David Bowie: Difference between revisions
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"Questioning [his] spiritual life [was] always ... germane" to Bowie's songwriting.<ref name="DeCurtis2005"/> The song "[[wikipedia:Station to Station (song)|Station to Station]]" is "very much concerned with the [[wikipedia:Stations of the Cross|Stations of the Cross]]"; the song also specifically references [[wikipedia:Christian Kabbalah|Kabbalah]]. Bowie called the album "extremely dark{{nbsp}}... the nearest album to a [[wikipedia:Magick (Thelema)|magick]] treatise that I've written".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cavanagh|first=David|title=ChangesFiftyBowie|journal=[[wikipedia:Q (magazine)|Q]]|date=February 1997|pages=52–59}}</ref><!-- Cites previous 2 sentences. -->{{efn|He later said he was influenced by his cocaine addiction and the "psychological terror" from making ''The Man Who Fell To Earth'', marking "the first time I'd really seriously thought about Christ and God ... I very nearly got suckered into that narrow [view of] finding the Cross as the salvation of mankind".<ref>{{cite book|last=Egan|first=Sean|title=Bowie on Bowie: Interviews and Encounters|publisher=Souvenir Press Ltd|year=2015|isbn=978-1569769775|page=116}}</ref> }} ''[[wikipedia:Earthling (album)|Earthling]]'' showed "the abiding need in me to vacillate between [[wikipedia:atheism|atheism]] or a kind of [[wikipedia:gnosticism|gnosticism]]{{nbsp}}... What I need is to find a balance, spiritually, with the way I live and my demise."<ref name=Q97X>{{Citation | last=Cavanagh | first=David | title=ChangesFiftyBowie | journal=[[wikipedia:Q (magazine)|Q magazine]] |date=February 1997 | pages=52–59}}</ref> Released shortly before his death, "[[wikipedia:Lazarus (David Bowie song)|Lazarus]]"—from his final album, ''[[wikipedia:Blackstar (album)|Blackstar]]''—began with the words, "Look up here, I'm in Heaven" while the rest of the album deals with other matters of mysticism and mortality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Clement|first=Olivia|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/look-up-here-im-in-heaven-poignant-lyrics-to-bowies-lazarus-signal-his-farewell-378793|title='Look Up Here, I'm in Heaven' – Poignant Lyrics to Bowie's 'Lazarus' Signal His Farewell|website=[[wikipedia:Playbill|Playbill]]|date=11 January 2016|accessdate=18 January 2016}}</ref> | "Questioning [his] spiritual life [was] always ... germane" to Bowie's songwriting.<ref name="DeCurtis2005"/> The song "[[wikipedia:Station to Station (song)|Station to Station]]" is "very much concerned with the [[wikipedia:Stations of the Cross|Stations of the Cross]]"; the song also specifically references [[wikipedia:Christian Kabbalah|Kabbalah]]. Bowie called the album "extremely dark{{nbsp}}... the nearest album to a [[wikipedia:Magick (Thelema)|magick]] treatise that I've written".<ref>{{cite journal|last=Cavanagh|first=David|title=ChangesFiftyBowie|journal=[[wikipedia:Q (magazine)|Q]]|date=February 1997|pages=52–59}}</ref><!-- Cites previous 2 sentences. -->{{efn|He later said he was influenced by his cocaine addiction and the "psychological terror" from making ''The Man Who Fell To Earth'', marking "the first time I'd really seriously thought about Christ and God ... I very nearly got suckered into that narrow [view of] finding the Cross as the salvation of mankind".<ref>{{cite book|last=Egan|first=Sean|title=Bowie on Bowie: Interviews and Encounters|publisher=Souvenir Press Ltd|year=2015|isbn=978-1569769775|page=116}}</ref> }} ''[[wikipedia:Earthling (album)|Earthling]]'' showed "the abiding need in me to vacillate between [[wikipedia:atheism|atheism]] or a kind of [[wikipedia:gnosticism|gnosticism]]{{nbsp}}... What I need is to find a balance, spiritually, with the way I live and my demise."<ref name=Q97X>{{Citation | last=Cavanagh | first=David | title=ChangesFiftyBowie | journal=[[wikipedia:Q (magazine)|Q magazine]] |date=February 1997 | pages=52–59}}</ref> Released shortly before his death, "[[wikipedia:Lazarus (David Bowie song)|Lazarus]]"—from his final album, ''[[wikipedia:Blackstar (album)|Blackstar]]''—began with the words, "Look up here, I'm in Heaven" while the rest of the album deals with other matters of mysticism and mortality.<ref>{{cite web|last=Clement|first=Olivia|url=http://www.playbill.com/news/article/look-up-here-im-in-heaven-poignant-lyrics-to-bowies-lazarus-signal-his-farewell-378793|title='Look Up Here, I'm in Heaven' – Poignant Lyrics to Bowie's 'Lazarus' Signal His Farewell|website=[[wikipedia:Playbill|Playbill]]|date=11 January 2016|accessdate=18 January 2016}}</ref> | ||
