Information AboutLife On Mars |
| CATEGORIES ABOUT LIFE ON MARS | |
| 1973 singles | |
| david bowie songs | |
"Life on Mars?" was a single by David Bowie first released in 1971 on the album '' Hunky Dory ''. The song featured guest Piano work by keyboardist Rick Wakeman , subsequently of Yes . The song has its origins from an occurrence when Bowie was asked to write English lyrics to a French song (""), the song he came up with was "Even a Fool Learns to Love". The Canadian songwriter Paul Anka bought the rights to the original French version, and rewrote it into an English song called " My Way ," later made famous by Frank Sinatra . Bowie's version was never released. "Life on Mars?" was Bowie's riposte to losing out on a fortune; it has a similar chord progression to "My Way," and as Bowie explained in an interview with the BBC, it is a "modernistic take" on the Anka/Sinatra song. The song was belatedly issued as a single in June 1973, having long been cited as a standout song and receiving radio airplay. The single reached UK #3 and stayed in the UK chart for 13 weeks. The song re-entered the UK charts at #55 over 30 years later, largely because of A TV Show By The Same Name that uses the song. In February 1999, ''Q'' Magazine listed the single as one of the 100 greatest singles of all time, as voted by the readers. It has continued to chart in the ''Q'' 'best of' polls, featuring most recently in 2006 at #45. A BBC Radio 2 poll in 1986 crowned it as the best David Bowie song of all time. This song had its own multiple-minute 'solo' in Wes Anderson's film '' The Life Aquatic '', a film which, besides this song, features cover versions of many of Bowie's older singles. LYRICS The song begins by telling the story of a young girl escaping an argument between her parents by going to the cinema, only to find the film a disappointment as she feels it echoes her life. The chorus explains this further: the girl is being asked to focus on real world events such as violence in dance halls and police brutality. The song’s second verse is made up entirely of social observations, with Bowie discussing the faults with American Cultural Imperialism and the state of Britain. Bowie then agrees that the film is a saddening bore and returns to the chorus. It has been suggested that Bowie is singing from the point of view of the filmmaker in the second verse as there is a switch from a Third Person perspective to a First Person . MUSIC VIDEO To promote the single release, Mick Rock made a simple but striking promotional video, featuring Bowie in a turquoise suit performing the song solo against a white backdrop. TRACK LISTING # "Life on Mars?" (Bowie) – 3:48 # "The Man Who Sold the World" (Bowie) – 3:55 The Portuguese release of the single had " Black Country Rock " as the B-Side. PRODUCTION CREDITS
OTHER RELEASES
LIVE VERSIONS
COVER VERSIONS
REFERENCES TO SONG Bowie's guitarist/arranger Mick Ronson also wrote a song called "Life on Mars?" (released on a 1997 reissue of his 1975 album ''Play Don't Worry''), but the two tracks shared only their title. {Link without Title} The song was referenced by the Bush song "Everything Zen," which also featured the line "Mickey Mouse has grown up a cow". The American singer/songwriter Happy Rhodes recorded a song early in her career called "Life on Mars" in tribute to Bowie, and released it on the compilation album ''The Keep'', but the song itself has no relation to Bowie's song. The BBC television series '' Life On Mars '' is named after the song, which is playing on the IPod in lead character Sam Tyler's car when his accident happens in 2006, and is still playing on an 8-track Tape when he awakes in 1973. Its use is continued in the closing episode, when all is revealed. NOTES REFERENCES
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