David BowieImage via RCA Records
By
Val Barone
Published 58 minutes ago
Val Barone is a journalist working remotely and specializing in music features. A passionate music lover, she keeps up to date on the latest developments in the entertainment world, and in the past five years, she's written for several sites, including ScreenRant, MovieWeb, TheThings, and Far Out Magazine. She covers breaking news in the music world and loves sharing stories about the classic rock musicians she grew up listening to. As a Gen Z writer, she offers a fresh perspective on the events that change music history.
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There are too many iconic David Bowie songs to list, but if there is one that stands out as the most heartbreaking one, that would be "Letter to Hermione." The song, from the legendary self-titled album, is a tale about a love lost, and a clear example of an artist pouring his deepest feelings into song to work through them. Bowie was going through heartbreak while making the album, and this song is what he wished he could have said to his ex, Hermione Farthingale, who he was still in love with at the time. The result was the most intense, loving, and devastating track of its time.
The Story Behind "Letter to Hermione"
When David Bowie was making his second album, his last relationship was very much on his mind, even though the concept of the album is not necessarily romance. When he wrote "Letter to Hermione," he was processing his breakup from Hermione Farthingale, and the name of the song could not have been more literal. At the time, he was heartbroken, and he wrote a letter to his ex-girlfriend, baring his heart, but never actually sent it to her. Instead, he turned it into a song. “That’s me in a maudlin or romantic mood. I’d written her a letter, and then decided not to post it," Bowie shared.
"‘Letter To Hermione’ is what I wished I’d said. I was in love with her, and it took me months to get over it. She walked out on me, and I suppose that was what hurt as much as anything else, that feeling of rejection.”
Bowie sings about Hermione and how he knows she's happy with someone else, but wishes she still thought about him now and then. "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?" It took Bowie years to get over the breakup, and he continued to write small references to her in his songs for years. Even in that same album, he found inspiration in her for songs that might not, at first sight, have anything to do with a relationship gone wrong, but that still whisper to their long-lost love.
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Posts By Fiona MacPherson-Amador Oct 14, 2025"Space Oddity" Was Also Inspired by Hermione
"Space Oddity" is the song that introduces the world to a famous character in the music world, Major Tom. And the idea that it was inspired by an ex-girlfriend sounds ludicrous, but it's true. Bowie found different sources of inspiration for this song, including an iconic science fiction movie by Stanley Kubrick, 2001: A Space Odyssey. The theme of the movie, of course, impacted the idea of a space traveler, but what really got to him was "the sense of isolation," something he could absolutely relate to at the time, going through heartbreak.
But when it came to writing Major Tom, it was his love that gave him the idea. "It was Hermione who got me writing for and on a specific person," he explained. There is some kind of connection Bowie found between Hermione and space. Somehow, they evoked the same feeling, as he, two years later, referenced her again in "Life on Mars?" as "the girl with the mousy hair."
Of course, Bowie eventually moved on with his life and went on to have a happy marriage with a woman he stayed with until he passed away in 2016. Shortly after he died, the Daily Mail reached out to Hermione to ask about her time with David Bowie, and she responded with great class and grace. "Our time together was very precious, and it’s nobody’s business except ours," she stated. "I have spent all these years not speaking about me and him, so why should I start now? I want to remain true to what he always appreciated about me, which was that I never spoke about him and never kissed and told."
"He was a lovely, kind, original, sweet person of whom I was — and still am — incredibly fond, and that is how I will remember him."
The relationship might have ended in heartbreak, but both Bowie and Hermione moved on and treasured their time together. And, as an added bonus, the world got some incredible songs out of it.
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