Yassassin

"Yassassin"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Lodger
B-side	"Repetition" (Netherlands) "Red Money" (Turkey)
Released	June 1979 (Netherlands)
Format	7″ single
Recorded	Mountain Studios, Montreux; September 1978; Record Plant Studios, New York City, March 1979
Genre	Reggae world
Length	3:06 (single version) 4:10 (album version)
Label	RCA Records PB-9417 (Netherlands) 79.014 (Turkey)
Writer(s)	David Bowie
Producer(s)	David Bowie Tony Visconti
David Bowie singles chronology
"DJ" (1979) "Yassassin" (1979) "Look Back in Anger" (1979)
Lodger track listing "Move On" (3) "Yassassin" (4) "Red Sails" (5)

"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 David Bowie for the 1979 album Lodger. "Yassassin" is an incongruous reggae song with a Turkish flavour, and the third single to be released from Lodger, but only in the Netherlands and Turkey.

The song's title 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'.

Track listing

RCA PB-9417 (Netherlands)

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

RCA 79.014 (Turkey)

1. "Yassassin" (Bowie)
2. "Red Money" (Bowie, Carlos Alomar)

Production credits

• Producers
  • Tony Visconti
  • David Bowie
• Musicians
  • David Bowie - vocals, background vocals, organ
  • Dennis Davis - drums, background vocals
  • George Murray - bass, background vocals
  • Carlos Alomar - rhythm guitar, background vocals
  • Tony Visconti - lead guitar, background vocals
  • Simon House - violin, background vocals

Cover versions

• Litfiba - 12-inch single (1984)

External links