Life on Mars (song)

"Life on Mars"
Song
B-side	"The Man Who Sold the World"

Template:Otheruses2 "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 ("Comme d'habitude"), 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 magazine best of polls, featuring most recently in the 2006 poll at number 45. A Radio Two 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

1. "Life on Mars?" (Bowie) – 3:48
2. "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

• Producers:
  • Ken Scott on "Life on Mars?"
  • Tony Visconti on "The Man Who Sold the World"

• Musicians:
  • David Bowie: vocals, guitar
  • Mick Ronson: guitar
  • Trevor Bolder: bass on "Life On Mars?"
  • Tony Visconti: bass on "The Man Who Sold The World/Black Country Rock", piano on "Black Country Rock"
  • Mick Woodmansey: drums
  • Rick Wakeman: piano on "Life on Mars?"
  • Ralph Mace: Moog synthesizer on "The Man Who Sold The World"

Other releases

• It was released as the B-side of the Spanish release of the single "Drive-In Saturday" in April 1973.
• It appeared on two picture disc sets: Fashion and the RCA Life Time Disc Set.
• It appeared on several compilations:
  • The Best of David Bowie (Japan 1974)
  • Best of Bowie (1980)
  • Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
  • The Best of 1969/1974 (1997)
  • Best of Bowie (2002)
• In 1996 it played during the final title card sequence in the theatrical release of the film Breaking the Waves.
• In 2001 it was released as a single in France, wrapped in a card sleeve together with "The Man Who Sold the World"
• In 2004, it was featured on the soundtrack for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou.
• The song was also featured on the soundtrack for the British TV series Life on Mars. In the show, the protagonist is transported to the past when hit by a car whilst listening to the song on his iPod. It also accompanied the closing scenes of final episode, reinforcing parallels between the lyrics and elements of the series.
• In 2006, it was featured in an UK advert for mobile operator 3, with a man on a beach by a campfire playing his guitar. Video on You Tube
• It was featured in the trailer for Andy Warhol and Edie Sedgwick bio-pic Factory Girl.

Live versions

• October 1st, 1972 Bowie played this song at The Music Hall, Boston. This was released in 2003 on the bonus disc of the Aladdin Sane - 30th Anniversary Edition.
• A live version recorded at Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, October 20th, 1972 was released on Santa Monica '72.

Cover versions

• Flora Almeida called her cover version "Verniz"
• Anggun - Snow on the Sahara (1998)
• Django Bates - You Live and Learn (Apparently), with vocals by Josefine Lindstrand (2004)
• Michelle Branch covered the track for a 2005 CD for The Gap
• Coro - 300% Energy (various artists) (1996)
• Desford Colliery Caterpillar Band - Continental Brass
• The Diamonds - Million Copy Hit Songs Made Famous By Elton John & David Bowie
• The Dresden Dolls, during A Life In The Day Of The Dresden Dolls, a featurette on their DVD Live In Paradise; also on CONTAMINATION: A Tribute to David Bowie (FTC Records, 2006)
• Eurythmics - London, England, New Year's Eve Performance
• The Flaming Lips, whose rare version features heavy distortion - "This Here Giraffe EP (1996)
• Yann Tiersen & Neil Hannon (creator and frontman of The Divine Comedy), featuring Tiersen on toy piano and Hannon providing vocals - Tiersen's live Black Session album (1999)
• Seu Jorge - Portuguese version for the film The Life Aquatic with Steve Zissou (2004)
• Alain Kan called his version "La Vie En Mars?"
• John Keating - Space Experience 2
• The King's Singers - Keep On Changing and This Is (1980) as well as single
• London Symphony Orchestra - Symphonic Rock: The British Invasion, Volume 2 (1998)
• Anni-Frid Lyngstad - "Frida ensam" (1975) - Swedish language version named "Liv på Mars?"
• Manix - Ashes To Ashes: A Tribute To David Bowie (1998)
• Steve Nieve – Playboy
• Cæcilie Norby - My Corner of the Sky (1996)
• Phish - live on tour in 1996 and 2003
• Frank Sidebottom - "Sci-Fi" 12 inch EP
• Snake Charmer - Backyard Boogaloo (2003)
• Snakepit Rebels
• Barbra Streisand – Butter Fly (1974)
• The Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain turn the song into a medley, melding it with My Way, For Once in My Life, Born Free and Substitute
• Tripod performed live on their Pod August Nights tour, 2006
• Rick Wakeman - Piano Album (1995)
• Wall Street Crash - Wall Street Crash (1983)
• Jasper Steverlinck, together with Scala & Kolacny Brothers made an acoustic version of it (2003)
• Jeff Duff Band - "Lost in the Stars" (2006)
• X Factor Season 1 runners-up G4 covered it for second downloadable only single. It was also on thier debut album G4

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. [1]

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.

References

• Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5
• BBC Radio 2 webpage on the song