A Few Final Words On The Passing This Week Of David Bowie

From Doug Draper, Niagara At Large

Posted January 11th, 2016 on Niagara At Large

I haven’t found myself feeling this bad about the death of a pop artist in a long time, and I’m not sure why.

I never saw David Bowie in concert, nor do I own that many of his albums.

And yet, for some reason, news of his death in the late hours of January 9th at age 69, following an 18-month battle with cancer he kept secret (reportedly even from most of his closest friends), hit me harder than the deaths last year of two of my all-time favourite music makers, Joe Cocker and B.B. King – both of whom I saw in concert a couple of times and own enough of their CDs to fill a good-size overnight bag.

Maybe Bowie’s hit me harder because above being a great performer of the music as the other two artists I mentioned certainly were, he was true pioneer, using his immense talents as composer and performer of songs to invite us to join him on journeys to once forbidden places, gender-wise and otherwise, few others in music dared to go. And by doing so, Bowie, in an intelligent, imaginative and most importantly, a peaceful way, broke down walls of fear and prejudice for countless millions of people.

I am normally not one to run out and buy an artist’s albums or CDs at the news of their death, figuring that if I didn’t appreciate their work yesterday, while they were still around, why should I be looking like I’m pretending to appreciate it now?

But in the case of David Bowie’s latest CD, it was released on his 69th birthday just this past Friday, January 8th and just two days before his death, so I saw no pretention at all in joining many others in racing out to my nearest favourite record store to pick it up.

The album, called Blackstar, now stands as his 25th and final album of new songs and given what the world now knows about how gravely ill he was while he was producing it, is so musically and lyrically his goodbye.

That comes across movingly in the lyrics I will leave you with from a song on the CD called Lazarus.

From the song Lazarus by David Bowie

“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

Look up here, man, I’m in danger

I’ve got nothing left to lose

I’m so high it makes my brain whirl

Dropped my cell phone down below

Ain’t that just like me

By the time I got to New York

I was living like a king

Then I used up all my money

I was looking for your ass

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.”

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