Be My Wife

"Be My Wife"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Low
B-side	"Speed of Life"
Released	June 1977
Format	7" single
Recorded	Château d'Hérouville, Hérouville, France; September 1976
Genre	Punk rock, krautrock
Length	2:55
Label	RCA Records PB 1017
Writer(s)	David Bowie
Producer(s)	David Bowie Tony Visconti
David Bowie singles chronology
"Sound and Vision" (1977) "Be My Wife" (1977) ""Heroes"" (1977)
Spanish cover Low track listing "Always Crashing in the Same Car" (5) "Be My Wife" (6) "A New Career in a New Town" (7)

"Be My Wife" is a song and single by David Bowie.

Its presence in Low tones down the electronic feel of the rest of the album. The song also features a more conventional lyric which is closer to a traditional rock song than the more fragmented lyrics elsewhere on that album.

Allegedly several analysts of Bowie's career have seen the song as a last-ditch plea to Angela Bowie in the vain hope of saving his marriage. Tension apparently had arisen between the couple, and disagreements have been claimed to have arisen over the location of a new residence in Europe. Angela had shown herself to be heavily affected by his music; he had reputedly proposed to her by playing "The Prettiest Star" to her over the telephone. In the end it seems here that David would not agree to move back to Switzerland from Berlin, and the relationship finally ended in divorce in 1980, which may be confirmed by the reference below.

The song features a ragtime piano opening, which serves the somewhat retro lyrics some justice, although it is soon set against a backdrop of guitars and drums. The song repeats its lyrics, changing the spacing of the lyrics amongst the song's verse. The song closes simply with a fadeout, as the song returns to the introductory ragtime riff repeating indefinitely, with the rest of the band playing behind it.

"Be My Wife" was the second single from Low after "Sound and Vision", but it became the first new Bowie release since "Changes" to fail to break into the UK chart.

"Be My Wife" was frequently played live on the various tours after its release and Bowie is said to have repeatedly announced this song during live performances as "one of my favourites," as may be seen or heard in such concert footage or audio recordings.

Track listing

1. "Be My Wife" (Bowie) – 2:55
2. "Speed of Life" (Bowie) – 2:45

Production credits

• Producers:
  • Tony Visconti
  • David Bowie
• Musicians:
  • David Bowie: Vocals, Lead Guitars, Pump Bass
  • Carlos Alomar: Rhythm Guitar
  • George Murray: Bass Guitar
  • Dennis Davis: Drums
  • Roy Young: Pianos
  • Brian Eno: Synthesizers

Music video

"Be My Wife" apparently was Bowie's first official video since "Life on Mars?". The video is in fact rather similar: Bowie stands alone against a white backdrop singing the song alone. However, Stanley Dorfman's new clip featured a Bowie in make-up and clothing influenced by Buster Keaton and giving an irreverent, detached performance on a guitar, which does gel with the candid feeling generated by the song.

Live versions

• A live version was recorded during the Isolar II Tour for the Stage album, but was not released until 2005 on the remastered re-release of Stage.
• A live version from Earls Court, London on 1 July 1978, was released on the semi-legal album RarestOneBowie in 1994.
• A live performance filmed in Dublin in November 2003 during the A Reality Tour can be viewed on the DVD and is included on the corresponding album.

Other releases

• It appeared on the following compilations:
  • Sound + Vision box set (1989)
  • Bowie: The Singles 1969-1993 (1993)
• It was released as a picture disc in the RCA Life Time picture disc set.

References

• Pegg, Nicholas, The Complete David Bowie, Reynolds & Hearn Ltd, 2000, ISBN 1-903111-14-5

External links

• Lyrics of this song at MetroLyrics