I love the theory that David Bowie's lifespan (1947-2016) was the greatest period of human prosperity in history because he was around, then once the 'Ol Starman succumbed to a very human disease everything started going back to the brutal old days of war, mass disease and dictatorships. Miss ya David
*Mr. Bowie Would’ve Really Appreciated Your Comment, & How Elegant and Right To The Point It is, Yo; I Can Almost Hear Him With a Sigh of Satisfaction, Saying “Yes, Some of Them Did Get It, & It Wasn’t All For Naught”👩🏻🎤”HE TOOK IT ALL TO FAR”🎸”BUT BOY COULD HE PLAY GUITAR”‼️🚀 🪐 🎼:🎶
@@mick6721 'short fat people' - I've noticed that throughout his career, he'd forget a lyric. Here though, I'm not sure; think he was being mischievous.
@@SAHB More than 50 years later, it turns out he was wrong and that it was just another British Empire move to feed people a dose of demoralization so that they would develop a propensity for substance abuse as in the heroin trade coming from the golden triangle established by the assassination of Kennedy and the subsequent war.
"Was that okay?" he asks at the end of the song. Yes, mister David Bowie, it was. I know I speak for many when I say you changed my life for the better, perhaps even saved it. Eternally grateful. ❤️
This is the most touching, heartfelt, emotional live version I've ever seen Bowie do. In fact it's probably one of the most emotional performances ever. "Don't think you knew you were in this song" 😢
Mick was a classically trained concert pianist. Some of the piano he played on other people's albums is iconic - such as, he played the famous piano on Lou Reed/Perfect Day
Mr Kemp - you've really started something . I'm sitting on the train, staring blankly out of the window , and suddenly my fingers start tapping on my leg ....
This man kept me alive when I was a teenager. I wore his albums out. David Live, The Rise and Fall of Zigy Stardust, Diamond Dogs, Scary Monsters (and Super Creeps). If he only knew. Miss you.
It's actually a very complicated answer. I would recommend researching "The Five Stages of Empire" and reading "The Fourth Turning: An American Prophecy". But to give a ridiculously over simplified and short answer... We are simply in the stage of a failing society/empire that (starting in the late 1960's) was unable to maintain the environment needed to produce such artists. Today we are living with results of such failure. The disparage between the "golden age" of the past and the dystopia that awaits us will be sever indeed, likely worse than that between the height of the Roman Empire and the depths of the Dark Ages.
It was influenced by a prophecy made by American christian minister William Branham in the 1960s who said that humanity would cease to exist in 1977. Bowie wrote this song five years earlier.
I've often thought that - lost track of how many times I played this LP as a boy : H-D ,Ziggy, A-S etc 50 plus years down the line , I'm still word perfect on each and all of these / his lyrics : however ... the History / Geography / Science books-homework etc etc faded many many years ago ; well, they didn't really last that long in the first place ! That said , I slipped "fleas the size of rats sucked on rats the size of cats" into one of my English A Level essays . I should have given him a credit, I know , but I don't think he'll mind too much .... It wasn't just Bowie though , was it ? Our generation seemed to have so many different genres of music to choose from , all individually crafted and played by genius musicians . No electronic wizardry which makes what you hear nowadays all very questionable . Great fashions , easily accessible . . Films / Movies . Sport where everything was "financially" within reach . Mork & Mindy , even ! Maybe I'm just too old for this world but I look around me and wonder - what is left , really ? Love to Corinne Schwab for getting Jonesy through soooo much "stuff" . And , apologies for droning on . Played this song , looked out of the window : pouring with rain , again . I think Five Years will do me nicely , thank you very much .
@@a.c.4732 No worries, I get wordy too sometimes. And no, it wasn't just Bowie. I'm often heard saying things like "you couldn't throw a rock in any direction back then and not hit 30 different legendary artists coming out with a new album. The most amazing, fun, creative, innovative, ingenious rock music was literally everywhere. We had no idea how blessed we were through those years.
Got into david bowie late in life me MY son plays guitar heard him singing this with his mates whilst jamming in the yard I thought they had written this song but found out it was bowie
Yeah! Very hard to know all the time has passed . He will always be a genius to me . I fell in love with song as a kid. I was always the freak that loved him . Haha.
