David Bowie Says Goodbye: A Look at “Lazarus”
If you didn’t wake up this morning to a hole in your music heart, then you haven’t been paying attention for nearly the last 50 years. Transcending age, it doesn’t matter if you have been following David Bowie since his debut in the ’60s or if you are a young music lover who can appreciate what he did for the craft. The loss of David Bowie shook the world, and things will be a little darker without him shining that light on all of us.
Many of us were hoping for a comeback this year. A new album and ten years since the last time he graced the stage, festival-goers and music lovers alike were hoping he was poised to show up on some lineups this year. But Bowie knew. Rumors of failing health were confirmed alone with his passing: a years-long battle with cancer had finally taken him to the high place up in space he always sang of. But not before saying goodbye.
For those of you who followed the release of his most recent work, ★ (pronounced “Blackstar”) seemed like one of his best releases yet. Filled with eclectic and haunting jazz notes, it was so Bowie. Released on his 69th birthday just this past Friday, nobody could have known that it would be his last. Except, that is, for David Bowie.
As masterful as everything else in his lovely and beautiful life, Blackstar was a carefully choreographed spectacle. And his final work of art, the strange yet beautiful video for the single “Lazarus” was released the day before the album was and revealed much more than anyone could have know. It was a parting gift. And he was going to go out with a bang.
Opening with Bowie in a hospital bed, we see him squirm around with a button-eyed blindfold while he delivers the haunting opening lyrics:
“Look up here, I’m in Heaven/I’ve got scars that can’t be seen/I’ve got drama, can’t be stolen/ Everybody knows me now”
The video then goes on to show another version of Bowie, glad in a black bodysuit with shimmering stripes, dancing around before he worriedly scribbles something on paper before disappearing into a closet. All the while, a mysterious figure lurks in the room reaching for the bedridden Bowie who still is blind to everything that is going on. The song ends:
“This way or no way/You know, I’ll be free/Just like that bluebird/Now ain’t that just like me”
“Oh I’ll be free/Just like that bluebird/Oh I’ll be free/Ain’t that just like me”
Going out in true style. I wouldn’t expect anything else from the Diamond Dog.
Tony Visconti, Bowie’s long-time friend and producer, confirmed that Blackstar and especially “Lazarus” was purposefully left for us as his final magnum opus in a post on his Facebook earlier today:
“His death was no different from his life – a work of Art.
“He made Blackstar for us, his parting gift.
“I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn’t, however, prepared for it.
“He was an extraordinary man, full of love and life. He will always be with us.
“For now, it is appropriate to cry.”
Thank you for all the years of breaking the rules and being yourself, Bowie. You were born a breathing work of art, and you were the epitome of a rock star in every way.
IN MEMORY OF DAVID BOWIE
1947-2016
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