'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore

"'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" is a song by English musician David Bowie. It was originally released as a digital non-album single on 10 November 2014 and was later featured as the B-side for Bowie's next single, "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", which was released exactly one week later. A re-recorded version of the song appears as the second track on Bowie's 25th and final studio album, Blackstar (2016). "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" charted in multiple countries, including Bowie's home country of the UK, where it peaked at number 107.

Not to be confused with 'Tis Pity She's a Whore.
"'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Blackstar
A-side"Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)"
Released10 November 2014
Format
Recorded
  • 2014 (single version)
  • 2015 (Blackstar version)
GenreArt rock
Length
  • 5:26 (single version)
  • 4:52 (Blackstar version)
Label
Songwriter(s)David Bowie
Producer(s)
Blackstar track listing
7 tracks
  1. "Blackstar"
  2. "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"
  3. "Lazarus"
  4. "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)"
  5. "Girl Loves Me"
  6. "Dollar Days"
  7. "I Can't Give Everything Away"

Background and recording

"'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" was released as a single on 10 November 2014 and was later featured as one of the B-sides to "Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)", Bowie's following single.[1] The name of the song derives from the play 'Tis Pity She's a Whore by John Ford, an English dramatist of the 17th century.[2] Both songs were re-recorded for Bowie's 25th and final studio album, Blackstar, released on 8 January 2016. American jazz musician Donny McCaslin provided new saxophone parts for the re-recording of "'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore". Bowie had done saxophone parts himself for the original version of the song.[3]

On the sound of the song, Bowie wrote: "If Vorticists wrote Rock Music it might have sounded like this."[4]

Critical reception

Mojo critic Andrew Male described the track as "a raucous five-minute mesh of melody and discord, an art-rock anti-war romance, gasping under the pack-ice of no-wave sax-squawk."[4]

Track listing

Digital download
Digital release[5]
No.TitleLength
1."'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"5:26

10" vinyl
Side A
No.TitleLength
1."Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)"7:24
Side B
No.TitleLength
1."'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore"5:27
2."Sue (Or in a Season of Crime)" (Radio edit)4:01

Charts
Chart (2014–16) Peak
position
Belgium (Ultratip Flanders)[6] 78
Netherlands (Single Top 100)[7] 68
Portugal (AFP)[8] 57
Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[9] 63
UK Singles (Official Charts Company)[10] 107
US Hot Rock Songs (Billboard)[11] 34

Release history
Region Date Format(s) Label Catalogue no.
Worldwide 10 November 2014 Digital download ISO none[5]
Europe 14 November 2014 10-inch (B-side) Parlophone 10RDB2014[1]
United States 28 November 2014 Columbia 88875028701[12]

References
  1. "David Bowie - Sue (Or in a Season of Crime) (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 13 December 2015.
  2. The Inside Story of David Bowie's Stunning New Album, 'Blackstar', rollingstone.com, 23 November 2015
  3. Fusilli, Jim (5 January 2016). "'Blackstar' Review: Ziggy Stardust Plays Jazz". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 6 January 2016.
  4. Male, Andrew (10 November 2014). "Hear David Bowie's New Single, 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore". Mojo. Retrieved 12 March 2016.
  5. "David Bowie – 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore (File)". Discogs. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  6. "Ultratop.be – David Bowie – 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" (in Dutch). Ultratip. Retrieved 20 December 2015.
  7. "Dutchcharts.nl – David Bowie – 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore" (in Dutch). Single Top 100. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  8. "Portuguesecharts.com – David Bowie – 'Tis A Pity She Was A Whore". AFP Top 100 Singles. Retrieved 23 April 2020.
  9. "Swedishcharts.com – David Bowie – 'Tis a Pity She Was a Whore". Singles Top 100. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  10. "Chart Log UK - New Chart Entries - 16.01.2016". zobbel.de. Retrieved 27 January 2016.
  11. "David Bowie Chart History (Hot Rock Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
  12. "David Bowie - Sue (Or In A Season Of Crime) (Vinyl)". Discogs. Retrieved 20 January 2016.
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