[4] Author James E. Perone compares its melody, arrangement, guitar lines and emotional weight to the works of principal Moody Blues songwriter and lead singer Justin Hayward.

[6] Like fellow Hours track "Something in the Air", "Survive" details an ended relationship,[4][5] one that, in Spitz's words, is "haunted by regret".

[6] Bowie's character in the song, who has ended the relationship either actively ("I should have kept you") or passively ("I should have tried"), concludes that he will survive while harbouring feelings of love, loss and regret.

[5] Similar to other tracks on the album, the song contains acknowledgement on the process of aging, and yearning to use the mistakes of the past to have a better future.

[2] In an interview with Uncut magazine, Bowie explained:[7] There was a time in my life when I was desperately in love with a girl, and I met her as it happens, quite a number of years later.

[10] The song was subsequently released as the third single from the album on 17 January 2000 in a new remix by English producer Marius de Vries.

[4] Released through Virgin Records and featuring the album cut and the "Stigmata film version" of "The Pretty Things Are Going to Hell" as the B-sides, the single reached number 28 in the UK.

[4] The Vries' mix was later included in the soundtrack of Omikron: The Nomad Soul, on the 2004 reissued Hours bonus disc, the 2014 three-disc edition of Nothing Has Changed[4][13] and on Re:Call 5, part of the Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) box set in 2022.

[6][10][15][16] Author Paul Trynka calls the song "a gem, simple and unaffected, almost Scary Monsters in vibe without any of the overcomplexity and overthinking that seemed synonymous with 1990s Bowie.

Another version was recorded at London's BBC Radio Theatre on 27 June 2000, which was later released on the bonus disc of Bowie at the Beeb (2000);[4][19] the full concert later appeared on Brilliant Adventure (1992–2001) box set.