David Bowie in Berlin, in French, in the rain

Same band. Same track. Same Robert Fripp guitar cutting the long electric line through the whole thing. It’s possibly the best guitar line in a Bowie song of that era.
All Bowie changed was the language. English. French. German.

And it becomes three slightly different songs.

Because he could.

And it feels a bit like an appreciation for where he was, and an homage to the people where he was.

TL;DR
In 1977, while living in Berlin, David Bowie recorded “Heroes” in English, French, and German with the same musicians and the same track underneath. The shift in language subtly changes the emotional weight of the song. Hearing it now — especially after living in Europe — makes the connections better. Also: I once saw Bowie play it during a lightning storm that looked like the world ending over the Atlantic. It remains the most dramatic concert exit I’ve ever witnessed.

March is for clearing the slush pile. One song a day. Things I meant to get to “later.” Some connect to France & some don’t. This one does.

K

Héroes — David Bowie (1977)

Bowie recorded 3 versions of “Heroes” in 1977 while living in Berlin, co-written with Brian Eno. They used the same band on all three versions — English, French, German. Same track underneath it all. Same Robert Fripp guitar cutting that long, electric line straight through the song.

Fripp is best known for founding King Crimson (now categorized as Prog Rock), and for the exact unblinking guitar part on “Heroes,” probably more than almost any work he’s done - and he’s done a lot.

What changes is the language, which really does change the feel of it. Maybe it’s Bowie’s accent. Maybe it’s the way French and German carry different weights. Maybe it’s just my own relationship to hearing those languages now. I’m not sure.

Berlin

By that point, Bowie had left the chaos of his life in Los Angeles and settled into Berlin with Eno. Those records, the Berlin Trilogy — Low, “Heroes”, Lodger — feel stripped down compared to his previous work. More space. Less glitter. You can feel Eno in the restraint, the patience.

If you don’t know Brian Eno’s work, by any chance, you’re in for a great discovery. I like My Life in the Bush of Ghosts these days, which he did with David Byrne in 1981 & which feature Fripp again.

Helden

In the late ’70s artists did a lot of alternate-language singles to reach local markets, but Bowie was living in Europe and not just dropping in for a promo. He was living there, walking the streets, running errands. Working. Resetting his life a little.

Right before this he’d been deep in the glossy, theatrical glam world — Ziggy Stardust, Aladdin Sane, all sharp cheekbones, bright costumes, and huge rock gestures. By the time he got to Berlin he was peeling that away, trading spectacle for something colder and more restrained.

This song and this album was a real departure for him from the glam earlier work. Singing it in French & German feels more like an appreciation for where he was living, for landing where he was.

Helden — Bowie (1977)

Heroes

I saw Bowie perform “Heroes” at Jones Beach (An unlikely lineup of Bowie & Moby) as a lightning storm rolled in off the Atlantic. The sky behind the stage turned that strange grey-green you only get before something breaks. You could see the weather moving across the water.

As the song climbed, the storm did too. By the final chorus, rain was coming down in sheets, washing over the stage lights, soaking everything. It felt almost staged in its intensity, except it wasn’t. It was chaos.

He finished the song. No encore theatrics. Just the last note hanging there in the rain. Then they rushed him offstage so he wouldn’t get electrocuted or something.

The parking lot flooded in minutes. Cars inching through what had become a shallow lake.

It remains the most dramatic exit I’ve ever seen a musician make. I found a video of it here (not the best quality): some of the screams are for him, some of them are due to the giant flashes of lightening happening behind him.

He mentions the rain at the start of this. The audience is SOAKED.