@@belyndamorris2236 Well, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for letting me know. I have been so busy writing, recording, and publicizing my own music that I frequently get too caught up in the business. Take care!
the man was a genius.. a beautiful rendition and what balls to play this song as the opener to a televised charity concert.. he has so many hidden treasures in both live performances and rare album tracks... bless him
Well stated. Bowie belongs to that rarefied class of popular talent unafraid of trying new paths and courses they feel might lead to aesthetic sublimity. Sure, not all these journeys turned up gold or even silver, but they made one appreciate their boldness and lack of fear of failing all the same. Us aesthetes gained so much from David's myriad explorations to the limits of artistic expression!
Indeed. Paul Simon and David Bowie were two of the greatest songwriters of their generation. So inspiring to watch this lovely, talented man honor his fellow musician.
In tears there is such beauty in the understated. Only David would flip the expected. And what does he do. This. An absolute gem. And I miss him my heart still aches
This just sent me spiraling into tears. I miss normal. I miss Bowie. I miss what America used to be. The way he does this pulled every heartstring this morning… My transcendent, lovely Prince Bowie… how the world misses your genius…😪🙏🏽🎶
"the moon rose over an empty field" gets me every time. Pure genius...I think I am always expecting the "look for America" line and the detail is so beautiful. Testament to Simon & Garfunkel writing/music and Bowie's interpretation.
“counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike, they’ve all come to look for America”. What a profound line. At 71, I too miss what America used to be. Maybe I should get in my car and look for it, but I’m scared it’s not there anymore - and even more scared it’s not coming back.
My dad died on November 4, 2022 unexpectedly. This song has been in my head since and I am now finally listening to it once again. I miss you dad where ever you are. I love you. And I like this version of the song by Bowie alot!
I will never forget that day - seeing the tower fall from a train - and i will never forget this opening song at the 911 concert at MSG. I was never a big Bowie fan, and he came out playing this crazy little contraption whatever it was - doing this Simon & Garfunkel song - and just set the whole tone that this was going to be a serious and very heavy night of music, pain and hope.
@@Charleybones I own three different models - OM27, OM84, OM200M - each with different sounds and functions. Pro musicians (and nutty obsessives) do this sort of thing! :-)
I was there also! When *THIS* was the opening song, performed this way, we *KNEW* that we were in for an amazingly special, emotional, and unique show. We were both lucky to be there!
I love Bowie's rendition of this song. It's profoundly sad and describes that horrible feeling we all have had when you are trying to act like nothing is wrong but you are completely shattered inside.
As a lifelong Bowie fan, I am disappointed that I have heard this for the first time in 2023. I recall a review of "Cat People" where the critic said David could sing a shopping list and make it a hit. This is simply sublime and made all the better for him singing in the London accent of his younger days. Beautiful.
@@rorymacgowan4541 Thanks, Rory. I am always happy to listen to David singing anything live. A true talent who never needed electronic augmentation for that fantastic voice.
Such a powerful, meaningful choice of song. Just when you have felt the evil of the world, breaking in, trying to weaken you, here comes Bowie, like the prophet, to remind how better souls from all over the world have long come to you in hope, in admiration, of your very strength
David Bowie was such an immense talent. He could take a well known song done by another artist and immediately transform it into a singular Bowie performance with the end result always being magnificent !
Incredible. The emotion in that song alone - PLUS the emotion surrounding the context of the performance - is almost too much to bear. That man was a gift to the planet.
I'd never seen this until now, all these years later. I still mourn the towers, I still mourn Bowie. Both their demises marked a huge sea change in the world - and not for the better. This performance is overwhelming
Absolutely perfect. The tone , the phrasing , the physical and facial expression, the calliope like music.😢😮. I have never witnessed such a moving reincarnation of a song. That man was a genius.
Never knew this existed. A mix of one of my favourite artists of all time and one of the greatest songwriters. I still remembered the words although it's been am awful long time...
To be fair, it is not a total contrast. It was written by an American who was living in England and took his English girlfriend, Kathy, for a low budget tour of America and realised it was not the America he remembered.