David, the world isn't complete without you. Years pass, but one thing remains - David's masterpieces are for eternity. I do know for a fact that his songs will never die or become vintage. Tears rolled down my cheeks. My biggest hero, my huge crush, bloody legend.🥰🥰🥰😍😍⭐🌌💖
Strange although he was attractive to many I only followed him for his music. I wouldn't care if he was the ugliest toad born I would still love him for his music and style
Lyrics reeking with empathy & observation. As if written by a star man watching. Performed by an immortal soul on loan to us all for too short a time. Timeless. All hail Ziggy. Thank you David.
I've been listening to this wonderful song since I bought the Ziggy Stardust album 52 years ago. And now it's the first time I've seen this recording. Fantastic.
I miss you Mr Bowie … you as Ziggy in Philly was my first concert without my older cousins who took me to great concerts with all the hippies (Dylan, Biaz, CSNY) but you Mr Bowie was the start of endless concerts on my own with friends … thank you …
I'd vote for "Them Bones" opening Alice In Chan's "Dirt" album which admitted that Layne was going to "die in this sick world of mine" of heroin drug addiction, which unfortunately he later did.
@@natenick2 As much as I love Ziggy . . . I still think Hunky Dory is his best from this era. The concept of Ziggy is spectacular and of course the songs are as wonderful as any from Hunky Dory . . . but there is something about Hunky Dory that just . . . does it for me more song for song. But then, really, it's splitting hairs. Bowie was on fire for the entire 70s.
David Bowie, a legend in our time as well as the band itself Mick Ronson, Trevor Bolder, Ainsley Dunbar and Mick Woodmansey All of them true musical artists.
Thank you for naming the band members--each contributing something unique to history--and naming them here helps with the education of young'uns like me with so much to learn! Bless y'all.--The King.
Can we just appreciate the lines "I think I saw you in an ice-cream parlor Drinking milk shakes cold and long Smiling and waving and looking so fine Don't think you knew you were in this song" for a second?
Absolutely appreciated. Quite incredible to recognize someone who is completely oblivious to the world around them. In his description of the world he sees, as his alter ego Ziggy, his description of the world in front of him, is spot on. INCLUDING OUR MILKSHAKE DRINKING OBLIVION”
That was my hairdresser! She was helping out in her friends ice cream parlour and David drove by in an open top car. The girls were smiling and waving at him….and he put it in the song. Fact.
Thank you so much for posting these masterpieces. This is Bowie's golden age, early Ziggy with eyebrows and quilted space suits. Mick Ronson on piano! Rock Roll Majesty.
@@hw343434 yup. For starters Lennon would be first on the list than Bowie. I prefer Bowie though. ;)...And there is no ultimate, if there were, it would be Zeppelin ;)
I remember, so long ago, being raised listening to my parents music, which was mostly country. Then they gifted me with their clock radio in which the clock had stopped functioning. I was quickly discovering music the likes of which I had never imagined before. Some of the best and more obscure was played late at night, so I recorded some onto cassette. Five Years was one of those songs, which I listened to frequently, though I did not know the artist. A couple of years later I decided to buy some vinyl records with some birthday cash. One of them I purchased just from being mesmerized by the album cover. When I played it for the first time and Fiver Years emitted from the mono speaker, my mind was blown on so many levels. It has been my favorite album ever since.
Mick " Woody" Woodmansey here on drums " Wow" 1971 Look at how young they all are here time flies!!! You all if you haven't read the book , Spiders From Mars My Life With Bowie released in 2016 its a great biography by Mick " Woody" Woodmansey ❤
I remember seeing this on television and it was actually the first time we get to see Bowie without Ziggy, without any costume or make up and this left a huge impact on many of us. This was all we were talking about. The depth of his talent shows so well in this performance.
This was his part of his Ziggy phase, costume and all. The more flamboyant Bowie, a year later, with striking bright red spikey hair and Japanese clothes was actually his Aladdin Sane period .
@@ThefightingCelt I also remember clearly thinking why he chose this song for such a high profile event. It took me about 5 years to realize why. This live version highlights the genius he was. I noticed the live version of "Heroes" (Live Berlin)which is vastly different from the studio version is another example of his amazing talent.
Monday was the 5 year anniversary of when I crashed downhill mountain biking and was in a coma for a week. That morning this was the song that popped into my head and I listened to. Bowie you are greatly missed and my near death experience makes me appreciate the fragility of life. You changed the world in so many ways. Thank you for this amongst the many other magical songs you brought to this earth. To infinity and beyond.
A very moving performance of this heart wrenching song. The entire Ziggy album is a true masterpiece. I could never pick a favorite song from it because I love every one of them so much. Love you David. Miss you more and more every day. ❤
I bought the album for Starman, but was floored and fell in love with Five Years. What a brilliant song, brilliant album, one of many from a brilliant and quintessentially British artist
Just brilliant, he worked so hard to establish a sound that he thought that people wanted but he didn’t realise we wanted everything he wrote. The simple passion here is brilliant.
