Station to Station (song)

"Station to Station"
Song by David Bowie from the album Station to Station
Released	January 23, 1976
Recorded	Los Angeles, September–December 1975
Genre	Rock Krautrock
Length	10:14 8:42 (edit)
Label	RCA Records
Writer	David Bowie
Producer	David Bowie, Harry Maslin
Station to Station track listing
"Station to Station" (1) Golden Years (2)

"Station to Station" is a song written by David Bowie in 1975 and released in 1976. It is the title track and opener for the album of the same name. The song is Bowie's longest studio recording, clocking in just above 10 minutes. Structurally, the song builds from a droning, guitar-driven introductory portion that mimics a train building up speed, to an uptempo section punctuated by the refrain "It's too late."

The lyrics contain various references to Aleister Crowley, Kabbalah and gnosticism. Bowie stated that "The "Station to Station" track itself is very much concerned with the stations of the cross." It is on this track that Bowie introduces himself as "The Thin White Duke". It also contains the oft-quoted lyric, "It's not the side-effects of the cocaine/I'm thinking that it must be love."

The song was not released as a single.

Live versions

• A live version recorded on tour at the Philadelphia Spectrum, April 28–29, 1978, was released on Stage. This version was also featured in the Christiane F. movie, where Bowie made an appearance as himself performing the song at a concert. An edit of this version was released on the soundtrack of the movie
• A live version recorded on the 1983 tour was released on Serious Moonlight VHS and DVD

Other releases

• A remaster of the live version from Stage also appears in the Sound and Vision box set

Cover versions

• The song was covered by The Merry Thoughts on the album A Tribute to David Bowie: The Dark Side of David Bowie (1997)