Look Back in Anger

David Bowie

About Look Back in Anger

"Look Back in Anger" is a song written by David Bowie and Brian Eno for the album Lodger (1979). It concerns "a tatty 'Angel of Death'", and features a guitar solo by Carlos Alomar. RCA Records was unsure if America was ready for the sexual androgyny of "Boys Keep Swinging", the lead-off single from Lodger in most territories, and "Look Back in Anger" was issued instead. The B-side was another track from Lodger called "Repetition", a story of domestic violence. The single failed to chart. "Look Back in Anger" has a mixed reputation among Bowie commentators. NME critics Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray described it as "probably the low point" of the album, while Nicholas Pegg considers it "one of Lodger's dramatic highlights" and Chris O'Leary has called it "one of Bowie's strongest songs of the late Seventies". Beyond the shared title, the song has nothing to do with the John Osborne play Look Back in Anger. Bowie performed the song on his 1983 Serious Moonlight Tour (it is the opening number on the Serious Moonlight film) and reworked it in the mid-1990s as a heavy rock song for the Outside and Earthling tours. 


Year:
1983
101 
#1

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"You know who I am," he said
The speaker was an angel
He coughed and shook his crumpled wings
Closed his eyes and moved his lips
"It's time we should be going"

(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger, driven by the night
Till you come
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger, see it in my eyes
Till you come

No one seemed to hear him
So he leafed through a magazine
And, yawning, rubbed the sleep away
Very sane he seemed to me

(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger, driven by the night
Till you come
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so)
Look back in anger, feel it in my voice
Till you come

(Waiting so long, ahhh...)
(Waiting so long, I've been waiting so, waiting so) (repeat ad inf.)

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David Bowie

David Robert Jones (8 January 1947 - 10 January 2016), known by his stage name David Bowie ( /ˈboʊ.i/ BOH-ee), was an English musician, actor, record producer and arranger. A major figure for over four decades in the world of popular music, Bowie is widely regarded as an innovator, particularly for his work in the 1970s. He is known for his distinctive voice as well as the intellectual depth and considerable eclecticism of his work. more »

30 fans

Written by: DAVID BOWIE, BRIAN ENO

Lyrics © TINTORETTO MUSIC, Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind


10 facts about this song

Album Classification
"Look Back in Anger" is a song from David Bowie’s album "Lodger", which is the 13th studio album by the singer.
Release Date
"Look Back in Anger" was released as a single in August 1979 by RCA, one of the primary record labels associated with Bowie's music during his career.
Co-Created
This song was co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno. It is considered to be an innovation of post-punk and new wave music genres.
Commercial Performance
Though the song didn't chart in the UK, it made it onto the Billboard Hot 100 in the U.S, peaking at 93 position.
Musical Aesthetics
"Look Back in Anger" is noted for its dramatic guitar riff and its opening drum salvo, which is played by Bowie's longtime drummer, Dennis Davis.
Title Inspiration
The song's title was inspired by a 1956 play by the same name, written by British playwright John Osborne.
Music Video
The music video for "Look Back in Anger", which was directed by David Mallet, features legendary British artist David Hockney. In the video, Bowie portrays an artist who becomes the subject of his own painting.
Personnel
Apart from Bowie and Eno, the song features musicians Carlos Alomar, George Murray, Simon House, Sean Mayes, and Dennis Davis.
Reinterpretations
The song was performed in a new arrangement by Bowie on his 1995 Outside Tour, along with a re-recording during the same year for the “Outside” album.
Cover Versions
“Look Back in Anger” has been covered by various artists including The Anix and TV on the Radio.

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