This song's characters, Uncle Floyd, Oogie and Bones Boy are the vehicle Bowie uses to convey the great heartbreak he felt over the death of his good friend John Lennon. I'm certain that John found the Uncle Floyd show watching TV at the Dakota, and told David about how great the show was. I can imagine them sitting there watching it and laughing like maniacs together. "We were dumb but you were fun, boy." WE is Bowie and Lennon. You is Uncle Floyd. You can feel David's wail of sorrow over Lennon's murder in the way he sings the chorus. Beautiful.
Yeah…Lennons death was a catastrophe…Never should have happened…One can’t help but suspect his killer was a government agent but that’s another subject. It would’ve been great to hear a Lennon and Bowor collab song and surely that would have happened if he had lived
Both Blackstar and Heathen are among my favorites too. It is amazing that he to the very end could create albums that were just as good as the bona fide classics of his youth.
I really did not expect such high-quality work at that point in his career. My mistake. Heathen and Blackstar are as brilliant as any albums I can think of. IMO
A masterpiece that demonstrates Bowie’s genius: the harmonic structure, emphasized by the deep and warm sound of the fretless bass, is incredibly amazing! And that C#dim chord in the intro and in the verse:charming and suggestive!
We should never forget how Bowie did the GREAT thing of pulling back from the ' success' he had reaped in the awful '80ies ; returning to us with stimulating, high quality material from 'OUTSIDE' to the end. Let's raise our cup to the great David...who defeated the Goliath of the Music Industry!!!
Yes indeed, my favorite song from Bowie, Heroes, Life on Mars, The man who sold the world, Lady grinning soul, Lady Stardust, This is not America, Suffragette city and many others come after this great song!
I went to see bowie at the NEC in Birmingham 2002...he sang slip away at the end of the concert. ..ile never forget it for as long as I live... thanks dave
Draw strength from the fact that Bowie may be dead, but he'll never really be gone. His music is all out there, waiting for the next generation to discover it.
Been a bowie freak since 1975.. I'm now 52....this haunting love song to NYC is one of his best and the stylophone coda always gets me choked up for some reason. Thank you for all the brilliant music, David.
I really had to grow into this album. I was 20, almost 21 when it was released, and while I was kind of fond of this song and a couple others, the album as a whole was still very much over my head. I couldn't dive deep into it the way I had with all the classic Bowie albums. I was sure it was good, but I couldn't find the heart of it. This one took me a while... well into my 30s, but when I found the heart of it, it opened wide and hit me with adulthood. Wiser, but still bewildered, and it's okay... or it's not, but we're all swimming in it, so I'm not alone. From my teen years, and now into my early 40s, it's been great having Bowie's music to accompany the timeline of my life. I know I'm not the only one.
I came here because he said this was his favourite song on the album... it is indeed a lovely song. He weaved in and out of my life with songs I will never forget. Thank you David 👽 ⚡️★
Same here - it's amazing really, because it's so incredible to find all these gems after an artist has died - and there are SOOOOO many that are incredible, it's like Christmas morning!
13 years ago!! Saw him live in Manchester! "Heathen Tour." My all time hero!! So worth waiting all those years to see him! He was amazing!! Goodnight Starman - :) xxx
I have been in love with David Bowie since I was a child (I'm now 38). I wanted him to have my babies, even. No one could understand why I was obsessed with him, but to me he was this amazing figure of a man. I'm sure there are many others out there who feel the same and were just as grieved to hear of his death. Rest in peace, David - Heaven just gained a colorful and warm soul. Can't wait to meet you there one day.
I understand. I has also for Days. All the days of my life. I did a cover of it. I'd really like it if you clicked on my videos to watch my cover of Days. I miss David so much. I can't help it. I don't want to be so lonely in this mourning anymore. People in my life are just being meaner and meaner to me as I express myself. I've kept my mouth shut since he died. Nothing is getting done as a result. I hope you like my covers for David.
