--- title: How David Bowie Told Us He Was Dying in the 'Lazarus' Video description: He released his last album ‘Blackstar’ to say farewell canonical: https://time.com/4174929/david-bowie-lazarus/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-01-11T15:22:47.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-05-11T05:00:37.928Z article:section: Entertainment og:title: How David Bowie Told Us He Was Dying in the 'Lazarus' Video og:description: He released his last album ‘Blackstar’ to say farewell og:url: https://time.com/4174929/david-bowie-lazarus/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 675 og:image:alt: TIME og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: How David Bowie Told Us He Was Dying in the 'Lazarus' Video twitter:description: He released his last album ‘Blackstar’ to say farewell twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- # How David Bowie Told Us He Was Dying in the 'Lazarus' Video > Sponsored content. 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Terms and conditions apply. * Savings buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Savings Account. * No ATM fees from Ally Bank at Allpoint and Moneypass ATMs plus we reimburse for fees charged by other ATM owners nationwide up to $10 per statement cycle. * Early direct deposit offers eligible direct deposits up to two days sooner. * Spending buckets are a feature of Ally Bank's Spending Account. by [Leonie Cooper / NME](https://time.com/author/nme/) ## Leonie Cooper / NME Jan 11, 2016 3:22 PM UTC by [Leonie Cooper / NME](https://time.com/author/nme/) ## Leonie Cooper / NME Jan 11, 2016 3:22 PM UTC Bowing out with typical style, David Bowie didn’t just release his last album ‘Blackstar’ to coincide with his 69th birthday last week, on January 8 – he was using it to say goodbye to the world. An 18-month battle with cancer that hardly anyone knew about came to tragic end yesterday (January 10), but Bowie provided bleak hints about his terminal condition for his fans and followers in what was to be the final music video of his that was to be released in his lifetime.Released only four days ago, the video for single ‘Lazarus’ was Bowie’s parting shot, opening with a blindfolded, fragile-looking Bowie laying in bed. His first words “look up here, I’m in heaven/I’ve got scars that can’t be seen” are now obviously an admission of his ill health, rather than just a fantastical musing on mortality. It soon becomes obvious that the bed he’s in is a hospital one and Bowie begins to float above it, signifying his transmutation to the other side – whatever, or wherever that may be. Watching it now, it’s a statement as bold as it is bleak. ### See Intimate Photos of David Bowie Throughout His Career  David Bowie, "Smiling and Waving and Looking So Fine," 1972. ©Sukita—Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery  David Bowie, "The First Time I Saw You," 1972. ©Sukita—Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery  David Bowie, "Keep Your 'Lectric Eye," 1973. ©Sukita—Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery  David Bowie, "Watch That Man III," 1973. ©Sukita—Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery  David Bowie, "Heroes to Come," 1977. ©Sukita—Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery  David Bowie, "Heroes," 1977. ©1977/1997 Risky Folio, Inc. Courtesy of The David Bowie Archive™  David Bowie, "A Day in Kyoto 2- Hankyu Train," 1980. ©Sukita—Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery  David Bowie, "A Day in Kyoto 3- Platform," 1980. ©Sukita—Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery  David Bowie, "Ki," 1989. ©Sukita—Courtesy of Morrison Hotel Gallery As Bowie writhes around on the bed, trying to break free, another Bowie then appears, a Bowie clad in black and stood upright, a Bowie who can still pose, pout, pick up a pen and create. Inspiration hits him and he scrawls at speed in a notebook, while the other Bowie continues to convulse. As he writes, we see a skull sitting ominously on his writing desk, the spectre of death looming over Bowie and his final creation, before he steps backwards into a wooden wardrobe, a fitting kind of coffin for an icon of style and fashion. “His death was no different from his life – a work of Art,” explained Bowie’s producer Tony Visconti, in tribute. “He made ‘Blackstar’ for us, his parting gift. I knew for a year this was the way it would be. I wasn’t, however, prepared for it.” Creative to the very end, the ‘Lazarus’ video is a heartbreakingly sad way to bid farewell, but a more than appropriate one. Watch it here: [_This article originally appeared on NME.com_](http://www.nme.com/blogs/nme-blogs/how-david-bowie-told-us-he-was-dying-in-the-lazarus-video#y4Plm53jRCVkdJKJ.99) How David Bowie Told Us He Was Dying in the 'Lazarus' Video ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4174929/david-bowie-lazarus/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4174929/david-bowie-lazarus/"},"headline":"How David Bowie Told Us He Was Dying in the 'Lazarus' Video","datePublished":"2016-01-11T15:22:47.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-11T05:00:37.928Z","description":"He released his last album 'Blackstar' to say farewell","url":"https://time.com/4174929/david-bowie-lazarus/","keywords":["Music","David Bowie"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Leonie Cooper / NME"}],"articleSection":"Entertainment","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/entertainment/","name":"Entertainment"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4174929/david-bowie-lazarus/","name":"How David Bowie Told Us He Was Dying in the 'Lazarus' Video"}}]}] ```