Day 175 | I’ll Take You There.

On Fourth of July Eve I’m posting a song that begins, “Today is the First of May.” The reason is, despite several songs with “America” in their title, this might be Bowie’s most pro-American song. It is a pretty straightforward song about a couple fleeing an oppressive country to the United States. We know their names are Sophie and Lev, which suggests they are Russian or Eastern European, and that they plan to take on new identities in the USA. The mood of the song reflects the anxiety of the couple at the moment before they flee, but there is more than a hint of hopefulness about the new lives that await them. It is worth noting that this is one of ten songs to appear on what amounts to an entire album that was released as a supplement to The Next Day. In that respect The Next Day in its plenty (24 songs) is the opposite of Bowie’s true next album, Blackstar in its economy (7 songs). I’m guessing that Bowie didn’t simply split up the Next Day into two separate releases because he thought the material on Extra was good enough as a bonus but not a free-standing album (or even an official double album—it’s like he’s sending a message, “hey guys, I’m giving this stuff to you but I’m not trying to pass it over on you”). I think this song is evidence that he may have underestimated himself. Album: The Next Day Extra

Note from 2018: Obviously in transposing these 2016 posts, I got mixed up with one or two days along the way (this was first posted on July 4, 2016, not July 6).