He was part of my life, too. I have always felt more familiar with him than with many other people I know personally. He put a spell on all his listeners' lives, and he conjured a fourth dimension wrapping us into his musical soul.
Caradavin I understand.and I'm a guy.He trandsends race and gender lines. Talent is Talent. Personally I thought I he was better than Michael. More range More social commentary.About the here and now. And I'm a black guy saying this
It is a fine album, better than any, perhaps, since Let's Dance, but I believe he never surpassed any of his work after Scary Monsters in 1980. Bowie himself always stated that that the albums recorded in the 1975 - 1977 period (Young Americans, Station to Station, Low, and "Heroes") were the records he was proudest of.
'surpassed' is a tricky qualifier. rarely attained the quality of Scary Monsters, perhaps, but nailed it ten times over in Blackstar @@elagabalusrex390
Una canzone meravigliosa, ascoltandola la concentrazione è massima si apprezza la voce ineguagliabile, le parole, ogni suono perfetto.....per me magica.
Once the 90s hit Bowie just kept getting better and better and with the Next Day, he reached the level of greatest he had with albums in the 70s and early 80s. Heathen was a pretty good one as well. He had some pretty good stuff in the 90s as well.
It's been 3 years and even though the shock has worn off, his exit for our reality is missed. I'm glad that memory and conciseness would flow into another body to reinvigorate another generation. However i miss his presents now, thank god we have his music.
This song is a tribute to the Uncle Floyd Show which was a low budget mock kids comedy show that was somewhat popular here in New Jersey. The show's heyday was in the 1980's, mostly on local TV. He mentions the characters Bonesboy, Oogie, and Uncle Floyd from the show. Oogie and Bonesboy are puppets. There is a fair amount of information on the web if you research the show. I was surprised to hear that Bowie knew about Uncle Floyd, and came to know the show through John Lennon.
"Slip Away", and how - I can remember watching Uncle Floyd and his pals on a little black and white TV in my friend's kitchen while his mom made dinner for us, came on either before or after Speed Racer or Green Acres, can't remember the order anymore. Soon we all had pictures on the wall, mine was Godzilla. And I can not remember how or when or why that regular must -see TV time ended, the memory is vivid, but somehow those days, and those guys, and that old TV, and the show did just slip away. About 100 years later, around 2005 or so, my beloved and I went to the Fort Lee arts and music fair, and old Floyd was hosting, and I was thrilled - she said something like You know that crazy guy? I ran back to our apartment and got my UF show DVD and a sharpie and Floyd kindly signed the case for me. About 3 years after that, my beloved slipped away from me as well - Actually she more like told me to slip away or slide away, or crawl, moonwalk, fade away, etc.- far away, but quick-like and hastily, and forget the way back. That one I remember clearly and vividly like it happened 5 minutes ago,
I miss him so much. I was such a big fan of his Ziggy days when people asked me what I was listening to. I told them then a legend in the making....he certainly didn't disappoint us. Love him always. (Going to the exhibit tomorrow at the Brooklyn museum, so looking forward to it)
+Penny “Story Time” Filkins Nick Cave was a goose, the very bloke who wanted to eradicate pop and new wave in favour of his own dreary sounding style.. what an arse - he lost ..thank god for that
+Penny “Story Time” Filkins I don't mean to say there is anything wrong, I don't personally know, but its just because the other commenter said that he was a goose or something
How many folks came here after hearing Jordan Rudess talking about it in the Neal Morse Musicians Having Coffee and Talking About Stuff podcast? \m/ Bowie was one of a kind!
this was about a show, "The Uncle Floyd Show". it was seen in nj and ny on channel 9. floyd is a vaudeville type piano playing joke teller, but the characters on his, literally, unrehearsed show were so funny, and there's like 7 of them!! it wasn't really for kids, they didn't get it at all. but the stoners did!!! we loved it. i'm friends with charlie from the show and he puts up clips and they're all trying not to laugh on set, while the guys in the background are laughing loud!! really goofy funny stuff. bowie liked the show and watched it with lou reed and iggy "jimmy" popp. it started in the real early 80's.
