About The Song
“Heroes” is a song by English musician David Bowie, released as the lead single from his 12th studio album of the same name on September 23, 1977, through RCA Records, with “V-2 Schneider” as the B-side. Co-written by Bowie and Brian Eno, and co-produced by Bowie and Tony Visconti, it was recorded in July–August 1977 at Hansa Studio 2 in West Berlin, Germany. The backing track was completed before lyrics were added, with Bowie improvising vocals in one or two takes, a method inspired by Iggy Pop, as Visconti noted in a 2003 Performing Songwriter interview. Robert Fripp, formerly of King Crimson, contributed lead guitar, recording parts in a single six-hour session, per a 2014 Uncut interview. Eno added synthesizer overdubs using an EMS VCS3, and Visconti used a “multi-latch” microphone system to capture Bowie’s dynamic vocal range.
The single had modest initial chart performance. It peaked at No. 24 on the UK Singles Chart, charting for eight weeks, but failed to enter the Billboard Hot 100, reaching only No. 126 on Record World’s Singles Chart 101–150. It performed better elsewhere, hitting No. 8 in the Netherlands (Single Top 100), No. 9 in Ireland (IRMA), No. 11 in Australia (Kent Music Report), No. 17 in Austria (Ö3 Austria Top 40), No. 19 in Belgium (Ultratop 50 Flanders), and No. 34 in New Zealand (RMNZ). German and French versions, “‘Helden’” and “‘Héros’,” were released with translated vocals by Antonia Maass, grafted onto the full track for their respective album releases. After Bowie’s death in 2016, the song re-charted, reaching No. 12 in the UK, No. 11 on Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs, No. 3 on Euro Digital Song Sales, No. 9 in France (SNEP), and No. 17 in Italy (FIMI), with a Gold certification in Italy (25,000 units). The Heroes album peaked at No. 3 on the UK Albums Chart (33 weeks) and No. 35 on the Billboard Top LPs & Tape chart (19 weeks).
The song’s inspiration came from a moment Bowie observed at Hansa Studio, where Visconti and Maass kissed near the Berlin Wall, as Bowie revealed in 2003 to Performing Songwriter. He initially claimed it was about anonymous lovers to protect Visconti’s privacy during his marriage. The track was recorded during Bowie’s Berlin period, after relocating from Los Angeles to recover from drug addiction, as noted in a 1978 Vogue interview. The band, including Carlos Alomar (rhythm guitar), George Murray (bass), and Dennis Davis (drums), built the track’s layered sound over two days, with Eno’s “oblique strategies” cards guiding creative decisions, per a 2021 Loudersound article. The final mix was completed at Mountain Studios in Montreux, Switzerland.
Production anecdotes include Fripp’s spontaneous guitar work, played without hearing the tracks beforehand, as he recalled in a 2017 David Bowie: A Life. The song’s iconic riff came from Alomar, with Eno describing the track as “grand and heroic” before lyrics were added, per a 2007 Q Magazine interview. Bowie promoted it heavily, performing on Marc, Top of the Pops, and Bing Crosby’s Merrie Olde Christmas. A live performance at the 1987 Berlin Wall concert was particularly notable, with East Berliners audible across the wall, as Bowie recounted in 2003. The song was covered by artists like The Wallflowers for the 1998 Godzilla soundtrack, peaking at No. 10 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks. It appeared in films like The Perks of Being a Wallflower (2012) and was used in the 2012 Olympics opening ceremony.
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Lyric
I, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can beat them, just for one day
We can be heroes, just for one dayAnd you, you can be mean
And I, I’ll drink all the time
‘Cause we’re lovers, and that is a fact
Yes, we’re lovers, and that is thatThough nothing will keep us together
We could steal time, just for one day
We can be heroes, forever and ever
What d’you say?I, I wish you could swim
Like the dolphins, like dolphins can swim
Though nothing, nothing will keep us together
We can beat them, forever and ever
Oh, we can be heroes, just for one dayI, I will be king
And you, you will be queen
Though nothing will drive them away
We can be heroes, just for one day
We can be us, just for one dayI, I can remember (I remember)
Standing by the wall (by the wall)
And the guns shot above our heads (over our heads)
And we kissed, as though nothing could fall (nothing could fall)And the shame was on the other side
Oh, we can beat them, forever and ever
Then we could be heroes, just for one dayWe can be heroes
We can be heroes
We can be heroes
Just for one day
We can be heroes
We’re nothing, and nothing will help us
Maybe we’re lying, then you better not stay
But we could be safer, just for one day
Oh-oh-oh-ohh, oh-oh-oh-ohh, just for one day