"Be My Wife" is a song by English musician David Bowie from the 1977 album Low. It was released as the second single of the album on 17 June 1977.
"Be My Wife" became the first new Bowie release since "Changes" to fail to break into the UK chart. The song reached number 57, at that time the official list only compiled the top 50 positions, but it appeared on Breakers for 2 weeks. It was frequently played live on the various tours after its release and Bowie is said to have repeatedly announced this song during live performances as "one of my favourites," as may be seen or heard in such concert footage or audio recordings.
Its presence in Low tones down the electronic feel of the rest of the album. The song also features a more conventional lyric which is closer to a traditional rock song than the more fragmented lyrics elsewhere on that album. The song features a ragtime piano opening, which serves the somewhat retro lyrics some justice, although it is soon set against a backdrop of guitars and drums. The song repeats its lyrics, changing the spacing of the lyrics amongst the song's verse. The song closes simply with a fadeout, as the song returns to the introductory ragtime riff repeating indefinitely, with the rest of the band playing behind it.
Cash Box said that it "demonstrates the rock and roll side of 'Low.'" and that there is also "a shrill organ, unusual guitar and synthesizer lines, and the creative use of a barrelhouse piano."[1]
"Be My Wife" apparently was Bowie's first official video since "Life on Mars?". The video is in fact rather similar: Bowie stands alone against a white backdrop singing the song alone. However, Stanley Dorfman's new clip featured a Bowie in make-up and clothing influenced by Buster Keaton and giving an irreverent, detached performance on a guitar, which does gel with the candid feeling generated by the song.
All tracks written by David Bowie.[2]
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