I think Lazarus was Bowie’s equivalent to Freddie Mercury’s The Show Must Go On.

Written when the respective artists were dying, saying farewell.

Man, today really sucks. He should have had 10 more years. Is this what the death of Freddie Mercury was like.

The song chronicles the effort of Freddie Mercury continuing to perform despite approaching the end of his life; he was dying from complications due to HIV/AIDS, although his illness had not yet been made public in spite of ongoing media speculation claiming that he was seriously ill.[1] Mercury was so ill when the band recorded the song in 1990, that May had concerns as to whether he was physically capable of singing it. Recalling Mercury’s performance, May states; “I said, ‘Fred, I don’t know if this is going to be possible to sing.’ And he went, ‘I’ll fucking do it, darling’ — vodka down — and went in and killed it, completely lacerated that vocal.”

Queen - The Show Must Go On (Official Video)