Day 256 | You’ve Been Around

With a few exceptions, whenever I listen to a song off Black Tie White Noise out of the context of the album itself, I am reminded how much I like the song.  For whatever reason the album as a whole is less than the sum of its parts.  This is a good example- it is a really good song that works on many levels.  Most importantly, it sounds good, but as with the best Bowie songs it leaves us with something to think about.  The lyrics seem to be about someone liberated from a dark and confusing life by someone whose “been around” and changed him.  Given that the song appears on the album that also Includes two pieces Bowie composed for his wedding to Iman, the song seems to be about her.  But it turns out the song pre-dates the relationship and was originally intended for Tin Machine.  This also joins the long list of songs in which Bowie references his own past work-in this case with a throwaway (yet fun) “ch-ch–change”!  Album: Black Tie White Noise