Alternate “Heroes” Video

I know, I know… it’s another “Heroes” video. Yes, but this time it’s a “previously unreleased” (not sure when “previously” refers to) of Bowie lip-syncing to the studio recording. This could have been the official promotional video, so as a historical artifact, that makes this interesting.

But there’s more to this fairly simple video than worth as a curiosity. It underscores that Bowie’s original intent of the song was not for it to be an anthem of hope and optimism but a desperate lament. Look at his body language. The video starts with Bowie’s head bowed and arms crossed. And keep watching the arms. He puts his hands in his pockets, he holds the sides of arms like he’s cold. His entire posture is uncomfortable and insular. His facial expressions match— this is not the face of someone dreaming about being heroic despite the odds. The emphasis, as I’ve pointed out before, is the “just for one day.” He’s pleading with a lover for one last fling before the world collapses. It’s “Five Years” on a personal level.

I’ve made this point before that “Heroes” has become for Bowie what “Born in the USA” has long been for Bruce Springsteen— a great song that’s widely misinterpreted. “Heroes” appears to me to be Bowie’s most covered song, and virtually every cover I’ve heard is performed as a song of hope. Bowie himself would do this, especially years out from its original release. More generally, Bowie endorsed the idea of art, including his own songs, having a subjective meaning. But other than part of one sentence in the song— “we can be heroes”— there’s not a lot here to support the common take on what the song is about.

I tend not to think of “Heroes” as one of my personal favorite Bowie songs, but that’s largely because it’s overexposed. This video reminds me that Bowie’s original version (and here I mean the audio, not necessarily the video) is truly great.