Where is this genius we have need of his wisdom. Our Country was so united after the 9/11 terrorist attack now some 19 years later I listen to this and cry. We can all do better some way some how
My favorite Simon and Garfunkel song, covered by my favorite artist, what more can I hope for. I’m so glad to have been alive for all of Bowie’s amazing career. His many different styles, his paintings, his acting & his music, David Bowie, Forever our Black ⭐️
Beautiful interpretation..brings a whole new depth and meaning to the tune, it's got that tinge of sadness to it , along with love. ..thank you David ❤️
Its so strange that i miss David Bowie. I never met him, I never even saw him live. Lets dance was the first Bowie album i bought and from there i searched out each of the older one's. Its so strange to feel a loss for someone i didnt know. As far as i can remember i havent heard this before. Its an absolute gem. Thanks for unloading
A truly haunting cover made all the more poignant by the backdrop of scenes/vistas from a city that, only weeks before, had witnessed a rain of death and destruction from the sky, as well as by Bowie's exquisite, emotion-laden phrasing. We lost a tremendous giant with his death!
One of my all time favs! David Bowie’s incredibly understated artistic live performance of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America” This to me is classic Bowie performance art stripping away all musical props and zoning in stripping the veil of musical form and familiar expectations revealing through his unique intimate delivery the complex layered mixed emotions of worn hope and buried despair while trying to maintain visibly undefeated unaffected. We miss you David!
America was gone by the time I got there from the UK .Now I’m lost ,like Cathy , I guess it’s part of the ageing process . Life is memories , the only reality is the present and that flies past so fast , you’ve not time to take it all in
I miss David so much. He was so…so great! He was such a part of my youth. Now he’s gone, and I am getting old. Such is life, and death. You were a genius Mr. Bowie. I hope that you will be remembered.
Oh what the world lost when we lost David. Love his minimalist approach to my favorite Simon & Garfunkel song. Continue to soar, David, wherever you are, knowing how loved and appreciated you are.
Tears streaming. Oh my heart, what a deeply moving, beautifully aching and haunting rendition of America in 2001 post 9/11. As only David Bowie could do.
I remember seeing this live, it touched me deeply. I also remember The Who coming out and channeling the anger we all felt. I will never forget this concert.
Sometimes when you hear a song, even when it's the original you just don't get it. ....and then, sometimes, someone makes it all so clear. !! Well done David 👏
In all of his genres, and I'm old enough to have lived through them all, he is just mesmerizing and it's always, just him, indescribable. Talent, intelligence and those eyes. Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together. I love the romance between he and his Cathy. Picture a very young couple so in love, wanting to go on a lark to get away from it all to be alone with each other. Destination doesn't matter, the experience of it does.
@@dkjazzz Suffragatte City! Wish I had a Time Machine and we could all go back. Also his accent is so charming. I love how he says And the moon rose over an open field. I never appreciated this song so much until his rendition. Can't you just visualize better his way? I boarded a couple of Greyhounds back in the 70's and can relate to that whole experience. Darn, those were great times. Young and head full of dreams.
Bowie was truly a spokesman for Humanity from the Worlds greatest Venue....That performance that night from MSG in NYC doing that song is forever frozen in space and time of all our lives.....amazing.....
He is still here with us, around us, behind us, before us…an ascended master. I miss him so much on our earthly plain, but he is here amongst us just in different form of pure energy
They cheer mindlessly every time lovely David sings America, but they, and we, missed the warning and the comfort. I look back and see this moment as prophetic. Tears. Many tears.
What a voice - saw him with my son at Birmingham NEC - every song was awesome - great to have been alive with him on planet - and to have seen him live was a pleasure- RIP David - a true gent and talent
Who would have thought that there could be a version of this song better than the original? Not me, but there you have it. Superb. I was 16 and had the pleasure of my first BIG concert seeing him in 1974 at MSG. A melding of Ziggy Stardust and Diamond Dogs, etched forever in my brain. 🎷🎹
I never knew Bowie covered this song. He brings something very different to it.
This was for the 9 11 tribute concert. 💔⚡
@@belyndamorris2236 Well, that makes a lot of sense. Thanks for letting me know. I have been so busy writing, recording, and publicizing my own music that I frequently get too caught up in the business. Take care!
😅@@gwynnielsen5081
...mmm He brought pure Magic to this simple song with his wonderful voice and a tiny keyboard !