Sound track uo my life! Still is I sdmit yo rotdhippinghjm but he's more resl uo me yhdn dny church hod rill rvrr be! Cxxi listen uo him rvrry Taylor my brdtoom is pyibdbly pmore dpt gor a 16 YO!, but I'm 61! Ivr been s fsn dunce yh first yime I saw/ heard hjm live on tussrll harts TV dhow I was sdbout 11 or22,and I heard dtuve jn Saturday... ftom yhelivjng yoom, I'd been in dnoyher yoom dnd I rsnip yhe hsll uo see yhus strangely dressed yhjn guy rith rdpikty hsir, and it literally was a lightning moment! St last... muduc gor ME snd next day in dhool kids were dllrdlkjng dbout yhst eierd guy eiyhdtrnge hair! I was s bit of sn ofbdll as s kid mysrlf do some of yhe kuds asked was he fufferent tnough gor uou? I was jus dck of imported Amerucsn fit , pattridge fsmillly , dsvid cassudy , osminds! I wasn't yhst kean on much reslly but toxymuduc moved yhegoslposts at least gor me for s rhile! And lo dndbrhold rho is David collaboratingwith?Brian rno!! Trlls it's ownsyory if yxy was good rnough or Boeie thryll fime! ... yhrn sime I'd say boei wannabes appeared dsvid dulvusn Japsn! Not bsd but ehere fid yhry vsnudh yo? Cxx
I'm grateful for your generation and the abundance of innovation and music they all released. I'm 22 and his music really clicked with me around 3 weeks ago. You've got good taste my friend 🙂
What a masterpiece. The drums like a heartbeat fading out, the chords complex and still memorable, the lyrics so meaningful and the voice so expressive - this is music for eternity thx David, thx Mick ant the other spiders from mars ❤
When I was young and first heard Bowie I thought he was rubbish - the album was Ziggy Stardust - my mate said try it a few more times and then see what you think - the music changed my life - but what impressed me the most about Bowie was the way he then matured as a human being - he was and is a fantastic inspiration
This song is a masterclass of story writing. Without saying so many things he says so much in the spaces in between the lyrics. I was mesmerized as an 8 ld yr kid when I first heard it and I am still taken aback each time I hear this album. The fade out/in from this song to "Soul Love" ( the way the drum fades then comes back) blew me away. It taught me, as a little kid, what arranging meant and how important it is. The Beatles filled in the rest.
@@blueshirtman8875 sing about love and you automatically sing about god. Sing about charity and you sing about god. Sing about freedom and you sing about god. God is just the name you give to metaphysical things. Doesn’t mean you have to believe in an old man with grey beard sitting in the clouds
I was 13 when he recorded that. How prescient it sounds now. What a sublime artist he was. Head and shoulders above his 70’s contemporaries. An absolutely incredible talent.
not long ago, I was listening to this record late at night and this song came on and i got the feeling that i would remember that atmosphere for the rest of my life; i am still young so i don’t have much to look back on, but i know i will look back on the first night i listened to this song in full since it was on the radio years ago. thank you so much sir ❤️
Funny, cryptic Fernando. Nevermind. Hey, "Kiddo" x'sStarman-I will solve the mystery for you here and now---(Oh, great, she won't let me figure it out for myself...)-Really-please listen & understand that I totally get what you said you felt! It happened to me-hang on-50 YEARS AGO!! I am still so in love with Bowie, his influence on me and the times-back then, were life-changing. I still love the man I was in love with when I was"clinging" to this album! I still smell and taste and feel the air, the skin, the tears and the kisses-and I tell you truly- YOU have had your brain magically entered and then spun out this thought which I am so glad you wrote down& that I happened to see! You will be so surprised, when you get to my age and look back, how it all seems to go in "just a blink." Even those long nights when every minute seems like 5 yearsand 5 years seems like an eternity--I promise, it is not. And the way this consummate artist left us-artists must create -another truth. So- be young and pat yourself on the back a little for realizing the 'atmosphere' this-and you with this- came to be in-and hear me- you have a handle on things. You are going to do well, I think. I'm so very, very glad 2 read what one as young as you say you are who realizes there is smoother road ahead (if we VOTE and save our planet and Democracy-guess where D.B would have come down on that one??) and I hope you have such fun, such love, such warmth and good dealings in your life and find the resources deep within you to deal with the messier parts of life, too. They will happen. With all best wishes, Terri. :)
Glad his music still touchs the youth, I remeber when I 1st heard this song I put on the vinyl lp I just bought at the local record store and WOW! I miss Bowie every day.
