The song titled 'Where Are We Now?', produced by his long-term collaborator Tony Visconti is a mournful look back to the time he spent in Berlin, reported Daily Mail.
The four-and-a-half minute song appeared on his website without forewarning or fanfare early yesterday morning. The only publicity was a single message on Twitter, inviting his followers to 'stumble upon... A well-kept secret.'
Following a heart attack on stage in 2004, Bowie had turned down all invitations to play live, even refusing to attend the Olympics opening ceremony last August, where his 1977 song 'Heroes' practically became the anthem to a summer of sporting success.
A photograph taken on a New York street in October, close to his apartment, showed a frail man, shuffling along in a flat cap and sweatshirt, clutching a paper bag that appeared to contain his lunch.
It sparked fears the former drug addict and chain smoker was suffering from cancer or perhaps dementia.
The new single reassures many that he retains his poetic gift.