On Bowie's last album, Blackstar, he revisits one of his most famous songs in the song, Tis A Pity She's A Whore.

Just as Ashes to Ashes adds detail and explains Space Oddity, Tis A Pity explains why Bowie compared Time to a whore in the first place.

Time is now beating him to death just as a vicious street whore would with blazingly fast slaps and punches.

This whore is so skilled and accurate that Bowie pleads with her to stop. This whore grabs his member, steals his money and hits like a man.

This whore is such a monster and a fitting metaphor for Bowie's last album, Blackstar.

You should publish an academic paper on this Sam. generations of students will thank you

I think that someone on here made the great connection that 'Tis a Pity' was DB's oblique way of letting us know he had the Big C. 'She punched me like a dude'
, 'kept my cock' etc etc. Looking back it's obvious but hindsight is a great thang

I made the connection. I don't claim to have been the only one. Such a powerful song. And as always with db the code that isn't a code. Thru gritted teeth as with nearly all of blackstar.

I think that someone on here made the great connection that 'Tis a Pity' was DB's oblique way of letting us know he had the Big C. 'She punched me like a dude'
, 'kept my cock' etc etc. Looking back it's obvious but hindsight is a great thang

I think that was either Sam or me. It's in this thread:http://www.network54.com/Forum/8980/thread/1481720086

At the time I loved TAPSWAW, literally listening to it every day for a year. Way preferred it to Sue.

Then in 2016 it dawned on me. Pretty much everything you've listed above. Originally the lyrics to TAPSWAW seemed random or abstract, but now they feel really graphic, directly addressing what he was going through, sort of confrontational. Almost too candid to listen to, if he's telling us that his libido suffered, and he felt beaten up by it, asking for the mad hands to cease their onslaught.

"'tis my fate I suppose" After years of chain smoking, drugs and alcohol, I guess his odds of contracting the big C might have shortened.

"That was patrol, this is the war" Like he was saying that his previous numerous songs addressing the inevitable conclusion were just patrols for the battle to come, but this song is the war, the battle is now. His impending death which he had been singing about since his 20s was finally now a grim prospect.

Although it seemed that his humour was still there. it's like he was saying it was a pity his killer had killed many before, a whore. I suppose when you're a rock god you forget that you can fall to mortal diseases, and you perhaps expect to be beamed to Mars as your grand exit. Like he'd have preferred his killer to have been something a bit less common. 'Tis a pity she was a whore.

I did notice the medical references in Sue, and it sort of registered that it was part of life for someone in their 60s that clinics would call about x-rays, but I still didn't put it all together that he was on his way out.

I guess what's cool is that he was happy to put that song out there, fully aware that no one would be able to initially realise what it really meant, but in putting it out there, despite it being uninterpreted, it perhaps felt like he was expressing how he felt.

He knew that some of his fans would really ponder his lyrics, and that we'd eventually get what he was telling us, but only after he had gone, and we'd be kicking ourselves for not seeing it. Yeah, I reckon that was why it was rerecorded for Blackstar, because it was so relevant to what was occurring in his life. I think it's as significant a song as Lazarus.

An artist, right to the end and beyond.

On Bowie's last album, Blackstar, he revisits one of his most famous songs in the song, Tis A Pity She's A Whore.

Just as Ashes to Ashes adds detail and explains Space Oddity, Tis A Pity explains why Bowie compared Time to a whore in the first place.

Time is now beating him to death just as a vicious street whore would with blazingly fast slaps and punches.

This whore is so skilled and accurate that Bowie pleads with her to stop. This whore grabs his member, steals his money and hits like a man.

This whore is such a monster and a fitting metaphor for Bowie's last album, Blackstar.

Thanks sam I enjoyed that synapse lapse.
Incestious and vain, and many other last names.
Francis Picabia: Our Heads Are Round so Our Thoughts Can Change Direction

so basically your saying its about your mum sam?

I think that was either Sam or me. It's in this thread:http://www.network54.com/Forum/8980/thread/1481720086

At the time I loved TAPSWAW, literally listening to it every day for a year. Way preferred it to Sue.

