Eternal Bowie
Thomas Jones · Bowie
Halfway through his final performance as Ziggy Stardust, at the Hammersmith Odeon in July 1973, David Bowie sang 'My Death', his version of 'La Mort' by Jacques Brel. It's a faintly ridiculous song, rich with pompous melancholy, but he carries it off wonderfully. 'Whatever lies behind the door/there is nothing much to do/angel or devil, I don't care/for in front of that door/there is you.' The last time through the chorus – in D.A. Pennebaker's film of the concert you can see a tear, or a drop of sweat, glisten in the corner of Bowie's eye – he pauses before the last word, and voices from the audience call out, as they may have done before, and would do again: 'Me! Me!' Whether he was expecting the response or not, his gaze flickers across his fans, as if picking them out one by one, and his ghostly face breaks into an unforced smile of pleasure and surprise. 'Thank you,' he says.
Comments
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11 January 2016
at
1:10pm
Simon Wood
says:
I think it was Lemmy from Motörhead who said:
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12 January 2016
at
12:28am
mwest
says:
Haiku for David Bowie:
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21 January 2016
at
7:58am
Blackorpheus7
says:
@
mwest
Closer to senryu than haiku, and not good in either instance.
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12 January 2016
at
12:10pm
blue heron
says:
The truly global outpouring of appreciation for David Bowie over the past 24 hours is a reminder of how much music and musicians remain such potent forces in our lives, often cutting across our station in life, where we live, what we do for a living, our politics, etc. Your wonderful review of Bowie from 2012 and the observation above helps us to understand why he held such a special place. Thank you.
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16 January 2016
at
5:05pm
mwest
says:
from this room to that
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20 January 2016
at
3:43pm
DCDub
says:
This was precisely the video I went and watched when I heard the news of his passing. It had such an effect on me as a younger person. Myself and my siblings watched the VHS tape of that concert until it wore out.
Read moreIf you like to gamble,
I tell you I'm your man.
You win some, lose some,
It's all the same to me.
The pleasure is to play,
It makes no difference what you say,
I don't share your greed -
The only card I need is the Ace of Spades.
from this room to that
one ahead, sing to us of
bandages that see
one ahead, two buttons sing
and bandages see