Yassassin

Song by David Bowie

"Yassassin"

Single by David Bowie

from the album Lodger

B-side

"Repetition" (Netherlands)
"Red Money" (Turkey)

Released

July 1979^[1] (Netherlands)

Recorded

Mountain, Montreux, September 1978; Record Plant, New York City, March 1979

Length

3:06 (single version)
4:10 (album version)

Label

RCA
PB-9417 (Netherlands)
79.014 (Turkey)

Songwriter(s)

David Bowie

Producer(s)

David Bowie
Tony Visconti

David Bowie singles chronology

"D.J."
(1979)

"Yassassin"
(1979)

"Look Back in Anger"
(1979)

"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]

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'. The phrase “Yaşasın” is in most cases used as “Hurray!” in Turkish.

"Yassassin" was released as the third single 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)

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

RCA 79.014 (Turkey)

"Yassassin" (Bowie)
"Red Money" (Bowie, Carlos Alomar)

Personnel

According to Chris O'Leary:^[4]

David Bowie – lead and background vocals, synthesiser
Carlos Alomar – lead guitar, background vocals
Tony Visconti – rhythm guitar, background vocals
George Murray – bass, background vocals
Simon House – violin, background vocals
Dennis Davis – drums, tambourine, background vocals

Technical

David Bowie – producer
Tony Visconti – producer

Cover versions

The song was covered by new wave band Litfiba in 1984.^[5]
American indie rock band Shearwater performed a version of the song in May 2016 for The A.V. Club's A.V. Undercover series,^[6] and again as part of a live performance of the entire Berlin Trilogy for WNYC in 2018.^[7]

References

^ Nicholas Pegg (2016). The Complete David Bowie: p.318
^ "David Bowie Yassassin (1979) Only in the Netherlands and Turkey". David Bowie World. Retrieved 21 June 2020.
^ "A NEW CAREER IN A NEW TOWN (1977–1982) – David Bowie Latest News". DavidBowie.com. 22 July 2016. Retrieved 30 September 2017.
^ O'Leary 2019, chap. 3.
^ "Litfiba - Yassassin". Discogs. 30 August 1984. Retrieved 11 August 2023.
^ Meiburg, Jonathan (13 May 2016). "Shearwater covers the entirety of David Bowie's Lodger". The A.V. Club. Retrieved 22 May 2016.
^ 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.