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'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore

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Not to be confused with 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.
"'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Blackstar
A-side"Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)"
Released10 November 2014
Recorded
  • 2014 (single version)
  • 2015 (Blackstar version)
GenreArt rock
Length
  • 5:26 (single version)
  • 4:52 (Blackstar version)
Label
Songwriter(s)David Bowie
Producer(s)
Blackstar track listing
7 tracks
  1. "Blackstar"
  2. "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"
  3. "Lazarus"
  4. "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)"
  5. "Girl Loves Me"
  6. "Dollar Days"
  7. "I Can't Give Everything Away"

"'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" is a song by English musician David Bowie. It was originally released as a digital non-album single on 10 November 2014 and was later featured as the B-side for Bowie's next single, "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", which was released exactly one week later. A re-recorded version of the song appears as the second track on Bowie's 25th and final studio album, Blackstar (2016). "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" charted in multiple countries, including Bowie's home country of the UK, where it peaked at number 107.

Background and recording

"'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" was released as a single on 10 November 2014 and was later featured as one of the B-sides to "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", Bowie's following single.[1] The name of the song derives from the play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore by John Ford, an English dramatist of the 17th century.[2] Both songs were re-recorded for Bowie's 25th and final studio album, Blackstar, released on 8 January 2016. American jazz musician Donny McCaslin provided new saxophone parts for the re-recording of "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore". Bowie had done saxophone parts himself for the original version of the song.[3]

On the sound of the song, Bowie wrote: "If Vorticists wrote Rock Music it might have sounded like this."[4]

Critical reception

Mojo critic Andrew Male described the track as "a raucous five-minute mesh of melody and discord, an art-rock anti-war romance, gasping under the pack-ice of no-wave sax-squawk."[4]

Track listing

Digital download

Digital release[5]
No.TitleLength
1."'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"5:26

10" vinyl

Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)"7:24
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"5:27
2."Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" (Radio edit)4:01

Charts

Chart (2014–16) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Bubbling Under Flanders)[6] 78
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] 68
Portugal (AFP)[8] 57
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 63
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] 107
US Hot Rock & Alternative Songs (Billboard)[11] 34

Release history

Region Date Format(s) Label Catalogue no.
Worldwide 10 November 2014 Digital download ISO none[5]
Europe 14 November 2014 10-inch (B-side) Parlophone 10RDB2014[1]
United States 28 November 2014 Columbia 88875028701[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c "David Bowie - Sue (Or in a Season of Crime) (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. ^ The Inside Story of David Bowie's Stunning New Album, 'Blackstar', rollingstone.com, 23 November 2015
  3. ^ Fusilli, Jim (5 January 2016). "'Blackstar' Review: Ziggy Stardust Plays Jazz". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  4. ^ a b Male, Andrew (10 November 2014). "Hear David Bowie's New Single, 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore". Mojo. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  5. ^ a b "David Bowie – 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore (File)". Discogs. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  6. ^ "David Bowie – 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  7. ^ "David Bowie – 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  8. ^ "David Bowie – 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  9. ^ "David Bowie – 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  10. ^ "Chart Log UK - New Chart Entries - 16.01.2016". zobbel.de. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  11. ^ "David Bowie Chart History (Hot Rock & Alternative Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  12. ^ "David Bowie - Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
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