Lazarus

"His death was no different from his life - a work of Art."

• Tony Visconti, producer for Bowie's final album Blackstar

Bowie is saying goodbye to us in the video for "Lazarus". He appears in a hospital bed, blindfolded with button eyes. It's symbolic of a weakened, end of life condition. The ghostly girl who comes out of the closet and crawls under the bed is something of a grim reaper. She is death. As she reaches for him, Bowie levitates in the bed... possibly delaying her touch momentarily. He still has some fight in him. The levitation might also symbolize entering a state in between life to beyond. We next seen him free of bandages, up and on his feet, looking a little better and bright eyed. He's reviewing memories and important moments from his life. He does a silly little dance and smiles. It was good. He sits and begins writing a note or letter... or the script for this video. Knowing death is near, he ponders... and then composes his last work. We see the little reaper girl occasionally, apparently allowing him some time to wrap things up... but looking impatient. Once finished with his final composition, he stands and slowly but knowingly, retreats backwards and steps into the closet from which death entered... and closes the door. It's over. Wow.

Blackstar is Bowie's 27th studio album. It is the first one that doesn't feature Bowie's image on the cover art. Bowie & Elvis were both born on Jan 8. Do you think Bowie knew that Elvis recorded a song in 1960 titled "Black Star"? The first verse:

Every man has a black star A black star over his shoulder And when a man sees his black star He knows his time, his time has come

http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/3530822107858896173/ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h0Jkv1cs6PE

Well, Bowie knew how to leave an impression.

It's almost as if he knew he was going to die, putting out the video for this only a few days before his death. Damn, he was something else.

This song is, along with the rest of the album 'Blackstar', the final piece of art of David Bowie. To understand these lyrics you will have to see them in context of his death. On 8 January 2016, Bowie’s 69th birthday, the album 'Blackstar' was released. Only two days later, 10 January 2016, Bowie died from cancer. His passing came as a big shock for almost everyone, because Bowie did only tell a select group of people about his condition and kept it out of publicity. On the album release, this song seemed just to be another enigmatic artwork of Bowie, maybe a new faze that he was going through. Until everything became clear when Bowie died and everybody found out that he was diagnosed with cancer 18 months before. Bowie knew he was dying when he wrote this song. With this album and this song, he turned his death into art, to match his life as David Bowie. Bowie’s death is the key to understanding this song. ‘Lazarus’, the song title, is a biblical figure that rose from the death, like Bowie in this song speaking to us from the death.

I don't think I have cried anymore when i heard David Bowie died, I just put on Lazarus and felt like my childhood died.

Just a guess but I suspect Bowie is in imagined dialogue with his greatest idol and fellow glam rock auteur Lou Reed in this song. Mention of New York and bluebirds (see "Candy Says" by The Velvet Underground) seem more than coincidental to me.

Such a genius. I miss him so much already.

David Bowie has died.

This is off his last album of seven songs. "Blackstar"

This song has already inspired me to deeper more meaningful work. So it's possible that this was this artist's intent consistently through his life and work: to inspire others.

It's a commentary of his own impending death.