Yassassin

"Yassassin" (Bowie's pronunciation /jɑːˈsɑːsɪn/; also known as "Yassassin (Turkish for: Long Live)", and released in Turkey as "Yassassin (Yaşasın)") is a song written by English singer-songwriter David Bowie for the 1979 album Lodger. "Yassassin" is an incongruous reggae song with a Turkish flavour.[2]

"Yassassin"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Lodger
B-side
  • "Repetition" (Netherlands)
  • "Red Money" (Turkey)
ReleasedJuly 1979[1] (Netherlands)
RecordedMountain, Montreux, September 1978; Record Plant, New York City, March 1979
Length3:06 (single version)
4:10 (album version)
LabelRCA
PB-9417 (Netherlands)
79.014 (Turkey)
Songwriter(s)David Bowie
Producer(s)
David Bowie singles chronology
"D.J."
(1979)
"Yassassin"
(1979)
"Look Back in Anger"
(1979)

The title of the song is derived from the Turkish verb used to wish someone a long life, spelled yaşasın (pronounced [jaʃaˈsɯn]), from the verbal root yaşa- 'live' with the third-person imperative ending; therefore yaşasın literally means 'may he/she live'.

"Yassassin" was released as a single – the third single to be released from Lodger – but only in the Netherlands and Turkey. The Dutch single edit of the song was included on Re:Call 3, part of the A New Career in a New Town (1977–1982) compilation (2017).[3]

Track listing

RCA PB-9417 (Netherlands)

  1. "Yassassin" (David Bowie) – 3:06
  2. "Repetition" (Bowie) – 2:58

RCA 79.014 (Turkey)

  1. "Yassassin" (Bowie)
  2. "Red Money" (Bowie, Carlos Alomar)

Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary:[4]

Technical

  • David Bowie – producer
  • Tony Visconti – producer

Cover versions

References

  1. Nicholas Pegg (2016). The Complete David Bowie: p.318
  2. "David Bowie Yassassin (1979) Only in the Netherlands and Turkey". David Bowie World. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
  3. "A NEW CAREER IN A NEW TOWN (1977–1982) – David Bowie Latest News". DavidBowie.com. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
  4. O'Leary 2019, chap. 3.
  5. "Litfiba - Yassassin". Discogs. 30 August 1984. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
  6. Meiburg, Jonathan (13 May 2016). "Shearwater covers the entirety of David Bowie's Lodger". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
  7. Dorris, Jesse (23 October 2018). "A Surprising Tribute to David Bowie's Berlin Trilogy, Played in a Manhattan Mall". Pitchfork.com. Retrieved 26 November 2022.

Sources

  • O'Leary, Chris (2019). Ashes to Ashes: The Songs of David Bowie 1976–2016. London: Repeater. ISBN 978-1-91224-830-8.


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