Dave Gunn he was once asked in an interview how he found out about the show. He replied that John Lennon told him to give it a watch. He said they used to watch it and be rolling around the floor laughing.
Leave it to Bowie to write a song about 'The Uncle Floyd Show', an obscure but funny little NJ cable show that it's said Lennon turned him on to. He was Brilliant!
One of my greatest inspirations (probably the greatest) to become a musician myself and explore the unpopular unconventional progressions hidden in all instrument's notes. RIP Sir
What a beautiful song, and a great one to sing along to. The xylophone at the end is just perfect, I remember him performing this on Jonathan Ross when Heathen was released. RIP
David Bowie was a huge figure for me in my formative years, and I will carry these songs with me as long as I live. It's the least I can do in return...
For those who aren't in the know, this song is about a song that was on the New Jersey Network called the Uncle Floyd Show. Oogie and Bones Boy were puppets. You can actually watch the Uncle Floyd Show at 8PM Eastern US time on StageIt, to see what David Bowie was singing about.
Oogie waits for just another day Drags his bones to see the Yankees play Bones Boy talks and flickers gray Oh, they slip away Once a time they nearly might have been Bones and Oogie on a silver screen No one knew what they could do Except for me and you They slip away They slip away Don't forget to keep your head warm Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd Watching all the world and war torn How I wonder where you are Oo-o Sailing over Coney Island Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd We were dumb but you were fun, boy How I wonder where you are Oo-o Oogie knew there's never ever time Some of us will always stay behind Down in space it's always 1982 The joke we always knew Oo-oo What'sa matter with you C'mon, let's go Slip away Oo-o Don't forget to keep your head warm Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd Watching all the world and war torn How I wonder where you are Oo-o Sailing over Coney Island Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd We were dumb but you were fun, boy How I wonder where you are Oo-o Sailing
Thankyou for taking the time to do that. Very much appreciated 😊 Sometimes it's funny when you hear lyrics differently from what is actually being sung!!! 😂
+Jan Van Steen Noticed that, too. After reading up on the song, it seems to refer to the show "The Uncle Floyd Show". Ostensibly aimed at children, it also had an adult audience, Bowie among them. The show was recommended to him by John Lennon. Not sure what is the significance behind the similarity.
+ivankaramasov Yeah, the song is very melancholy on its own - it almost seems like Uncle Floyd has passed away and the song is a tribute to him (the show has ended a few years before "Slip Away" was written). Another possible connection: "Slip Away" references "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". A Blackstar is a star that gives no light, it has stopped twinkling.
knowing the inspiration doesnt take away from the melancholic delivery - as if Major Tom returned as a ghost, it ends as if in a carnivaliduring the early morning
Although this song is about Uncle Floyd, it has a special meaning to me. Someone special to me slipped away. And even now, this song is true beauty. The sad memories make it that more emotional.
The first time I heard this song I assumed it was about grief or loss, so I was surprised to learn it was about a children's show. Then I read that Bowie used to watch it with Iggy Pop and John Lennon, and now I wonder if I wasn't right the first time...
As good as any song hes done in the 70's, maybe better. so haunting, amazing imagary ,brilliant vocal melody and backing. Check the live versions, fantastic
I came here because this song is mentioned in Moby's new book called Then It Fell Apart. He was friends with Bowie and got to listen to the song right after it was recorded.
I like to think that he's still out there, and that he went to a star-system where he could get reborn again, like David Bowman the astronaut in "2010". And all the children who love him will get to boogie with him again. He knew something we didn't - and tried to tell us in song - twinkle, twinkle Uncle Floyd ...
![David Bowie 5.15 The Angels Have Gone [Video]](/img/1.gif)
This song's characters, Uncle Floyd, Oogie and Bones Boy are the vehicle Bowie uses to convey the great heartbreak he felt over the death of his good friend John Lennon. I'm certain that John found the Uncle Floyd show watching TV at the Dakota, and told David about how great the show was. I can imagine them sitting there watching it and laughing like maniacs together.
