Where Are We Now? – David Bowie

As long as there’s me
As long as there’s you

It’s hard not to feel more reflective about the years gone by when you hear Where Are We Now? I guess this is what getting older is like. There’s a humility and openness in Bowie’s voice here which makes the song all the more poignant and tender.

Bowie said in interviews that he would use his voice to inhabit the character of a song, an actor of song, if you will. You get the sense here that it is sung by a man who had lived so many different lives and was now looking back on them. Simply put, the song doesn’t portray Bowie through a persona, as much of his prior work did, but as himself.

“Has it ever struck you that life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by you so quick you hardly catch it going?” — Tennessee Williams, The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore

The song’s emotive, introspective tone reminds me of the transient nature of life and the unstoppable march of time. Most of Bowie’s songs can be witty and tongue-in-cheek, but when he turns to something more emotional… he can make you cry. Where Are We Now? is a beautiful example of that.

In case you were wondering, the video’s strange central figure features Bowie’s face alongside that of American painter Jacqueline Humphries, the wife of video director Tony Oursler.

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The following contains extracts from the Wikipedia reference:

After listening to “Where Are We Now?“, Eric Clapton sent a note to Bowie thanking him “for writing such a beautiful song“. Bowie’s response, “Thanks for the shoutout, old sock. Really appreciate it“, led Clapton to naming his then-upcoming album Old Sock with Bowie’s permission.

Where Are We Now? was recorded in secret at the Magic Shop in New York City. It was released as the first single from his 25th studio album, The Next Day, his penultimate album, just a few years before his death from liver cancer in 2016 at the age of 69.

The single was simply “dropped” in iTunes for fans to discover, with no prior warning or fanfare. Bowie made no media appearances. It was first studio release in 10 years as he had retreated from public view after undergoing a procedure to treat a blocked heart artery in 2004.

Where Are We Now topped the iTunes charts in numerous countries and peaked at number six on the UK Singles Chart, making it Bowie’s biggest hit since Absolute Beginners in 1986 and his last top ten hit before his death.

[Verse 1]
Had to get the train
From Potsdamer platz
You never knew that
That I could do that
Just walking the dead
Sitting in the Dschungel
On Nürnberger Strasse
A man lost in time near KaDeWe
Just walking the dead

[Chorus]
Where are we now?
Where are we now?
The moment you know
You know, you know

[Verse 2]
Twenty thousand people
Cross Bösebrücke
Fingers are crossed
Just in case
Walking the dead

[Chorus]
Where are we now?
Where are we now?
The moment you know
You know, you know

[Outro]
As long as there’s sun
As long as there’s sun
As long as there’s rain
As long as there’s rain
As long as there’s fire
As long as there’s fire
As long as there’s me
As long as there’s you

References:
1. Where Are We Now? – Wikipedia