Quicksand

The song Quicksand, born from the pen of David Bowie, immerses us in a soundscape that, despite its apparent calm, is loaded with deep and personal references. Recorded at London's Trident Studios on July 14, 1971, this ballad is distinguished by the use of multi-layered acoustic guitars and a string arrangement by Mick Ronson. Producer Ken Scott, who had just worked on George Harrison's album All Things Must Pass, sought to replicate that powerful acoustic sonority in this piece. Bowie himself described the song's genesis as the result of a whirlwind of experiences between the "bliss and calamity of America," an "epic of confusion" that, with its own esoteric concerns, could have emerged anywhere. The lyrics intertwine the narrative with the surreal, inviting reflection that goes beyond the superficial.

In the lyrics of Quicksand, Bowie delves into themes that strongly resonated in his work of the time, exploring Buddhism, occultism, and the philosophy of Friedrich Nietzsche, particularly his concept of the "superman." The song alludes to the magical society Golden Dawn and mentions figures such as Aleister Crowley, Heinrich Himmler, and Juan Pujol (known by his codename Garbo). NME editors Roy Carr and Charles Shaar Murray described it as a reflection of "Bowie's darker, more metaphysical mood," while a Rolling Stone review highlighted its "superb singing" and Mick Ronson's "beautiful guitar motif." This piece, part of the album Hunky Dory, released on December 17, 1971, has been performed on various tours, including the 1997 Earthling Tour and the A Reality Tour between 2003 and 2004. A live version recorded on July 20, 1997, at Long Marston, England, during the Phoenix Festival, was included on the live album Look at the Moon! in February 2021. Furthermore, an improvised performance in a San Francisco hotel room in February 1971 saw the light for the first time in 2022 on the compilation box set Divine Symmetry: The Journey to Hunky Dory.