"We were dumb but you were fun, boy."
WE is Bowie and Lennon. You is Uncle Floyd. You can feel David's wail of sorrow over Lennon's murder in the way he sings the chorus. Beautiful.
Yeah…Lennons death was a catastrophe…Never should have happened…One can’t help but suspect his killer was a government agent but that’s another subject. It would’ve been great to hear a Lennon and Bowor collab song and surely that would have happened if he had lived
Maybe but didn't Lennon die in 1980? Why the reference to 1982?
@@drinkawater7477 perhaps a reference to a future gig they planned but could never complete
I'm convinced this man was holding the fabric of the universe together. So much awfulness has happened since he passed. he is missed.
Thats why he was the Starman
Starman and liege .for sure
I agree, he is by me since I'm 14 ans. I don't miss him because he is still there.
dementium13 miss him everyday and yes we lost a treasure when he passed
@jack lacey nah
I am obsessed with this album... One of my favorites with Ziggy Stardust, Station to Station and Blackstar...
Both Blackstar and Heathen are among my favorites too. It is amazing that he to the very end could create albums that were just as good as the bona fide classics of his youth.
How about Aladdin Sane and Reality? They are good ones too, especially Aladdin Sane!
I really did not expect such high-quality work at that point in his career. My mistake. Heathen and Blackstar are as brilliant as any albums I can think of. IMO
If I tell my wife "don't forget to keep your head warm, twinkle twinkle, [my] little star" once more, she will divorce me lol
Oogie and uncle Floyd agree.
A masterpiece that demonstrates Bowie’s genius: the harmonic structure, emphasized by the deep and warm sound of the fretless bass, is incredibly amazing!
And that C#dim chord in the intro and in the verse:charming and suggestive!
We should never forget how Bowie did the GREAT thing of pulling back from the ' success' he had reaped in the awful '80ies ; returning to us with stimulating, high quality material from 'OUTSIDE' to the end. Let's raise our cup to the great David...who defeated the Goliath of the Music Industry!!!
One of Bowie's best tunes ever.
Yes indeed, my favorite song from Bowie, Heroes, Life on Mars, The man who sold the world, Lady grinning soul, Lady Stardust, This is not America, Suffragette city and many others come after this great song!
masterpiece..so underrated.... i love this song.. RIP David Bowie... i miss u
Yes, masterpiece! It's my 4th favorite song of all time from anybody!
yup great song!
there, it is about youtube views, I hope that the album was more successful.
@Peter May classic
You said it so well ❤
I went to see bowie at the NEC in Birmingham 2002...he sang slip away at the end of the concert. ..ile never forget it for as long as I live... thanks dave
Draw strength from the fact that Bowie may be dead, but he'll never really be gone. His music is all out there, waiting for the next generation to discover it.
Five Years
And so be it! 🧡
Been a bowie freak since 1975.. I'm now 52....this haunting love song to NYC is one of his best and the stylophone coda always gets me choked up for some reason. Thank you for all the brilliant music, David.
This Song is Cosmic, to say the least. Ingenious. Full of sadness, yet hopeful. Full of Soul.
I really had to grow into this album. I was 20, almost 21 when it was released, and while I was kind of fond of this song and a couple others, the album as a whole was still very much over my head. I couldn't dive deep into it the way I had with all the classic Bowie albums. I was sure it was good, but I couldn't find the heart of it. This one took me a while... well into my 30s, but when I found the heart of it, it opened wide and hit me with adulthood. Wiser, but still bewildered, and it's okay... or it's not, but we're all swimming in it, so I'm not alone. From my teen years, and now into my early 40s, it's been great having Bowie's music to accompany the timeline of my life. I know I'm not the only one.
I came here because he said this was his favourite song on the album... it is indeed a lovely song. He weaved in and out of my life with songs I will never forget. Thank you David 👽 ⚡️★
Heathen and Outside are both gravely ignored. They are two of my favourite Bowie albums of all time.
