Comments: 29

• Cp from VirginiaAnd another account of how the song came to be is on the website Louder (loudersound.com). See the article "The story behind the song: Heroes by David Bowie," by Bill DeMain.
• Cp from VirginiaFrom Showbiz Cheatsheets: "According to Iman in foreword to her 2001 memoir 'I Am Iman,' Bowie revealed that the song was inspired by the 1956 book 'A Grave For a Dolphin' by Alberto Denti di Pirajno. 'I thought it a magical and beautiful love story and in part it had inspired my song ‘Heroes,''he said.
  Iman reiterated the story in a 2021 interview with Vogue. 'This is a very fantastical journey between a girl — and you won’t believe it, but a Somali girl — and a dolphin,' she said. 'And this book is really special because, funny enough, way before David and I met, this was one of his favorite books. And actually, he told me that some of the lyrics from his song ‘Heroes’ were actually inspired by this book.'
• Ken from DenmarkHeroes features in a german language version in the 2019 feature film: Jojo Rabbit,
  check https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tdjUqerkZ08
• Gavin from St. Francis Bay - South Africa Lemmy of Motörhead did a very nice version of this.
• Pete from Grass Valley, CaQuestion: Who is the crying man in the film clip shown behind Bowie in the concert video of "Herooes"?
• Timtak from YamaguchiEspecially in the light of Paige's Bowie quote (thank you) which shows that the song was about some sort of transexual tension within Bowie, the conventional "Visconti's affair" interpretation does not seem appropriate. Something homosexual, as Charlotte and Anita say, seems to be going on. See the video, where Bowie is as quiveringly camp as he has ever been.
  
  Bowie was cagey about what his songs were about. I am inclined to believe that most of them were are about the same thing, the discovery of a very large "girl with mousy hair" "Starman" "man who sold the world," "cow" mirror girl (videos for Space Oddity in which there are two, and "Where are we now" in which he is conjoined with a mirror) inside himself.
  
  As we can see from Piage's quote the wall is a metaphor for the boundary between himself and the outside world. It is at this boundary that he meets a lover ("and that's a fact" suggesting it is not quite). It seems to me, in my experience, that this boundary is the mirror of our visual field, the "veil of perception" where our first person view from the eyes of a giant (which Bowie expresses in the Star-man video where he uses his fingers close to his eyes to suggest tininess) meets the visual world of our self-representations, as "mice". As argued in only the most off-the-wall European philosophy (Freud, Lacan, Derrida) we are having an auto love affair, an auto-Valentine's Day.
• Wecanbeheroes from Onecity, ZambiaHeroes by David Bowie
  
  If you heard this song today, you can be a hero today.
  
  If you hear this song tomorrow, it can inspire you to be a hero for that day.
  
  On any day that you hear this song, you can be a hero 'just for one day'.
• Barry from London, United Kingdom'Heroes' was played in the London 2012 Olympic Opening Ceremony when the Team GB team entered the stadium and subsequently after each medal ceremony when they were awarded a gold medal (and during the Paralympics).
• Lulutea from Bandung, Indonesiathis song also is featured in the film The Perks of Being a Wallflower.
• Dave from Sterling, FlHe kept doing this song better and better over the years . I think the best rendition was the one in New York for the 9-11 thing.
• Rachael from Caledonia, IlI think this is such a sweet song. Beautiful, really.
• Louise from Newcastle, United KingdomThis song is beautiful. I first noticed the song when it made an apperance on Moulin Rouge.
• Peter from Stockholm, SwedenAt least one of the greatest "Bowie songs.." And I remember the video; so stripped and emotionall. Yes, I also hear both stories about alcoholism ( slightly romatisezed ) and homosexuality.
• Peter from Stockholm, SwedenProbably one of the greatest songs that's ever been written!
• Perttu from JyväskyläApocalyptica (Finnish cello heavy band, known for Metallica covers) has also made their version of this with Till Lindemann from "Rammstein" in vocals and I love that, because solo cello sounds like a dolphin or seagull in the end and Lindemann's deep, heavy and masculine bass-baritone fits to that theme. Also the lyrics are very poetic, romantic and bit philosophic (love, existence (for a day), being hero), I think.
• Scott from Boston, MaI grew up in the 90s and loved the Wallflowers' version and I never even knew Bowie sang the original. In fact, since I was only 10, I'm not sure I even knew who David Bowie was. Now, all I listen to is classic rock and I have to say the original is much better. This is my favorite Bowie song.
• Joaquin from Lima, PeruThere is an outstanding performance pf this song by Bowie, Mick Ronson & Queen at Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert
• Perry from Detroit, MiHow could anybody prefer the cover by The Wallflowers? This song was way before it's time.
• Jethro from Va Beach, VaOasis also covered this song Live.
• Andy from Arlington, VaIt may be heresy, but I prefer the Wallflowers cover.
• Nathan from Defiance, OhIt amazes me a song this good only charts 24th on the british chart and not even appear on American charts Top 40. Makes you wonder how coked up people must have been to listen to Kasey and the Sunshine Band and ignore this. Damn that disco trash.
• Ben from Nyc, MsI tear up every time I hear the opening cords. Bowies Greatest work.
• Luke from Sheffield, EnglandThere's myth about that Bowie wrote this song in Hansa Studio's, after seeing a couple kissing by the Berlin Wall. Tony Visconti who produced says you can't even SEE the Berlin Wall from Hansa studios.Having gone to record there myself - it's true, you can't....It's especially harder to see anything at all over the last few years.
• Anita from Nyc, NyI agree with Charlotte: "And the shame was on the other side"
  Homosexuality was considered "bourgeouis decadence" by the East German Communist regime --and Bowie was living Schoeneberg, which was THE gay neighborhood in Berlin at the time and the home of the famous "El Dorado" club. When he says, "You will be Queen," I don't think that is a reference to Elizabeth II! And as far as what Bowie himself says about the song? Well, have you seen the magnificent film, "Velvet Goldmine"? I'd take Bowie's post-1983 comments with a grain of salt.
• Paige from Sheffield, EnglandBowie: "At that time, with the [Berlin] Wall still up, there was a feeling of terrific tension throughout the city. It was either very young or very old people. There were no family units in Berlin. It was a city of extremes. It vacillated between the absurd -- the whole drag, transvestite night-club type of thing -- and real radical, Marxist political thought. And it seemed like this really was the focus of the new Europe. It was right here. For the first time, the tension was outside of me rather than within me. And it was a real interesting process, writing for me under those conditions."
• Charlotte from Norwich, United StatesIt also eludes to the desire to fight homophobia
• Amy from Mcalisterville, PaI'm a huge Bowie fan. This is a awesome song. Everytime I hear it I just stop what I'm doing, relax and listen to the powerful lyrics. Ashes to Ashes is another cool song. If you ever get a chance to see Bowie in concert, go for it.
• Louis from London, Englandthis song is all about desperation
• Rich from Uk, United StatesDavid Bowie said this song was about an alcohlic and his wife. . . the anti-heros as you would.

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