David Bowie's "The Wedding Song" appears on his 1993 album, Black Tie White Noise in two forms, first as an instrumental titled "The Wedding" and then in its shortened, lyrical version, "The Wedding Song". The instrumental opens the album, while the lyrical version ends it. "The Wedding Song", both through the instrumental arrangement and lyrics, expresses Bowie's euphoria after his marriage to Iman Abdulmajid. Striking in both versions is the dance arrangement of the piece, which departs from Bowie's recent efforts with Tin Machine for a more calm, dance music sound, given his return to the producer of Let's Dance LP, Nile Rodgers. For Bowie, this was also return to blue-eyed soul and also an experiment in hip-hop music. However, Bowie's instrumental arrangements were also significant through its use of symbolism: he acknowledged the meeting of his Western ethnic background with Iman's Eastern ethnic background by using Western dance beats while he played solos on his saxophone reminiscent of the Middle-East. A long introduction making use of church bells introduces the instrumental and closes the song, creating bookends for the album altogether. The lyrics speak of "heaven's girl in a wedding gown" and invoking images of wings and angels.
Sources
- Black Tie White Noise Limited Edition DVD, 2004
