Lazarus (From Blackstar – 2016)
The opening lyrics to Bowie’s last recorded single, ‘Lazarus’, go as follows: “Look up here, I’m in heaven / I’ve got scars that can’t be seen”. Certainly these lyrics will have been read in a much more sombre light by fans just two days after the release of Bowie’s final masterpiece, Blackstar, when he sadly passed away. But, true of the career of David Bowie, he somehow managed to make his own death into an artful masterpiece.
‘Lazarus’, it seems, is Bowie’s epitaph to himself, a last goodbye to his millions of fans. Throughout the six-minute long track lasts a melancholic and haunting horn, guiding both Bowie’s lyrics and the listener to a solemn end after a symbol crashing crescendo in the heart of the song. The methodical fade out at the end of the track mirrors the method of thought but behind the entirety of Blackstar, its lyrics, its release date and its meaning to his fans. The song ends with the lyrics “Oh I’ll be free, just like that bluebird” and indeed now he is. Thank you, David.
Words by Daniel Parker
[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y-JqH1M4Ya8&w=740&h=422]
[Feature compiled by Brigid Harrison-Draper]
R.I.P Ziggy Stardust X