Lyrics by David Bowie. Music by Kevin Armstrong
Now. Not tomorrow Yesterday Not tomorrow It happens today The damage today They fall on today They beat on the outside And I'll stand by you Now. Not tomorrow It's happening now Not tomorrow It's happening now The crazed in the hot-zone The mental and diva's hands The fisting of life To the music outside To the music outside It happens outside The music is outside It's happening outside The music is outside It's happening, now Not tomorrow Yesterday Not tomorrow The music is outside It's happening outside The music is outside The music is outside Outside Outside Outside
Outside is actually a reworking of the song 'Now', performed by Tin Machine as early as 1989:
The tune was written as early as 1989, and played only twice on the Tin Machine tour of the same year (29 June 1989 and 2 July 1989). For example, at Kilburn, Bowie introduced it as 'a new song, we haven't finished the lyrics for it yet, for now it's called Now". The song then starts off with the intro of Look Back In Anger (which was cut from the tune when it became Outside), followed by the familiar start (to Outside), and then Bowie starts singing the lyrics. Same as for Outside (Now, not tomorrow, yesterday, not tomorrow, it's happening now etc.) until the part of Outside where he sings "The music is outside" where in Now he sings something like "Oh I love you, oh I need you" and sounds very unconvinced by the lyrics. After finishing the song, he said "Right, now we'll have to finish it for the next album", which they never did of course (until 1. Outside).