@@diverdave4056 Bowie does have a beautiful, original rock voice, like no other. Check out my voice and songs on UA-cam. Thanks and take care!
the man was a genius.. a beautiful rendition and what balls to play this song as the opener to a televised charity concert.. he has so many hidden treasures in both live performances and rare album tracks... bless him
I guess you never saw Kanye West rapping laying down? That was the most genius thing ever, I’m tearing up thinking about it
@@cgdombrow Kanye West did this song?
@ no
That lovely man was gloriously unafraid of art.
That‘s beautifully put.
Well stated. Bowie belongs to that rarefied class of popular talent unafraid of trying new paths and courses they feel might lead to aesthetic sublimity. Sure, not all these journeys turned up gold or even silver, but they made one appreciate their boldness and lack of fear of failing all the same. Us aesthetes gained so much from David's myriad explorations to the limits of artistic expression!
Zo mooi hoe je dat zegt ❤❤❤
Hij was niet bang voor usa om het zo maar te zeggen
Indeed. Paul Simon and David Bowie were two of the greatest songwriters of their generation. So inspiring to watch this lovely, talented man honor his fellow musician.
So perfect in his minimalist interpretation
Ret .NYPD, David Opened The Concert for New York with this magical ,chilling song. God Bless David Bowie.
In tears there is such beauty in the understated. Only David would flip the expected. And what does he do. This. An absolute gem. And I miss him my heart still aches
We sure miss his insight
Same
agree 100% Scott. couldn’t stop my tears. he wasn’t just a pop star / fashion icon otherwise he wouldn’t move us so deep
Absolutely. Didn't think it could hurt so much losing someone I never met and never knew.
Beautiful version
Not only was he a most talented human being,up there with the best,he had so much style.
god i miss this man.
allan king My EXACT thought. The humanity in his voice...the expressions on his face, all show you the depth of what he's feeling.
We all do.
agreed
All of you are right greets from Bavaria
@@muller_to_x5283 hello!
This just sent me spiraling into tears. I miss normal. I miss Bowie. I miss what America used to be. The way he does this pulled every heartstring this morning…
My transcendent, lovely Prince Bowie… how the world misses your genius…😪🙏🏽🎶
"the moon rose over an empty field" gets me every time. Pure genius...I think I am always expecting the "look for America" line and the detail is so beautiful. Testament to Simon & Garfunkel writing/music and Bowie's interpretation.
“counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike, they’ve all come to look for America”. What a profound line.
At 71, I too miss what America used to be. Maybe I should get in my car and look for it, but I’m scared it’s not there anymore - and even more scared it’s not coming back.
AMEN.
Amen … I share every one of your sentiments.
I think I love you; what a perfect comment
A great tribute to NYC's people and America at its worst of moments. Rest in Peace to the lost on 9/11 and you David Bowie.
I still can’t believe that David is no longer with us.
I never will. He’ll always live in my heart though, as he so clearly will in yours.
An outstanding version of what was already a great song
I never appreciated this song as much until then!
"I'm empty and aching and I don't know why"
His phrasing and the simple keyboard made this version so emotionally charged.
indeed.
That’s the key phrase right there
And the way he says it… 😮❤
I so much agree. And David knew. He knew what it all meant.
Just no words.
i keep coming back to this. Outstanding
One of the last of the great artists...rip.
I've been telling my kids about this for years. This is how the concert opened...how utterly profound. Bless you David!
THEN he sang "Heroes". Beautifully understated "America" in Bowie style.
Beautiful 😢
Where and when was this particular concert?
@Dandyd47 this was the concert for new york right after 9/11
This was one of Bowies finest moments (there's been a few!) But I didn't know he actually opened the concert with this x
My dad died on November 4, 2022 unexpectedly. This song has been in my head since and I am now finally listening to it once again. I miss you dad where ever you are. I love you. And I like this version of the song by Bowie alot!
I will never forget that day - seeing the tower fall from a train - and i will never forget this opening song at the 911 concert at MSG. I was never a big Bowie fan, and he came out playing this crazy little contraption whatever it was - doing this Simon & Garfunkel song - and just set the whole tone that this was going to be a serious and very heavy night of music, pain and hope.
Well said. He's playing a Suzuki Omnichord, made in the 80s. They're lovely - I have three.