Checking out albums I never got around to hearing, I'm finding that all his greatest material is strewn all across all his albums. Remarkable.
Same here - it's amazing really, because it's so incredible to find all these gems after an artist has died - and there are SOOOOO many that are incredible, it's like Christmas morning!
And some great albums he has!
13 years ago!! Saw him live in Manchester! "Heathen Tour." My all time hero!! So worth waiting all those years to see him! He was amazing!! Goodnight Starman - :) xxx
Kupperville 2008, Florence’s favorite, really the best times. xoxo
"oogie new theres never ever time- some of us will always stay behind" ... some reason that line always hits me...
I have been in love with David Bowie since I was a child (I'm now 38). I wanted him to have my babies, even. No one could understand why I was obsessed with him, but to me he was this amazing figure of a man. I'm sure there are many others out there who feel the same and were just as grieved to hear of his death. Rest in peace, David - Heaven just gained a colorful and warm soul. Can't wait to meet you there one day.
I understand. I has also for Days. All the days of my life. I did a cover of it. I'd really like it if you clicked on my videos to watch my cover of Days. I miss David so much. I can't help it. I don't want to be so lonely in this mourning anymore. People in my life are just being meaner and meaner to me as I express myself. I've kept my mouth shut since he died. Nothing is getting done as a result. I hope you like my covers for David.
He was part of my life, too. I have always felt more familiar with him than with many other people I know personally. He put a spell on all his listeners' lives, and he conjured a fourth dimension wrapping us into his musical soul.
Caradavin I understand.and I'm a guy.He trandsends race and gender lines. Talent is Talent. Personally I thought I he was better than Michael. More range More social commentary.About the here and now. And I'm a black guy saying this
Are you the one from the live by request show?
I have just heard slip away for the first time. How beautifull !! must play it now for the 20 time after after again. Fantastic and sad. I miss him
Heathen is bowie's best album
In my opinion - I own every album but this one Masterpiece
I’m not quite sure yet for me, I have a feeling it’s going to be The Next Day. I think post 2000 is my favorite time period of his music
It is a fine album, better than any, perhaps, since Let's Dance, but I believe he never surpassed any of his work after Scary Monsters in 1980. Bowie himself always stated that that the albums recorded in the 1975 - 1977 period (Young Americans, Station to Station, Low, and "Heroes") were the records he was proudest of.
Very very good album but Scary Monsters, in my opinion, is his masterpiece
'surpassed' is a tricky qualifier. rarely attained the quality of Scary Monsters, perhaps, but nailed it ten times over in Blackstar @@elagabalusrex390
i bought Heathen a month or so ago, i bloody love it.
Una canzone meravigliosa, ascoltandola la concentrazione è massima si apprezza la voce ineguagliabile, le parole, ogni suono perfetto.....per me magica.
Laura Gregorig Hai proprio ragione. Niente di superfluo.
This song is a beauty to my ears, to my heart and my mind.
You slept away but you're still by me
From Ibeza to the Norfolk Broads. What a journey. Unique music. Unique man. Thank you, David.
I'm going to miss him. He was my hero.
+ONInonymous Still IS.
I'm sailing in the same boat. It aches like tetanus.
The best artist last 100 years.
Once the 90s hit Bowie just kept getting better and better and with the Next Day, he reached the level of greatest he had with albums in the 70s and early 80s. Heathen was a pretty good one as well. He had some pretty good stuff in the 90s as well.
This is just simply my 4th favorite song of all time from anybody! That's for certain! RIP David! The Starman!
It's been 3 years and even though the shock has worn off, his exit for our reality is missed. I'm glad that memory and conciseness would flow into another body to reinvigorate another generation. However i miss his presents now, thank god we have his music.
The subject of this tune was also a part of my youth. Long live Uncle Floyd and RIP David Bowie.
