In August 1981, Bowie had begun rehearsals to appear in the BBC version ofBaal. The lyrics to the songs were all translated byRalph ManheimandJohn Willett. Bowie did not think of thetelevision playas a success on broadcast due to its cinematography, but had grown to appreciate it by 1983.[2]Dominic Muldowneyprovided all new musical settings, except for “The Drowned Girl”, which was a setting byKurt Weilldone originally forDas Berliner Requiem. In September 1981, Bowie andTony Viscontireturned to the Hansa studios in Berlin to re-record the five songs Baal performed in the play.

“Baal’s Hymn” is a combination of the vignettes spread throughout the play and establishes Baal’s amoral character. “Remembering Marie A.” concerns Baal’s reminiscences of a past conquest, where he can remember a cloud drifting overhead but not the face of the girl he was with. “Ballad of the Adventurers” is Baal’s aggressive lament to the death of his mother. “The Drowned Girl” relates the suicide of one of Baal’s conquests a video clip for this song was shot byDavid Malletat the same time as the one for “Wild is the Wind”. “The Dirty Song” is a short number, with Baal humiliating his lover Sophie.