Your Free Sheet Music Giveaway for August 2023 is Here!
“Life on Mars” by David Bowie
Written and recorded by David Bowie for his 1971 album Hunky Dory, “Life on Mars” is a glam rock ballad about a young girl who visits a cinema to escape reality, only to be disappointed by the experience and longing for a better life. The song’s surreal lyrics blur the lines between fact and fiction, with commentary about the film in the song and real-life issues (e.g., police brutality, Hollywood commercialization, mass tourism) being intertwined together. The main character’s daydreaming leads her to ponder the existence of life on other planets.
Widely considered to be David Bowie’s best song, “Life on Mars” has been praised for its surreal lyrics, complex chord structure, and soaring contributions by Mick Ronson (string arrangements, guitar) and Rick Wakeman (piano). Following Bowie’s death in 2016, the song was chosen for several tribute performances, with Lorde’s rendition at the 2016 Brit Awards being one of the most celebrated.
Typically sold for $12.95, the sheet music for “Life on Mars” by David Bowie is free during August 2023. This version is arranged for solo piano and based on this performance by Owain Jones.
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Fun facts about “Life on Mars” by David Bowie
- Bowie originally wrote the song as a satire of “My Way” as performed by Frank Sinatra. “My Way” is an English reworking of the French song “Comme d’habitude”, a song that Bowie (pre-fame) had previously tried to rework into English but had been rejected by the French publisher.
- The sound of a telephone ring, which had appeared in an earlier, unused take, can be heard at the end of the song.
- Despite appearing on the 1971 album Hunky Dory, the song wasn’t released as a single for another eighteen months, during the height of Bowie’s Ziggy Stardust era.
- In 2021 Rolling Stone magazine listed the song number 105 on its list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
This performance of “Life on Mars” by David Bowie was transcribed by Tunescribers team member Gatot A.