This song is a tribute to the Uncle Floyd Show which was a low budget mock kids comedy show that was somewhat popular here in New Jersey. The show's heyday was in the 1980's, mostly on local TV. He mentions the characters Bonesboy, Oogie, and Uncle Floyd from the show. Oogie and Bonesboy are puppets. There is a fair amount of information on the web if you research the show. I was surprised to hear that Bowie knew about Uncle Floyd, and came to know the show through John Lennon.
"Slip Away", and how - I can remember watching Uncle Floyd and his pals on a little black and white TV in my friend's kitchen while his mom made dinner for us, came on either before or after Speed Racer or Green Acres, can't remember the order anymore. Soon we all had pictures on the wall, mine was Godzilla.
And I can not remember how or when or why that regular must -see TV time ended, the memory is vivid, but somehow those days, and those guys, and that old TV, and the show did just slip away.
About 100 years later, around 2005 or so, my beloved and I went to the Fort Lee arts and music fair, and old Floyd was hosting, and I was thrilled - she said something like You know that crazy guy? I ran back to our apartment and got my UF show DVD and a sharpie and Floyd kindly signed the case for me.
About 3 years after that, my beloved slipped away from me as well - Actually she more like told me to slip away or slide away, or crawl, moonwalk, fade away, etc.- far away, but quick-like and hastily, and forget the way back. That one I remember clearly and vividly like it happened 5 minutes ago,
Beautiful song Beautiful man
He was a beautiful man.
Absolutely ❤️⚡️
You're beautiful too, Mindy!
I miss him so much. I was such a big fan of his Ziggy days when people asked me what I was listening to. I told them then a legend in the making....he certainly didn't disappoint us. Love him always. (Going to the exhibit tomorrow at the Brooklyn museum, so looking forward to it)
In my eyes he's not gone.... he's always here.... no bullshit nobody can touch him... pure class.... REJOICE at a true bloody genius x
Bowie forever. Happy Birthday.
David Bowie, Nick Cave, and Mark Linkous are my favorites.... This loss is a heavy one.
+Penny “Story Time” Filkins
Nick Cave was a goose, the very bloke who wanted to eradicate pop and new wave in favour of his own dreary sounding style.. what an arse - he lost ..thank god for that
Mr Moo
Piss off.
+Penny “Story Time” Filkins I like Nick Cave :D regardless of his personality I always thought his music was really different and thought provoking
megzpotter24
I don't see anything wrong with his personality....
+Penny “Story Time” Filkins I don't mean to say there is anything wrong, I don't personally know, but its just because the other commenter said that he was a goose or something
No one in my lifetime will ever be as influencial nor genius as Bowie x
Love this song, one of the many that spent alot of time on repeat
How many folks came here after hearing Jordan Rudess talking about it in the Neal Morse Musicians Having Coffee and Talking About Stuff podcast? \m/ Bowie was one of a kind!
Me! ;-)
straight away!
me
Guilty!
Me, I was curious to hear the track because of the recording method. I would not call the tone magical, sorry Brian Eno!
this was about a show, "The Uncle Floyd Show". it was seen in nj and ny on channel 9. floyd is a vaudeville type piano playing joke teller, but the characters on his, literally, unrehearsed show were so funny, and there's like 7 of them!! it wasn't really for kids, they didn't get it at all. but the stoners did!!! we loved it. i'm friends with charlie from the show and he puts up clips and they're all trying not to laugh on set, while the guys in the background are laughing loud!! really goofy funny stuff. bowie liked the show and watched it with lou reed and iggy "jimmy" popp. it started in the real early 80's.
Did Floyd die shortly before Bowie wrote the song? Because this feels like a mourning song.
@@k-leb4671 No, as of this writing "Uncle" Floyd Vivino is alive and well at age 68, occasionally performing live shows in the NY/NJ area.
Dave Gunn he was once asked in an interview how he found out about the show. He replied that John Lennon told him to give it a watch. He said they used to watch it and be rolling around the floor laughing.
Dave Gunn watching this clip ruclips.net/video/Tov8xIg85u4/видео.html I really get why they found it so hilarious
@@andalltheangelssay212 I met Uncle Floyd. Very gracious.