{{youtube|rOvZeZ1JybQ}} | |||
== Spiritual references == | == Spiritual references == | ||
Following the passing away of Davide Bowie on January 10th 2016, Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi wrote a tribute | Following the passing away of Davide Bowie on January 10th 2016, [[w:Gianfranco Ravasi|Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi]], President of the [[w:Pontifical Council for Culture|Pontifical Council for Culture]], wrote a tribute, published by the [[w:The Tablet|The Tablet]] on January 13th 2016, in which he makes references to a number of songs by David Bowie which reveal his spiritual journey in life<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.thetablet.co.uk/news/2947/david-bowie-how-the-man-who-sold-the-world-never-stopped-searching-for-god|title=David Bowie: how the man who sold the world never stopped searching for God}}</ref>. | ||
=== Station to Station === | === Station to Station === | ||
'''''Station to Station''''' is the 10th studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 by [[w:RCA Records|RCA Records]]. In an album that reflected his darkest years Bowie, who five years previously in one of his lyrics had entrusted salvation to aliens, dedicated himself to the Stations of the Cross. He prayed, in the depths of his addictions and lacerating questions: “Lord, I kneel and offer you my word on a wing / And I’m trying hard to fit among your scheme of things.” | '''''Station to Station''''' is the 10th studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 23 January 1976 by [[w:RCA Records|RCA Records]]. In an album that reflected his darkest years Bowie, who five years previously in one of his lyrics had entrusted salvation to aliens, dedicated himself to the [[w:Stations of the Cross|Stations of the Cross]]. He prayed, in the depths of his addictions and lacerating questions: “Lord, I kneel and offer you my word on a wing / And I’m trying hard to fit among your scheme of things.” ([[w:Word_on_a_Wing|Word on a Wing]]). | ||
David Bowie wore for many years a small silver crucifix, as | Bowie admits that the song '''''Word on a Wing''''' was written out of a [[w:cocaine|coke]]-addled spiritual despair that he experienced while filming the movie ''[[w:The Man Who Fell to Earth|The Man Who Fell to Earth]]''. In 1980 Bowie spoke of the song to NME, claiming "There were days of such psychological terror when making the [[w:Nicolas Roeg|Roeg]] film that I nearly started to approach my reborn, born again thing. It was the first time I'd really seriously thought about [[w:Jesus of Nazareth|Christ]] and [[w:God|God]] in any depth, and 'Word on a Wing' was a protection. It did come as a complete revolt against elements that I found in the film. The passion in the song was genuine... something I needed to produce from within myself to safeguard myself against some of the situations I felt were happening on the film set." | ||
From the time of this song, David Bowie starting wearing and wore for many years a small silver crucifix, as can be seen in a number of his performances.<ref>See a gallery of pictures here: https://bowiesattva.com/2016/05/21/bowies-cross-a-tool-for-psychic-self-defense/ .</ref> | |||
=== Loving the Alien === | === Loving the Alien === | ||
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=== Lazarus === | === Lazarus === | ||
[[File:Bowie Lazarus music video still.png|thumb|left|Bowie in a deathbed, as depicted in the music video]] | [[File:Bowie Lazarus music video still.png|thumb|left|Bowie in a deathbed, as depicted in the music video]] | ||