@@morganfisherart One isn't enough?
@@Charleybones I own three different models - OM27, OM84, OM200M - each with different sounds and functions. Pro musicians (and nutty obsessives) do this sort of thing! :-)
I was there also! When *THIS* was the opening song, performed this way, we *KNEW* that we were in for an amazingly special, emotional, and unique show.
We were both lucky to be there!
JUST INCREDIBLE !!!!!!
Raw…as only David Bowie could do. Gut wrenchingly beautiful😢😢😢
His voice makes me cry. We all come to look for America. Priceless.
Now pls all of you return to where you all came from. Except me. Of course.
I love Bowie's rendition of this song. It's profoundly sad and describes that horrible feeling we all have had when you are trying to act like nothing is wrong but you are completely shattered inside.
Oh yes totally!
sounds like a circus tune!
@@jamessollazzo4860 you don't get it, do you?
...yap...one can hear overtones of "this is not america"....
@@Tom-xx1om What did he mean by it? Serious question please. I understand the choice of song, but why that music accompaniment?
For some reason I have seen this for the first time only now. It really gave me goosebumps. So sorely missed.
His unique creativity was a gift to us all.. his voice was always so emotive
I usually do not remake, but this is so very special. Oh, I miss him 😔
Me too 💔
You probably had not seen it until now, then.
@@helenepineau4636 He is sorely missed. He was a gift to us all!
As a lifelong Bowie fan, I am disappointed that I have heard this for the first time in 2023. I recall a review of "Cat People" where the critic said David could sing a shopping list and make it a hit. This is simply sublime and made all the better for him singing in the London accent of his younger days. Beautiful.
It was off UA-cam for a couple years then back. It's extraordinary.
@@rorymacgowan4541 Thanks, Rory. I am always happy to listen to David singing anything live. A true talent who never needed electronic augmentation for that fantastic voice.
Such a powerful, meaningful choice of song. Just when you have felt the evil of the world, breaking in, trying to weaken you, here comes Bowie, like the prophet, to remind how better souls from all over the world have long come to you in hope, in admiration, of your very strength
David Bowie was such an immense talent. He could take a well known song done by another artist and immediately transform it into a singular Bowie performance with the end result always being magnificent !
His voice makes my goosebumps have goosebumps. I miss him...
Happy birthday David...the whole world misses you💔.
Every word with the right nuance. This one is the definitive performance.
I miss this beautiful man being on the earth. 💔
of the billions of years, we shared earth with him for a little while, so ... we got that.
@@eurodep that we do. ❤💔
Incredible. The emotion in that song alone - PLUS the emotion surrounding the context of the performance - is almost too much to bear. That man was a gift to the planet.
I'd never seen this until now, all these years later. I still mourn the towers, I still mourn Bowie. Both their demises marked a huge sea change in the world - and not for the better. This performance is overwhelming
Absolutely perfect. The tone , the phrasing , the physical and facial expression, the calliope like music.😢😮. I have never witnessed such a moving reincarnation of a song.
That man was a genius.
I’ve loved this man’s music since I was a small child. I miss him and his sensitive creativity, as do so many millions. R.I.P. David ❤
Never knew this existed. A mix of one of my favourite artists of all time and one of the greatest songwriters. I still remembered the words although it's been am awful long time...
You can see the emotions of the next lyrics on his face well before he says them. A brilliant artist and communicator.
Well there you have it. A genius sings a geniuses song and hey presto - brilliance. Nothing more nothing less. Just pure brilliance.
I’ve HEARD this song a hundred times before but hearing Bowies version just now is the first time I’ve FELT this song. Wow!
When it gets you, better than anything.
A song, written by an American, about America, sung by an Englishman, with a South London accent. I Love it! (I like his chord choices, too.)
he's playing an omnichord, one of the coolest instruments that I want, if you look into them.
To be fair, it is not a total contrast. It was written by an American who was living in England and took his English girlfriend, Kathy, for a low budget tour of America and realised it was not the America he remembered.
Bunch of hitchhiking hippies discovering themselves while lost in the wilderness (and at heart)
Anthony Newley would be proud.
American means A miracle... everybodys looking for that.
One of his best and unique performances of all time.
