David Bowie Cover of the Week: Sharam Gill’s “Letter to Hermione”

I found several good Bowie covers this past week, but amidst strong competition, I selected Sharam Gill’s cover of “Letter to Hermione” from Space Oddity (1969). Usually thought of as one of Bowie’s most personal songs—it is the only one that I know of that name-checks an actual former girlfriend—Gill manages to universalize the sentiment. This is a simple acoustic performance, but it comes off as very emotional and genuine.

Ironically, I began to have a negative reaction to the first second or so of the song. I started formulating the idea that Gill was going to over-emote, creating something more akin to an unintentional parody of Bowie’s song. But this sense dissipated quickly—Gill maintains an earnestness throughout that comes off as vulnerability and allows him to assign his own meaning to this beautiful song.

I have written before that I actually think “Letter to Hermione” says much about how Bowie viewed the oppressive and corrosive pressures of society. Although Bowie doesn’t use the word “injustice,” the song describes a situation where he believes he and Hermione should be together, and he suspects that she feels the same way, despite now having a new boyfriend who, as the song puts it, “makes her up real fine.” The song’s narrator views this as a facade, as the faceless “they say [her] life is going very well” and “they say [she] sparkle[s] like a different girl,” but he believes she is secretly unhappy, crying in the dark “when all the world is warm and tired.”

In this way, Bowie connects this personal relationship to a broader theme of societal conventions keeping lovers apart. Just as in Bowie’s other songs on Space Oddity, the narrator feels helpless and unsure of what to do, paralleling Major Tom’s resignation in the song “Space Oddity.” The repeated variations of “I’m not quite sure what I’m supposed to do” in “Letter to Hermione” reflect a similar shoulder-shrugging helplessness. Ultimately, the narrator can only express his feelings through writing a letter, which I see as indicative of Bowie’s overall approach to the problems of living in a society: instead of advocating for solutions, he creates art.

Of course, this cover is not set amidst the context of a larger album (at least, not as I found it as a YouTube video). Standing alone, it retains its delicate beauty. Gill does a good job with it.

I will also note that I liked that Gill chose a lesser-known, or at least lesser-covered song, and that the video has real visual elements, so there’s something to watch. Well done!

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As I mentioned, there were other solid covers posted this week. Amongst them are the following (click on the bolded title to go to the video):

This is not America, by Paolo Fresu Heroes. This appears to be an Italian television performance of an instrumental jazz version of the song. If you can move past the host’s interruption of the performance, it is pretty good.

As the World Falls Down, by Violet Orlandi. This is a reaction video that thankfully plays the entire cover, uninterrupted, which is quite good.

Starman by Alex Standard. A straightforward, well executed acoustic performance of “Starman.”

Under Pressure by Paul Hennessee and Friends. These guys do a good job of recreating the Bowie/Queen song in the style of the original. Bonus points for interesting visual elements.

“Heroes” by the Gothenburg Symphony Orchestra. “Heroes” with an orchestral backing. Some will find this to be the best cover this week— it is certainly very good.