"Soul Love" explores various characters grappling with love in the shadow of an impending global disaster, as Earth faces destruction. It captures a sense of pre-apocalypse frustration, with a sound that biographer Nicholas Pegg notes is reminiscent of Ben E. King's "Stand by Me." The song features Bowie's saxophone solo and a guitar solo from Mick Ronson, and while it was not initially conceived for the album's narrative, it was rewritten to fit into the story of The Rise and Fall of Ziggy Stardust and the Spiders from Mars. It plays like a poignant reflection on human connection amidst looming catastrophe.