Where is this genius we have need of his wisdom. Our Country was so united after the 9/11 terrorist attack now some 19 years later I listen to this and cry. We can all do better some way some how
Such intelligence. Such a unique voice, such a unique glance at the world. Love u David
David makes you fall in love (with his voice) and breaks your heart (with his sincerity) at the same time.
This is such a beautiful, emotional version.
Such a beautiful rendition of the song. Rest in Peace, David.
amen...
My favorite Simon and Garfunkel song, covered by my favorite artist, what more can I hope for. I’m so glad to have been alive for all of Bowie’s amazing career. His many different styles, his paintings, his acting & his music, David Bowie, Forever our Black ⭐️
I wept the night of the concert when he did this. So personal and simple, so beautiful!
Proving less is more as only David could with his inimitable style and grace.
Incredibly moving, especially given the events of this week. Bowie forever.
Ha ha ha hee hee hee I'm the laughing knome and you can't catch me 🥳🥳🥳🥳💃🏼🎄🧎🏻☃️🚌🏃🏼♀️🏃🏼♂️
No one else but David could have done this. I miss this guy every day.
Beautiful interpretation..brings a whole new depth and meaning to the tune, it's got that tinge of sadness to it , along with love. ..thank you David ❤️
Its so strange that i miss David Bowie.
I never met him, I never even saw him live.
Lets dance was the first Bowie album i bought and from there i searched out each of the older one's.
Its so strange to feel a loss for someone i didnt know.
As far as i can remember i havent heard this before.
Its an absolute gem.
Thanks for unloading
He was such a beautiful man. Rest In Peace Bowie, and Rest In Peace to all the victims of 9/11.
Bowie always gives you his soul.
well put...yes, he does...I'm still sad I never saw him live...
A truly haunting cover made all the more poignant by the backdrop of scenes/vistas from a city that, only weeks before, had witnessed a rain of death and destruction from the sky, as well as by Bowie's exquisite, emotion-laden phrasing. We lost a tremendous giant with his death!
One of my all time favs! David Bowie’s incredibly understated artistic live performance of Simon & Garfunkel’s “America” This to me is classic Bowie performance art stripping away all musical props and zoning in stripping the veil of musical form and familiar expectations revealing through his unique intimate delivery the complex layered mixed emotions of worn hope and buried despair while trying to maintain visibly undefeated unaffected. We miss you David!
We really really do - he's still out there somewhere though.
"There's a Starman......"
America was gone by the time I got there from the UK .Now I’m lost ,like Cathy , I guess it’s part of the ageing process .
Life is memories , the only reality is the present and that flies past so fast , you’ve not time to take it all in
I miss David so much. He was so…so great! He was such a part of my youth. Now he’s gone, and I am getting old. Such is life, and death. You were a genius Mr. Bowie. I hope that you will be remembered.
The marriage of two musical genius', Paul Simon and David Bowie. As close to perfection as you'll ever get.
The world misses David Bowie
Beautiful
Oh what the world lost when we lost David. Love his minimalist approach to my favorite Simon & Garfunkel song. Continue to soar, David, wherever you are, knowing how loved and appreciated you are.
Only Bowie could pull this off and at such an emotional event! Only Bowie!!
Tears streaming. Oh my heart, what a deeply moving, beautifully aching and haunting rendition of America in 2001 post 9/11. As only David Bowie could do.
One of the greatest ever. Can’t believe he’s gone.
The way that he flirts around the beat at the beginning, just beyond amazing, miss him every day
I remember seeing this live, it touched me deeply. I also remember The Who coming out and channeling the anger we all felt. I will never forget this concert.
America is one of my favorite songs of all time hear bowie's version of this song is really beautiful to me ❤
Sometimes when you hear a song, even when it's the original you just don't get it. ....and then, sometimes, someone makes it all so clear. !! Well done David 👏
I never saw this before…and I love it. It sounds remarkably like Bowie’s earliest Tony Newley style songs. Beautiful.
David Bowie was a genius and proved it by opening The Concert for NY with this after 9/11.
Perfection….still hard to believe he’s gone…
In all of his genres, and I'm old enough to have lived through them all, he is just mesmerizing and it's always, just him, indescribable. Talent, intelligence and those eyes.
Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together. I love the romance between he and his Cathy. Picture a very young couple so in love, wanting to go on a lark to get away from it all to be alone with each other. Destination doesn't matter, the experience of it does.
Ya, from Ziggy to this ! Incredible! What a long strange trip it’s was ❤️
yep, there from the beginning. Wonderful iconic man
perfectly stated
@@dkjazzz Suffragatte City! Wish I had a Time Machine and we could all go back. Also his accent is so charming. I love how he says And the moon rose over an open field. I never appreciated this song so much until his rendition. Can't you just visualize better his way? I boarded a couple of Greyhounds back in the 70's and can relate to that whole experience. Darn, those were great times. Young and head full of dreams.
His voice, such a beautiful touching rendition, he’s well missed😢
I miss him too.
"Let us be lovers, we'll marry our fortunes together
I've got some real estate here in my bag"
So we bought a pack of cigarettes and Mrs. Wagner pies
And walked off to look for America
"Kathy", I said as we boarded a Greyhound in Pittsburgh
"Michigan seems like a dream to me now"
It took me four days to hitchhike from Saginaw
I've gone to look for America
Laughing on the bus
Playing games with the faces
She said the man in the gabardine suit was a spy
I said "Be careful, his bowtie is really a camera"
"Toss me a cigarette, I think there's one in my raincoat"
"We smoked the last one an hour ago"
So I looked at the scenery, she read her magazine
And the moon rose over an open field
"Kathy, I'm lost", I said, though I knew she was sleeping
I'm empty and aching and I don't know why
Counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike
They've all come to look for America
All come to look for America
All come to look for America
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Paul Simon
America lyrics © Paul Simon Music, Edition Falco Privatstiftung
There really are no words that can do justice to this performance. Pure beauty.
Bowie was truly a spokesman for Humanity from the Worlds greatest Venue....That performance that night from MSG in NYC doing that song is forever frozen in space and time of all our lives.....amazing.....
He is still here with us, around us, behind us, before us…an ascended master. I miss him so much on our earthly plain, but he is here amongst us just in different form of pure energy
Paul Simons lyrics and music plus David Bowie . Perfection.
The world a true gem…I don’t say “true gem” lightly! Many years of musical brilliance…what a nice turn for this tune!
... and the moon rose over an open field. This line is so beautiful in context.
I miss this man so much! What a wonderful choice! We love you David and you will never be forgotten!
He sang many great songs. This was the most meaningful to me.
Magical ! The man was a genius. Miss him being part of my life. Starman he is and always will be .......
It floored me then and today it brings a tear and it brings thanks.
Thank You David, it was an honor.
Bowie’s creative genius & Paul Simon’s words create a sad, magical moment.
WOW !! THis gave me shivers ! ~
Never knew this existed. This is beautiful.
What a performance! Can’t believe it’s been 20 years since this.
Bowie putting his own spin on this Simon and Garfunkel classic. Amazing
I'm crying..so good
Gives me the chills.
4am, I'm seeing this for the first time.... absolutely blown away
I love David and his creativity. Miss him terribly. His music lives on!
Always loved David Bowie, I think perhaps this is the best performance over all ever given by anyone in so so many ways .......
I miss him, his lovely voice and creativity ❤❤❤
They cheer mindlessly every time lovely David sings America, but they, and we, missed the warning and the comfort. I look back and see this moment as prophetic. Tears. Many tears.
What a voice - saw him with my son at Birmingham NEC - every song was awesome - great to have been alive with him on planet - and to have seen him live was a pleasure- RIP David - a true gent and talent
Wow, David singing Paul’s song. Two of my favorite artists ❤!
No idea how i have never heard this. Amazing. Especially when placed in the context of the moment.
Breathtakingly, heartbreakingly beautiful. Only David could have made a legendary song his own. ❤️
Who would have thought that there could be a version of this song better than the original? Not me, but there you have it. Superb. I was 16 and had the pleasure of my first BIG concert seeing him in 1974 at MSG. A melding of Ziggy Stardust and Diamond Dogs, etched forever in my brain. 🎷🎹
The world misses you David bowie, you were one of a kind .God speed.
A nice edit, thank you for this video. Bowie's voice was carrying this beautiful song beyond any limits.
Once in a lifetime performance.