We Are the Dead
Encyclopedia
"We Are the Dead" is a song written by David Bowie
for the 1974 album Diamond Dogs
. The title is drawn from a line in the World War I
poem "In Flanders Fields
".
The title is a phrase spoken by Winston Smith
to Julia
in George Orwell
's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four
, the basis for the second half of Bowie's album. This is Bowie's interpretation of the couple's capture, and Winston's thoughts about the whole affair. He recognizes that they probably should have ended it while they could, but it is too late: "...because of all we've seen, because of all we've said, we are the dead..."
David Bowie
David Bowie is 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...
for the 1974 album Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs
Diamond Dogs is a concept album by David Bowie, originally released by RCA Records in 1974. Thematically it was a marriage of the novel Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell and Bowie's own glam-tinged vision of a post-apocalyptic world...
. The title is drawn from a line in the World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
poem "In Flanders Fields
In Flanders Fields
"In Flanders Fields" is one of the most notable poems written during World War I, created in the form of a French rondeau. It has been called "the most popular poem" produced during that period...
".
The title is a phrase spoken by Winston Smith
Winston Smith
Winston Smith is a fictional character and the protagonist of George Orwell's 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. The character was employed by Orwell as an everyman in the setting of the novel, a "central eye ... [the reader] can readily identify with"...
to Julia
Julia (1984)
Julia is a fictional character in George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four. Her last name is never given in the novel but she is called Dixon in the 1954 BBC TV production....
in George Orwell
George Orwell
Eric Arthur Blair , better known by his pen name George Orwell, was an English author and journalist...
's novel Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four
Nineteen Eighty-Four by George Orwell is a dystopian novel about Oceania, a society ruled by the oligarchical dictatorship of the Party...
, the basis for the second half of Bowie's album. This is Bowie's interpretation of the couple's capture, and Winston's thoughts about the whole affair. He recognizes that they probably should have ended it while they could, but it is too late: "...because of all we've seen, because of all we've said, we are the dead..."
Other releases
- It was released as the B-side of the single "TVC 15TVC 15"TVC 15" is a song written and recorded by David Bowie and released in 1976.The track was inspired by an episode in which Iggy Pop, during a drug-fuelled period at Bowie’s LA home, hallucinated and believed the television set was swallowing his girlfriend. Bowie developed a story of a holographic...
" in 1976. - It appeared as a picture disc in the RCARCARCA Corporation, founded as the Radio Corporation of America, was an American electronics company in existence from 1919 to 1986. The RCA trademark is currently owned by the French conglomerate Technicolor SA through RCA Trademark Management S.A., a company owned by Technicolor...
Life Time picture disc set.
Cover versions
- Passion Puppets - 12" Single