When I first heard Space Oddity it changed me, transforming how I listened to music. I understand completely. There as so many Bowie songs that I associate with different periods in my life.
For some reason my mind has been playing this tune for 2 days , WHY ? Was a massive Bowie Fan but music moves on so not heard this for decades and now I remember why ,I am now in the future , 55 years is just about right ! He changed my mind about the future with this song , Hell was 16 at the time but I somehow knew he sent us a warning now today he could not be further than the truth ! I have not listened to this song for many years . I am 67 but for the last 2 days I have listened to it in my brain for no reason at all,remembered the words and now singing it .cannot explain at all,never seen the video what a Masterpiece ! Well ,Maybe 5 years is starting today ,!!
This has EV-REE-THANG: be-permed, be-moustached lead singer, oodles of cowbell, one-handed axe solo, balls in clamp falsetto. And a bloody good song. Gold!
Bowie was a true troubadour. Beautiful storytelling and theatrics along with his incredible stage presence. Interesting note on this performance. He slips and sings "walk" when the recorded lyric is "talk" at 2:50. I'm sure this is a mistake as the next line ends in 'walk". But of course it doesn't matter because- well- Bowie!
Ziggy came out when I was 14 I was learning bass guitar and this album started my journey into music. I could never imagine a time without Bowie but here we are. One of the many on my list of artists I longed to play with.
The one thing I've never heard anyone talk about is how the drum intro and outro on the recording sounds just like a heartbeat fading in and out- which REALLY clinches the message of the song in a MOST profound way! I wish the drummer here had slowed and faded the drum beat, it would have been so powerful! It's amazing how much emotion David imparts to a song even without the costumes and theatrics that he usually employed in the 70's performances- he was unparalleled🥰❤❤❤
If you watch closely you can see that the drummer is not actually playing live. Evidently it was common practice on this program to have artists sing over a recorded track. Can't tell if the other musicians are really playing or not, but I'm with you on the heartbeat and the absence of theatrics. RIP David Bowie, no one will ever come close to his brilliance.
A master ending, the drummer's dead eyes (drugs, boredom, just over Bowie's theatrics i don't care) and dead pan delivery after Bowie's heart wrenching vocals was just brilliant. And they didn't even know it I bet.
Just another of his masterpieces. The world was a better place with David Bowie in it. Saw him every Oz tour he did. Reality is Bowie. Rob from sunny Oz.
This was the second album I ever purchased with my hard earned money at the age of 13 years, in 1974, Awesome then, Awesome now!!! Sadly I can only give one thumbs up…
I saw Bowie once when I was in 10th grade. It was in Philly doing his Ziggy show. I had been to a few concerts before with my older cousins (15 years older) such as Dylan, Joan Baez, etc. Bowie was my first concert of what I guess was music more so born and raised in my generation of music. The show was incredible. Bowie opened me up to a whole new and different world of music. Thank you Mr Bowie.
Big greetings from Russia to all from a normal Russian, not "Vatnik". David and his music are special memories for us who grew up in a different time. For a long time we were stuffed with musical garbage, but people living in our country have always adored foreign culture. As a rule, American and English music. And when people had a choice of foreign music, then all this nonsense, which was called "music" in our country, turned out to be of no use to anyone at all...All health, happiness, good luck and success in your endeavors! ))))
I am 60 now this came out when I was not even a teenager I knew every word to every song people thought I was weird they still think that way RIP David 🙏 💔
Por cierto, este es precisamente el atuendo que Bowie usa en la portada de Ziggy Stardust, las botas fueron pintadas de morado para el disco, pero como pueden ver son rojas. El patrón de este atuendo se utilizó después para la caja de la edición de lujo del libro firmado Moonage Daydream (que afortunadamente tengo!) por todo eso es clave recordar que este era el aspecto de Bowie cuando comenzó la era Ziggy Stardust. El cabello rojo, atuendos de Kansai Yamamoto y maquillaje vinieron gradualmente después. De hecho muchas veces se habla de Ziggy Stardust y ponen fotos de la era Aladdin Sane!
I was 16 or 17 when I first heard this song in the early 70s and it made a deep impression on me that has lasted until now. This performance is the best I've ever seen of this song. Thanks for posting it.