Letter to Hermione

In January 1968, Bowie met and fell in love with Hermione Farthingale. Their romance lasted about a year, during which they collaborated on some musical projects, but then she broke it off. Rejected and hurt, Bowie put his emotions into a letter, but never sent it. Instead, he composed a beautiful song out of it.

I have no intentions of doing a stupid thing like trying to dissect and analyze this record. It speaks for itself, in the words of broken-hearted love.

The hand that wrote this letter
Sweeps the pillow clean
So rest your head and read a treasured dream
I care for no one else but you
I tear my soul to cease the pain
I think maybe you feel the same
What can we do?
I'm not quite sure what we're supposed to do
So I've been writing just for you

They say your life is going very well
They say you sparkle like a different girl
But something tells me that you hide
When all the world is warm and tired
You cry a little in the dark
Well so do I
I'm not quite sure what you're supposed to say
But I can see it's not okay

He makes you laugh
He brings you out in style
He treats you well
And makes you up real fine
And when he's strong
He's strong for you
And when you kiss
It's something new
But did you ever call my name
Just by mistake?
I'm not quite sure what I'm supposed to do
So I'll just write some love to you

The story is very obvious, and very sad. She left him, and found another lover. And, to add insult to injury, it seems that she's a lot happier now than she used to be with him. Our lad, who is still in love with her, can do nothing but comfort himself by imagining that deep down inside, she is still in love with him, and he is still the one.

This degree of candidness is amazing, considering that it comes from the man considered by many to be rock's greatest poseur. Bowie reveals himself to us in his most vulnerable and pathetic hour, and doesn't try to hide that he is talking about himself – it is right there in the record's title. The respect for his courage can only be matched with the admiration for his talent for expressing these emotions in words and singing.

In terms of style, Bowie here puts himself squarely in the singer/songwriter camp. The term singer/songwriter came along in the late sixties, to define the new type of rock music from the old. Up to that time, the lyricists, composers and performers of pop records were usually different people, each an expert in their field. Fifties rock'n'roll, too, was part of that tradition. But the combined effect of the British invasion bands, most of whom wrote their own material, and the poetic power of Bob Dylan, determined a new credo for rock, and late sixties rockers were expected to write and compose their songs. That went for rock bands and single performers alike, but the moniker singer/songwriter became associated mainly with the lone singer, who would usually accompany himself or herself on acoustic guitar or piano, and sing personal and reflective ballads. The singer/songwriters drew from many musical traditions, bringing them all into the world of rock: from the troubadours, traveling through life and through the world and singing about it; from the folk singers, representing the voice of the common man against the authorities; from the blues singers, battling a harsh existence; from the poets, and their beautiful prose; from the French chansonniers, telling stories in verse; and from the theatrical and ironic delivery of cabaret singers. But the quintessential singer/songwriters were those who sang personal songs and revealed their own soul, and the most celebrated album of this type was Joni Mitchell's Blue, which came out in 1971. 'Letter to Hermione' (and the similarly autobiographical 'An Occasional Dream' and 'Memory of a Free Festival'), coming two years earlier, suggests that Bowie, if he so wanted, could have given her some competition.