"Pallas Athena" is a song written by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

in 1993 for the album ''

Black Tie White Noise ''Black Tie White Noise'' is the 18th studio album by English musician David Bowie, released on 5 April 1993 through Savage Records in the United States and Arista Records in the United Kingdom. Conceived following the disbandment of Bowi ...

''. A live version of the song was recorded and released in 1997 during Bowie's

Earthling Tour The Earthling Tour was a concert tour by British musician David Bowie, in promotion of his album '' Earthling'', released in 1997, The tour started on 7 June 1997 at Flughafen Blankensee in Lübeck, Germany, continuing through Europe, North Am ...

Background

The name is taken from the Greek goddess,

Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded as the patron and protectress of ...

, the goddess of wisdom, who is famously depicted in

Athenian Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

statues and on coins in the form of

Pallas Athena Athena or Athene, often given the epithet Pallas, is an ancient Greek religion, ancient Greek goddess associated with wisdom, warfare, and handicraft who was later syncretism, syncretized with the Roman goddess Minerva. Athena was regarded ...

. Hence, the name of the song is a suggestion of religion and icons and sets the mood for a dark piece concerning the power that religion has over man. The lyrics are rather sparse, but the phrase beginning the piece, "God is on top of it, that's all," delivered as though from an African-American preacher, is ominous and intimidating, accompanied with the sound of strings delivering a sorrowful melody. The piece develops into a

techno Techno is a genre of electronic dance music (EDM) which is generally produced for use in a continuous DJ set, with tempo often varying between 120 and 150 beats per minute (bpm). The central rhythm is typically in common time (4/4) and often ch ...

dance piece, using string sounds to hold the ominous mood while overlaid atop bass and drums. David Bowie's saxophone playing is amplified into a scream-like sound, which solos, along with

Lester Bowie Lester Bowie (October 11, 1941 – November 8, 1999) was an American jazz trumpet player and composer. He was a member of the Association for the Advancement of Creative Musicians and co-founded the Art Ensemble of Chicago. Biography Born in t ...

on trumpet. A lyric, "We are, we are, we are, we are praying," is repeated through the close of the song in a somber, monk-like fashion. Ultimately, the song restates Bowie's interest in how man relates with God. Bowie used to play a

drum'n'bass Drum and bass (also written as drum & bass or drum'n'bass and commonly abbreviated as D&B, DnB, or D'n'B) is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by fast breakbeats (typically 165–185 beats per minute) with heavy bass and sub-ba ...

version of the song during his 1997

, and a live version recorded at Paradiso, Holland 10 June 1997 was released as a single under the name Tao Jones Index, a very limited edition only available on 12" vinyl. It was announced in March 2010 that a digital download EP would be made available in June 2010.

Track listing

All tracks are written by David Bowie.

12": Arista / MEAT 1 (UK)

# "Pallas Athena" (Don't Stop Praying Remix No 2) - 7:24 # "Pallas Athena" (Don't Stop Praying Remix) - 5:36 # "Pallas Athena" (Gone Midnight Mix) - 4:21 * UK 1993 promo * All mixes were untitled in the original release, with the titles provided on later reissues * All remixes by

Jack Dangers Jack Dangers (born John Stephen Corrigan, 11 January 1965) is an English electronic musician, DJ, producer, and remixer best known for his work as the primary member of Meat Beat Manifesto. He lives in San Francisco. Career Prior to founding ...

, Don't Stop Praying Remix No 2 and Gone Midnight Mix were not released elsewhere at the time

12": Arista / 74321 51254 1 (UK)

# "Pallas Athena (live)" - 8:18 # "

V-2 Schneider "V-2 Schneider" is a largely instrumental song written by David Bowie in 1977 for the album '' "Heroes"''. It was a tribute to Florian Schneider, Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray (1981). ''Bowie: An Illustrated Record'': p.92 co-founder of the ba ...

(live)" - 6:45 * Both tracks recorded live at Paradiso, Amsterdam 10 June 1997 * Limited edition - 2,000 copies printed

2010 Digital Download EP

# "Pallas Athena (Album Version)" - 4:40 # "Pallas Athena (Don't Stop Praying Remix)" - 5:38 # "Pallas Athena (Don't Stop Praying Remix No. 2)" - 7.24 # "Pallas Athena (Gone Midnight mix)" - 4.20

Other releases

The "Don't Stop Praying Remix" and album version of "Pallas Athena" appeared on the single "

Jump They Say "Jump They Say" is a song by English singer-songwriter and actor David Bowie, from his 18th album, ''Black Tie White Noise'' (1993). It was produced by Nile Rodgers and released as the first single from the album in March 1993. While Bowie opt ...

" (April 1993), and the "Don't Stop Praying Remix No 2" was released as a bonus track on the Japanese CD version of ''Black Tie White Noise'', as well as the tenth anniversary edition in multiple territories. The "Gone Midnight" remix also appears on the 2003 re-release of the '' Sound + Vision'' box set. The live version, mixed by

Mark Plati Mark Plati is a New York–based musician, record producer, and songwriter, best known for his work in the 1990s with David Bowie. Plati also has worked with Spookey Ruben, The Cure, Duncan Sheik, Hooverphonic, Robbie Williams, Joe McIntyre, ...

, was released on the single "

Seven Years in Tibet ''Seven Years in Tibet: My Life Before, During and After'' (1952; german: Sieben Jahre in Tibet. Mein Leben am Hofe des Dalai Lama; 1954 in English) is an autobiographical travel book written by Austrian mountaineer and Nazi SS sergeant Heinrich ...

" in August 1997, on the EP ''

Earthling in the City ''Earthling in the City'' is a 6-track promotional CD by David Bowie that was distributed by '' GQ'' magazine with their November 1997 issue. The disc is largely made up of live performances and remixes of songs drawn from Bowie's albums ''Black ...

'' (November 1997), and the 2003 re-release of the ''Sound + Vision'' box set. The album version was remastered and released in 2021 as part of the box set ''

Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) ''Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001)'' is a box set by English singer-songwriter David Bowie, released on 26 November 2021. A follow-up to the compilations ''Five Years (1969–1973)'', ''Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976)'', ''A New Career in a ...

''.

References

{{Authority control David Bowie songs 1993 songs 1997 singles Songs critical of religion Songs written by David Bowie Song recordings produced by David Bowie Song recordings produced by Nile Rodgers Bertelsmann Music Group singles