"Fall Dog Bombs the Moon" is a song written by

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer, songwriter and actor. Regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, Bowie was acclaimed by critics and musicians, pa ...

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

for his album ''

Reality Reality is the sum or aggregate of everything in existence; everything that is not imagination, imaginary. Different Culture, cultures and Academic discipline, academic disciplines conceptualize it in various ways. Philosophical questions abo ...

''. According to Bowie himself at the time of the album release, "It came from reading an article about

Kellogg Brown & Root KBR, Inc. (formerly Kellogg Brown & Root) is a U.S. based company operating in fields of science, technology and engineering. KBR works in various markets including aerospace, defense, industrial and intelligence. After Halliburton acquired Dres ...

, a subsidiary of

Halliburton Halliburton Company is an American multinational corporation and the world's second-largest oil service company which is responsible for most of the world's fracking operations. It employs approximately 55,000 people through its hundreds of su ...

, the company that

Dick Cheney Richard Bruce Cheney ( ; born January 30, 1941) is an American former politician and businessman who served as the 46th vice president of the United States from 2001 to 2009 under President George W. Bush. He has been called vice presidency o ...

used to run. Basically, Kellogg Brown & Root got the job of cleaning up

Iraq Iraq, officially the Republic of Iraq, is a country in West Asia. It is bordered by Saudi Arabia to Iraq–Saudi Arabia border, the south, Turkey to Iraq–Turkey border, the north, Iran to Iran–Iraq border, the east, the Persian Gulf and ...

. What tends to happen is that a thing like an issue or a policy manifests itself as a guide. It becomes a character of some kind, like the one in Fall Dog. There's this guy saying, 'I'm goddamn rich'. You know, 'Throw anything you like at me, baby, because I'm goddamn rich. It doesn't bother me.'."

Nicholas Pegg Nicholas Pegg is a British actor, director and writer. Education Educated at Nottingham High School and graduating with a Master of Arts in English Literature from the University of Exeter, Pegg subsequently trained at the Guildford School of ...

, ''The complete David Bowie'', Reynolds & Hearn, 2006, p. 72. Biographer

wrote his own interpretation of the song: "The key on this occasion is the fearful predicament of global politics at the time of the ''Reality'' sessions. The album was recorded during the preamble to, and the prosecution of, the

Iraq War The Iraq War (), also referred to as the Second Gulf War, was a prolonged conflict in Iraq lasting from 2003 to 2011. It began with 2003 invasion of Iraq, the invasion by a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition, which ...

, and it's impossible to hear lyrics like 'I don't care much, I'll win anyway.../I'm goddamn rich, an exploding man/When I talk in the night, there's oil on my hands' without pondering their most obvious resonance. It wouldn't be particularly extravagant to surmise that the 'Moon' of the title suggests the Crescent Moon of Islam, thereby narrowing down the candidates for 'Fall Dog' fairly decisively." Pegg concludes writing that the song cocks a "contemptuous at the increasing predilection of political parties to find 'someone to hate' while jumping into bed with business corporations" and that dialogue with other Bowie's songs like "

Fantastic Voyage ''Fantastic Voyage'' is a 1966 American science fiction adventure film directed by Richard Fleischer and written by Harry Kleiner, based on a story by Otto Klement and Jerome Bixby. The film is about a submarine crew who is shrunk to microsco ...

", " Loving the Alien" and "

I'm Afraid of Americans "I'm Afraid of Americans" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released as a Single (music), single from his album ''Earthling (David Bowie album), Earthling'' on 14 October 1997 through Virgin Records. The song was co-written by ...

". "Fall Dog Bombs the Moon" is based on short melodic motifs, the kind that seemed to permeate his previous album, '' Heathen''. A live performance of the song, recorded in November 2003 during the

A Reality Tour A Reality Tour was a worldwide concert tour by the English singer-songwriter David Bowie in support of his 2003 album ''Reality''. The tour began on 7 October 2003 at the Forum Copenhagen, Denmark, continuing through Europe, North America, Asi ...

, is included on the ''

'' album, released in 2010.

Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary: *

– lead and backing vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards *

Earl Slick Earl Slick (born Frank Madeloni; October 1, 1952, in Brooklyn, New York) is an American guitarist best known for his collaborations with David Bowie, John Lennon, Yoko Ono and Robert Smith (musician), Robert Smith. He has also worked with other ...

– guitar *

David Torn David M. Torn (born May 26, 1953) is an American guitarist, composer, and producer. He is known for combining electronic and acoustic instruments and for his use of looping. Background Torn has contributed to recordings by artists as diverse ...

– guitar *

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. Early life and education Plati grew up in Aurora, Colorado. He studied at Indiana University's Jacobs School of ...

– guitar *

Tony Visconti Anthony Edward Visconti (born April 24, 1944) is an American record producer, musician and singer. Since the late 1960s, he has worked with an array of performers. His first hit single was T. Rex's " Ride a White Swan" in 1970, the first of man ...

– bass * Mario J. McNulty – drums, percussion Production *David Bowie – producer *Tony Visconti – producer, engineer *Mario J. McNulty – engineer

References

{{authority control 2003 songs Songs written by David Bowie David Bowie songs Anti-Iraq War songs Rock ballads Song recordings produced by Tony Visconti

Personnel

See also

References