'''''Lazarus''''' is a single released on December 17th 2015 as a digital download, making it the second single from his twenty-fifth studio album, ''[[w:Blackstar (album)|Blackstar]]'' (2016). It is Bowie's last single to be released during his lifetime. The official music video, directed by [[w:Johan Renck|Johan Renck]], was released on January 7th 2016, three days before Bowie's death. Bowie never performed the song live. According to Bowie's producer [[Tony Visconti]], the lyrics and video of "Lazarus" and other songs on the album were intended to be a self-[[epitaph]], a commentary on [[Death of David Bowie|Bowie's own impending death]].<ref name=NME>{{cite web|last1=Cooper|first1=Leonie|title=How David Bowie told us he was dying in the 'Lazarus' video|url=http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/how-david-bowie-told-us-he-was-dying-in-the-lazarus-video|website=NME|accessdate=11 January 2016|date=11 January 2016}}</ref><ref name=BBC_epitaph>{{cite news|title=David Bowie: Was Lazarus Bowie singing his epitaph?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35278855|accessdate=11 January 2016|publisher=BBC|date=11 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/12092542/Bowies-last-album-was-parting-gift-for-fans-in-carefully-planned-finale.html|publisher=the Telegraph|title=David Bowie's last release, Lazarus, was 'parting gift' for fans in carefully planned finale|date=11 January 2016|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325201617/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/12092542/Bowies-last-album-was-parting-gift-for-fans-in-carefully-planned-finale.html|archive-date=25 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> | '''''Lazarus''''' is a single released on December 17th 2015 as a digital download, making it the second single from his twenty-fifth studio album, ''[[w:Blackstar (album)|Blackstar]]'' (2016). It is Bowie's last single to be released during his lifetime. The official music video, directed by [[w:Johan Renck|Johan Renck]], was released on January 7th 2016, three days before Bowie's death. Bowie never performed the song live. According to Bowie's producer [[w:Tony Visconti|Tony Visconti]], the lyrics and video of "Lazarus" and other songs on the album were intended to be a self-[[w:epitaph|epitaph]], a commentary on [[w:Death of David Bowie|Bowie's own impending death]].<ref name=NME>{{cite web|last1=Cooper|first1=Leonie|title=How David Bowie told us he was dying in the 'Lazarus' video|url=http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/how-david-bowie-told-us-he-was-dying-in-the-lazarus-video|website=NME|accessdate=11 January 2016|date=11 January 2016}}</ref><ref name=BBC_epitaph>{{cite news|title=David Bowie: Was Lazarus Bowie singing his epitaph?|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-35278855|accessdate=11 January 2016|publisher=BBC|date=11 January 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/12092542/Bowies-last-album-was-parting-gift-for-fans-in-carefully-planned-finale.html|publisher=the Telegraph|title=David Bowie's last release, Lazarus, was 'parting gift' for fans in carefully planned finale|date=11 January 2016|access-date=4 April 2018|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160325201617/http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/celebritynews/12092542/Bowies-last-album-was-parting-gift-for-fans-in-carefully-planned-finale.html|archive-date=25 March 2016|url-status=live}}</ref> | ||
The title of the song is a reference to the biblical [[w:Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]], a friend of Jesus who Jesus rose from the dead ({{Bible quote|ref=John 11:1-30;31-45}}). In the music video, Bowie's face is wrapped in a cloth, as was Lazarus' according to the Gospel account. | The title of the song is a reference to the biblical [[w:Lazarus of Bethany|Lazarus]], a friend of Jesus who Jesus rose from the dead ({{Bible quote|ref=John 11:1-30;11:31-45}}). In the music video, Bowie's face is wrapped in a cloth, as was Lazarus' according to the Gospel account. | ||
{{youtube|y-JqH1M4Ya8}} | {{youtube|y-JqH1M4Ya8}} | ||
{{Category:Music | On the day of David Bowie's passing away, [[w:Gianfranco Ravasi|Cardinal Gianfranco Ravasi]] tweeted a quote from the song [[w:Space Oddity|Space Oddity]], released in 1969: "Ground Control to Major Tom / | ||
Commencing countdown, / | |||
engines on / | |||
Check ignition / and may God's love be with you"<ref>See https://twitter.com/CardRavasi/status/686466465784934400</ref>. | |||
== Notes == | |||
{{notelist}} | |||
== References == | |||
{{Reflist}} | |||
== External sources == | |||
* https://catholicpulseblog.typepad.com/catholic_pulse_blog/2013/05/is-there-hope-for-david-bowie.html | |||
* https://www.firstthings.com/web-exclusives/2016/02/david-bowies-search-for-god | |||
* http://aleteia.org/2016/01/15/pope-francis-and-david-bowie-an-unexpected-duet/ | |||
* http://www.christianitytoday.com/ct/2016/january-web-only/david-bowie-pulse-returns-to-prodigal.html | |||
[[Category:Music]] | |||