David Bowie's New Single "Lazarus" Speaks of Our Desperate Need of Christ

By Timothy Yap Dec 18, 2015 02:57 AM EST

Though never intended to be a Christian song by any stretch of imagination, pop music veteran David Bowie's newest single "Lazarus" is most revealing as far as the human sinful condition is concerned. The tune appears to have been written specifically for the play of the same name "Lazarus." The song is told from the perspective of a formerly wealthy, lost man living in New York that yearns to fly away, which is essentially the plot of Lazarus. The musical is a sequel to Bowie's 1976 movie The Man Who Fell To Earth, though only the alien character Thomas Jerome Newton returns.

The song spells out the futility of wealth and the meaninglessness of life without Christ. "I've got scars that can't be seen," Bowie sings, amid horns and a propulsive beat. "I've got drama, can't be stolen/ Everybody knows me now."

Here are the lyrics:

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?

"Lazarus" is from the 69 year-old rocker's forthcoming album. ★ (pronounced Blackstar) is due January 8 on Iso/RCA. The new album was recorded in secret earlier in the year at the Magic Shop in New York. It was produced by Tony Visconti, who has been working with Bowie going all the way back to Space Oddity in 1969.

"We were listening to a lot of Kendrick Lamar," Visconti told Rolling Stone. "We wound up with nothing like that, but we loved the fact Kendrick was so open-minded and he didn't do a straight-up hip-hop record. He threw everything on there, and that's exactly what we wanted to do. The goal, in many, many ways, was to avoid rock & roll."

In an effort to make something different, Bowie turned to jazz saxophonist Donny McCaslin and his band for the sessions. "I thought, 'This is David Bowie, and he chose me?'" McCaslin told Rolling Stone. "I tried not to think about it too much. I just wanted to stay in the moment and just do the work [he wanted]."