Uogb Proves Life On Mars Inspiration

Look at that caveman go*…

The wonderfully clever Ukulele Orchestra of Great Britain have demonstrated something that David Bowie made no secret of, and indeed it’s something he had the good grace to highlight with a notation regarding it on the back cover of Hunky Dory back in 1971. (See above)

Of course, I’m talking about Life On Mars? and the fact that DB said the song was a “kind of modern take on My Way”.

But first, a brief history lesson for those not familiar with the song’s journey…

Back in 1968 a twenty one-year-old David Bowie wrote English lyrics for a French song entitled Comme, D?Habitude, and it became a song he called Even A Fool Learns To Love. The track only reached demo stage (DB actually just sang Even A Fool Learns To Love directly over the top of Comme, D?Habitude and it was never released. But, soon afterwards songwriter Paul Anka heard the original version, bought the rights and rewrote it as My Way.

Here’s a bit from an interview where DB was more specific about Frankie’s inspiration when it came to writing Life On Mars?

“There was a sense of revenge in that because I was so angry that Paul Anka had done My Way that I thought ‘right, I’ll do my own version’. And it basically was my kind of modern take on My Way…there are clutches of melody in it that were definite parodies of My Way”

You can listen to the snippet of interview that the above is taken from courtesy of the BBC’s Radio 2 here.

Finally, go here to see just how the UOGB have demonstrated how similar Life On Mars? and My Way are in terms of their chord structure…but, be sure to keep watching to hear songs by others that also neatly fit the My Way structure…even if the original artists never noticed the fact themselves.

* Today’s lyric quotation comes courtesy of The Hollywood Argyles song, Alley Oop.