This is not my favorite Bowie song, but maybe the most beautiful one. It is even more beautiful than Life on Mars I think.
I agree.
We are losing all of rock's great artists & legends. Lou Reed and now Bowie.
If Leonard Cohen or Joni Mitchell passes I will lose it
+jake b IF? I hate to be the bearer of bad tidings, but it's "when." :(
+jake b We´d still have Bob... and Paul... and Pete, and Patti... and the Zeppelins... But yes, man. We`re pretty lost.
+Aneeta TV and Beiber. Lol.
+jake b They have to, so they can be legends forever
warmecanic that’s a great way to look at it ;)
So sad :( May you rest in peace. Thank you for the memories collected through your music.
11/01/2016
+Cs Efe he died January 10th. 1/10/16.
+trdidion I know, but I wanted to mark the date when I wrote the message, which happens to be my birthday too.
+Cs Efe I got it. I get it.
Another one of my favorite songs from the heathen album
Leave it to Bowie to write a song about 'The Uncle Floyd Show', an obscure but funny little NJ cable show that it's said Lennon turned him on to. He was Brilliant!
Man, how i love this album!!!
One of my greatest inspirations (probably the greatest) to become a musician myself and explore the unpopular unconventional progressions hidden in all instrument's notes. RIP Sir
+Al Sea Same thing with me. BTW your profile picture is the best.
+Aneeta TV Ty, love me dog =]
What a beautiful song, and a great one to sing along to. The xylophone at the end is just perfect, I remember him performing this on Jonathan Ross when Heathen was released. RIP
It's a Stylophone he plays at the song's finish; held in your palm and played with a pencil-like wand
He first used in on Space Oddity
+JonMatt62 a stylophone, yes of course. I had a nagging doubt that I'd picked the wrong instrument!
I'm obsessed with this song.....
there is no devil, one of my fav bowie quotes
David Bowie was a huge figure for me in my formative years, and I will carry these songs with me as long as I live. It's the least I can do in return...
So beautiful song and charming voice
From Ziggy stardust to Lázaro he is imortal God bless him!!!...........
For those who aren't in the know, this song is about a song that was on the New Jersey Network called the Uncle Floyd Show. Oogie and Bones Boy were puppets. You can actually watch the Uncle Floyd Show at 8PM Eastern US time on StageIt, to see what David Bowie was singing about.
Slip Away, or The Ballad of Steven Gerrard. An absolutely gorgeous song... one of Bowie's very, very best
Oogie waits for just another day
Drags his bones
to see the Yankees play
Bones Boy talks and flickers gray
Oh, they slip away
Once a time
they nearly might have been
Bones and Oogie on a silver screen
No one knew what they could do
Except for me and you
They slip away
They slip away
Don't forget
to keep your head warm
Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd
Watching all the world
and war torn
How I wonder where you are
Oo-o
Sailing over
Coney Island
Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd
We were dumb
but you were fun, boy
How I wonder where you are
Oo-o
Oogie knew there's never ever time
Some of us will always stay behind
Down in space it's always 1982
The joke we always knew
Oo-oo
What'sa matter with you
C'mon, let's go
Slip away
Oo-o
Don't forget
to keep your head warm
Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd
Watching all the world
and war torn
How I wonder where you are
Oo-o
Sailing over
Coney Island
Twinkle twinkle Uncle Floyd
We were dumb
but you were fun, boy
How I wonder where you are
Oo-o
Sailing
Thankyou for taking the time to do that. Very much appreciated 😊
Sometimes it's funny when you hear lyrics differently from what is actually being sung!!! 😂
Oo-o.
Marvelous , slip away .... thanks for your art ❤ love you forever !
I used to sleep to this song when I was younger.
I am still hurting that he is no longer with us-Bowie rules...
the similarities between this song and Lazarus cannot be a mere coincidence :)
+Jan Van Steen Noticed that, too. After reading up on the song, it seems to refer to the show "The Uncle Floyd Show". Ostensibly aimed at children, it also had an adult audience, Bowie among them. The show was recommended to him by John Lennon. Not sure what is the significance behind the similarity.
