Stay (David Bowie song)

"Stay"
Single by David Bowie
from the album Station to Station
B-side"Word on a Wing"
ReleasedJuly 1976 (1976-07)
RecordedOctober–November 1975
StudioCherokee, Los Angeles
Genre
Length
  • 6:15 (album version)
  • 3:21 (single version)
LabelRCA
Songwriter(s)David Bowie
Producer(s)
David Bowie singles chronology
"TVC 15"
(1976)
"Stay"
(1976)
"Suffragette City"
(1976)

"Stay" is a song by the English musician David Bowie, released on his 1976 album Station to Station. The song was recorded in late 1975 at Cherokee Studios in Los Angeles. Co-produced by Bowie and Harry Maslin, the recording featured guitarists Carlos Alomar and Earl Slick, bassist George Murray, drummer Dennis Davis, pianist Roy Bittan and Warren Peace on percussion. The track features prominent dual guitar work from Slick and Alomar, who mostly composed it in the studio. Based on the chord structure of "John, I'm Only Dancing (Again)", a funk reworking of "John, I'm Only Dancing" (1972), "Stay" emulates funk rock, soul and hard rock. The song's lyrics are abstract and relate to love.

Bowie debuted the song on the variety show Dinah! on 3 January 1976. In July the same year, RCA Records released "Stay" as the B-side of "Suffragette City" and again as an A-side in edited form in the United States; both failed to chart. The track has received positive reviews from music critics and biographers, with many praising the performance of the band. "Stay" was a live staple throughout Bowie's concert tours, performances of which have appeared on numerous live albums. The song was remixed by Maslin in 2010 for reissues of Station to Station and remastered in 2016 for the Who Can I Be Now? (1974–1976) box set. Bowie recorded a new version of "Stay" in 1997 during the rehearsals for the Earthling Tour, which appeared on the 2020 EP Is It Any Wonder? as "Stay '97".