Then in 2016 it dawned on me. Pretty much everything you've listed above. Originally the lyrics to TAPSWAW seemed random or abstract, but now they feel really graphic, directly addressing what he was going through, sort of confrontational. Almost too candid to listen to, if he's telling us that his libido suffered, and he felt beaten up by it, asking for the mad hands to cease their onslaught.

"'tis my fate I suppose" After years of chain smoking, drugs and alcohol, I guess his odds of contracting the big C might have shortened.

"That was patrol, this is the war" Like he was saying that his previous numerous songs addressing the inevitable conclusion were just patrols for the battle to come, but this song is the war, the battle is now. His impending death which he had been singing about since his 20s was finally now a grim prospect.

Although it seemed that his humour was still there. it's like he was saying it was a pity his killer had killed many before, a whore. I suppose when you're a rock god you forget that you can fall to mortal diseases, and you perhaps expect to be beamed to Mars as your grand exit. Like he'd have preferred his killer to have been something a bit less common. 'Tis a pity she was a whore.

I did notice the medical references in Sue, and it sort of registered that it was part of life for someone in their 60s that clinics would call about x-rays, but I still didn't put it all together that he was on his way out.

I guess what's cool is that he was happy to put that song out there, fully aware that no one would be able to initially realise what it really meant, but in putting it out there, despite it being uninterpreted, it perhaps felt like he was expressing how he felt.

He knew that some of his fans would really ponder his lyrics, and that we'd eventually get what he was telling us, but only after he had gone, and we'd be kicking ourselves for not seeing it. Yeah, I reckon that was why it was rerecorded for Blackstar, because it was so relevant to what was occurring in his life. I think it's as significant a song as Lazarus.

An artist, right to the end and beyond.

Yeah I was wondering why when he recorded 'Tis a Pity She was a Whore' for the album it started out with the breathing over the instruments.
Breathing as a measure of time.
The breathing links it back to 'Time' where it has that dramatic breathing before the manic Ronson guitar solo, after "You- are not evicting time"
Planned accidents.

Thanks sam I enjoyed that synapse lapse.
Incestious and vain, and many other last names.
Francis Picabia: Our Heads Are Round so Our Thoughts Can Change Direction

Another link to "incestuous and vain" goes right to the title of TAPSWAW and it's namesake, the play by John Ford in which the main character Giovanni develops an incestuous passion for his sister Annabella.

William S. Burroughs fold in method of composing
"I have frequently had the experience of writing some pages of straight narrative text which were then folded in with other pages and found that the fold ins were clearer and more comprehensible than the original texts-Perfectly clear narrative prose can be produced using the fold in method-Best results are usually obtained by placing pages dealing with similar subjects in juxtaposition."
So to amuse myself I tried folding 'Time' into 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore'
Wonder what a cut up would look like.

Man, she punched me like a dude in the wings
Hold your mad hands, I cried of senseless things
'Tis a pity she was a whore script you and me, boy
'Tis my curse I suppose flexes like a whore
That was patrol wanking to the floor
That was patrol wanking to the floor
This is the war tricks you and me, boy

Black struck the kiss, she kept my cock In Quaaludes and red wine
Smote the mistress, drifting on Demanding Billy Dolls
'Tis a pity she was a whore other friends of mine
She stole my purse, with rattling speed Take your time
That was patrol sniper in the brain
This is the war regurgitating drain
'Tis a pity she was a whore Incestuous and vain, and many other last names

Man, she punched me like a dude and I think 'Oh God I'm still alive'
Hold your mad hands, I cried You - are not a victim
'Tis a pity she was a whore You - just scream with boredom
'Tis my fate I suppose You - are not evicting time
For that was patrol Goddamn, you're looking old
That was patrol but keeping dark is hateful
'Tis a pity she was a whore your park was real and dreamless
'Tis a pity she was a whore smiling through this darkness

you need to get out more Nemo

signed

a well wisher