+ImVeryOriginal Maybe just the title "Slip Away"? Another hint hidden in Lazarus that he was in fact dying.
+ivankaramasov Yeah, the song is very melancholy on its own - it almost seems like Uncle Floyd has passed away and the song is a tribute to him (the show has ended a few years before "Slip Away" was written). Another possible connection: "Slip Away" references "Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star". A Blackstar is a star that gives no light, it has stopped twinkling.
Lazurus was also influenced by TV on the Radio's "Province", which David sang on
+Jan Van Steen I didn't even notice until I read your comment! Singing Lazarus in my head, the melodies and how Bowie sings are very similar!
The twinkle twinkle are tears in my eyes...
Yeah, can't find a better word to describe the feeling this song gives me.
Only one thing to say about that song... PERFECT.
Gorgeous. Eerie. Comforting.
I remember seeing him sing this live 14 years ago. He seemed to really dig it even if anyone in Chicago could even understand.
Such a cool song............. Bowie rocks!!!
knowing the inspiration doesnt take away from the melancholic delivery - as if Major Tom returned as a ghost, it ends as if in a carnivaliduring the early morning
slip away……
この曲から発せられる空気、まさに彼との別れの曲……。サヨウナラ。
wow great song RIP David and thanks for your talent and thank you Cinderellllaa s channel for the posting
Although this song is about Uncle Floyd, it has a special meaning to me. Someone special to me slipped away. And even now, this song is true beauty. The sad memories make it that more emotional.
Jordan Rudess of Dream Theater is on the piano here. and yes, i'm here after watching a certain video.
Thank you Neal Morse eh :)
Old time bowiephile, just getting introduced to the 90s stuff now. I really like this one...
Johnnywhamo
I meant post time machine I guess. But i stand corrected.
Iz in Toronto, but am from Alberta.
I quite like the whole heathen album
Uncle Floyd, the N Y Yankees & Coney Island.....CAN'T BEAT IT
Wonderful!!!...
The first time I heard this song I assumed it was about grief or loss, so I was surprised to learn it was about a children's show. Then I read that Bowie used to watch it with Iggy Pop and John Lennon, and now I wonder if I wasn't right the first time...
A haunting rejoinder to his early Oddity material. As mysterious and atmospheric as always is Bowie.
This track is priceless
Stupendo indimenticabile marziano di tutti i tempi
My fav david song rip rock n roll legend
one of my favs off heathen!
As good as any song hes done in the 70's, maybe better. so haunting, amazing imagary ,brilliant vocal melody and backing. Check the live versions, fantastic
And he shall make music wherever he goes...
this song gives me chills
Loved The Uncle Floyd Show. Ogie, Bones & The Gang.....
Another,great song!
i love the song
I came here because this song is mentioned in Moby's new book called Then It Fell Apart. He was friends with Bowie and got to listen to the song right after it was recorded.
Might have been born & raised in the UK, but a New Yorker through & through..
I like to think that he's still out there, and that he went to a star-system where he could get reborn again, like David Bowman the astronaut in "2010". And all the children who love him will get to boogie with him again. He knew something we didn't - and tried to tell us in song - twinkle, twinkle Uncle Floyd ...
Hermosa atmósfera sonora la que genera está canción.....
I used to watch Uncle Floyd on NJN in the 80s as a kid
Love you, Bowie
I highly recommend all turntable owners get the Music on Vinyl release of this album. Amazing sound!!!
+peartfaldo The CD version sounds horrid . I have ordered the Vinyl of this record. Ditto for " The Next Day ".
MisterTMH p
This man and song rattle my being.
¡Great masterpiece!
Tinkle tinkle master Bowie.
one of bowie's best. (although that list is a fairly long one...)
My list is ,ong too! About 30 songs!
long
Bowie's tribute to NJ TV legend Uncle Floyd. Lennon was also a big fan.