reptile."
In the fifth line the reference to nutrition resonates with the experiences of the 'Space People' contactee Howard Menger:
"He says he's a beautician sells you nutrition."
The next line is:
"And keeps all your dead hair for making up underwear" - it has been reported by some people who've encountered aliens that a sample of their hair - amongst other things - was taken by the beings. It could be that some alien clothing resembles a mesh of human hair - visually and/or texturally.
The first two lines of the final verse are:
"So simple minded he can't drive his module.
He bites on a neon and sleeps in a capsule..."

A relevant definition of 'Module' in Collins English Dictionary is:

3. Astronautics. any of several self-contained seperable units making up a spacecraft or launch vehicle, each of which has one or more specified tasks.

Chambers 20th Century Dictionary has the following - a unit of size, used in standardised planning of buildings and design of components. a self-contained unit forming part of a spacecraft or other structure.

In his famous earlier song "Space Oddity," David Bowie had used the word 'Capsule' - "..It's time to leave the capsule if you dare" - in connection with (the character) Major Tom's flight in a "space ship."
For 'Capsule,' Chambers 20th Century Dictionary offers:
a fibrous or membranous covering (zool)
and a metallic or other container
and a self-contained spacecraft or part of one, manned or unmanned, recoverable or non-recoverable. Whilst Collins English Dictionary gives as its 6th definition of 'Capsule':
"Space Capsule": a vehicle, sometimes carrying men or animals, designed to obtain scientific information from space, planets, etc., and to be recovered on returning to earth.

In conclusion, it can be seen that a significant proportion of the lyrics to the song as well as the title itself have an unmistakeable alien connotation. It seems to be almost impossible that David Bowie could have written, for example, the line "Poor Little Greenie" without intentionally associating it with the phrase "Little Green Man" not with Jean Genet or Iggy Pop or any other human being!! The alien aspect to the song therefore seems to have been something Bowie was conscious of when he wrote the lyrics.

Recommended further reading of relevance is an article entitled "A Brief Account Of The Nature Of UFO Entities" by Gordon Creighton, printed in Flying Saucer Review vol 29/1 (re-printed 33/3).