Synopsis

David Bowie sits alone at a kitchen table, waiting for an egg to boil. The deliberately mundane scene gradually slips into the surreal as Bowie, the table, the chair, and the egg begin to rise into the air. He remains detached and contemplative while the strange suspension continues, turning an ordinary domestic moment into an image of emotional dislocation. By the conclusion, gravity returns and the room settles back into normality, leaving the unexplained levitation as the video's central mystery.

Factoids & Trivia

• The video was filmed at Tower Bridge Studio in London over two days in November 1999. The second and final day of filming ended on November 26.

• The levitation was achieved with wires rather than digital effects. Behind-the-scenes material released by Bowie's official site later showed the rigging used for the sequence.

• The video uses an edit of the Marius de Vries Mix of "Survive," rather than the standard album recording.

• Its quiet, reflective mood matches the song's themes of regret and emotional survival on Bowie's 1999 album "hours...".

• The floating kitchen setup has been noted as a subtle echo of the anti-gravity imagery and domestic setting in Bowie's earlier "Ashes to Ashes" video.

• A PC-playable version of the video was included with the first CD single release. A later single also contained a live performance video recorded in Paris on October 14, 1999.

• Both the studio video and the Paris performance video were later included on the 2002 "Best of Bowie" DVD.