--- description: He released his last album ‘Blackstar’ to say farewell title: How David Bowie Told Us He Was Dying in the 'Lazarus' Video image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltde093bcdab65f2d0/6988d9b9bc6cfc69913e2a3c/time-logo.jpg?branch=production --- * [Entertainment](/section/entertainment/) ## Entertainment Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # How David Bowie Told Us He Was Dying in the 'Lazarus' Video by [Leonie Cooper / NME](/author/nme/) ## Leonie Cooper / NME Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 11, 2016 3:22 PM CUT by [Leonie Cooper / NME](/author/nme/) ## Leonie Cooper / NME Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Jan 11, 2016 3:22 PM CUT 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 "undefined") ```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 topic"],"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"}}]}] ```