The lyrics are actually quite deep & meaningful. Reflecting on your life and all the decisions you made and then still asking yourself. How did I get here?
Yeah, thank you. Buddhist concepts of simultaneous impermanence (material possessions) and continuity (water flowing underground & same as it ever was). This is a brilliant piece of art. Not everyone is going to get it on the first listen...or ever
It is more about how the things that you didn't decide influenced your path through life. Just going through your time, then looking back and wondering what happened to put you where you are now.
Yup, exactly. Lately, I've been thinking about the lines at the end, "Time isn't after us, time isn't holding us," and thinking that he's trying to tell us that time isn't up, and that it's not too late to live how you want.
@@wyattjett9005No. He's saying that time isn't the enemy of life. It it life, and everything else. It's not evil, it's just indifferent to how we tumble, toil and transform with it. Any perspective or humanity you can tie to it is utterly unrelated to the actual nature of it and it's impermanence.
George nailed it . Letting the days go by , let the water hold me down . Time has passed him by and he's only just realizing , for once in his lifetime , that he is now so far ... down river that he's looking around wondering " how did I get here ? " RIvers flow into the sea. The tides are inevitable. Father time always wins. ...same as it ever was.
If the revelation of the Jay-Z sampling of this blew your mind, you guys need to react to "Genius of Love" by The Tom Tom Club (which is a side band by two members of the Talking Heads). Once you hear the bass line of that track, your mind will explode at HOW MANY SONGS have sampled it. You'll know it INSTANTLY.
Tina Weymouth does not get enough credit. She was self-trained and quickly became a master of the instrument. In about 5 years she went from never played the bass to creating some of the best basslines in history.
@@thecrye6798 kinda is considering only one song sample. There are a lot of other women in hip hop production so to give it to her for a baseline in one song is a stretch to me at least.
The comparison to Parliament-Funkadelic is more accurate than you know. He's not on this track, but Bernie Worrell was their keyboard player throughout most of the 80's
One of the more underrated bassists ever. I'm pretty sure George and Ryan being born in the early 80s are familiar with Genius of Love from Tom Tom Club/Mariah Carey using it in Fantasy.
"Talking Heads" is slang for tv news anchors. Their videos were as innovative as their music. Other classics are "Psycho Killer", "Burning Down the House", "Take Me to the River", "This Must Be the Place", "Road to Nowhere", "Life During Wartime", "Stay Up Late", and "Wild, Wild Life".
One of the greatest songs ever recorded. I'm 49 and this song makes more sense to me every day. I agree with a lot of your analysis, but the song IS really about the lyrics. It's both "fun" and serious. Also, I love seeing people who have never been exposed to David Byrne getting their first dose. You need to see him perform live: he's neurotic, twitchy, awkward, and sweaty. You can't take your eyes off of him. He's not even trying to be a rock star or funk front man. Byrne questioned all of that rock star shit forty years ago and people are still trying to understand.
i feel like it had a resurgence in the early 90s...a movie maybe? i know Burning Down the House in revenge of the nerds was probably where i first heard TH when I was a kid in the 80s.
@@josephgoforth9722 this song was featured in Down and Out in Beverly Hills with Nick Nolte. Then my other favorite song by them, Naive Melody was featured in Wall Street. But yes, I remember Burning Down the House in Revenge of the Nerds. They seem to have quite a few songs in major motion pictures. Those royalties and residuals must be quite nice for David Byrne.
David Byrne is so incredibly influential and accomplished musician, he has Grammys, Oscars, Tonys and is in the rock and roll hall of fame. And he's still making stuff!
The song is essentially about the subconscious. About the fear and doubt and disbelief that we all face in our lives. About getting the things society tells us to want, but wondering if any of it is real.
Brian Eno the producer and David Byrne have spoken about making this song and it's pretty interesting. Byrne said “It wasn’t one of Brian Eno’s favorite tracks that we were working on. And there was a motion to just abandon this one. But I thought, ‘There’s something about this. I’m sure I can write words to it that it’s gonna make this work. And pull it together.’” Apparently it took a while but he wrote the right words and did the vocals in the style of giving a sermon rather than singing them. I love this song for how groovy, unique and otherworldly it sounds. The lyrics to me aren't necessarily meaningful but there is something in the words that intrigues you and makes you stop, look around and think about the world and your life.
I always saw it as realizing an almost Eastern philosophy type dissatisfaction with life, feeling dissociated, looking around and thinking you aren't really there. The days going by, like you're water flowing underground. But thats probably reading too much into it
You guys are living proof that the writer accomplished what he set out to do. You said it yourself just groove to the rhythm and beat and not worry about the meaning. Most people just go to the beat and rhythm of life. Letting the days go by letting the water hold me down! That is what seperates artists and leaders from the common man.
The first side of this album is ridiculously good. Been obsessed with it for over 40 years. Oh, and Tina Weymouth knows how to hit you with a sick bass groove.
The Talking Heads had a side band called "Tom Tom Club" AND I KNOW YA'LL HEARD ONE OF THEIR SONGS..."Genius of Love". One of the greatest songs of the 80s.
Notice she never plays the root of either chord and when they're finally made explicit in the chorus, her line is revealed to be just the pickup notes in between. Simple and brilliant.
That is my absolutely favorite TH song. The Stop Making Sense version is just *chef's kiss*. As an aside, I find it very interesting that you refer to it by the parenthetical "Naive Melody". I've always called it "This Must Be the Place" because he actually says that line in the song. I usually forget there's a parenthetical in the title unless I'm looking at it😅
Yes. I first discovered Naive Melody in the movie Wall Street. I’ve never shown it to anyone who didn’t like it. This song, which was featured in the movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and Naive Melody are my two favorite Talking Heads songs. So brilliant.
"Once in a Lifetime" was the lead single from Talking Heads' fourth studio album, Remain in Light (1980), which is one of those albums that deserves a full listen. I remember first hearing the song on the radio before seeing the video on early MTV. On the radio the song came across as the bright bouncey pop song it is. Dig that Fela Kuti inspired Afrobeat! And that simple but powerful bass line is supplied by Tina Weymouth. I rediscovered the song in a big way when the video came out a few years later. My buddies and I thought it was the bomb. The trippy water graphics, Byrne's quirky dancing, his duck walk, those jerky motions -- like he was getting beat up by the invisible man -- and that chopping gesture, that was strange and weird and cool to us. You'll have to watch it to get the full effect.
This is basically an existential crisis in song form, kind of a midlife crisis where you ask how you ended up where you are and feeling like an impostor.
Like weighing the water you carry compared to others. Water being a metaphor for time, opportunities, success all while being mixed with a healthy dose of imposter syndrome.
Yep! I'd add the confusion and disorientation of instant fame and the sudden loss of it. He doesn't know how to navigate a life of fame or what to do when it slips away.
The live version from the Stop Making Sense concert movie, where the had some Parliament-Funkadelic members filling out the band. The concert version really elevates the song.
Remain in Light is one of the greatest albums ever made. They essentially recorded loops and played over them, experimenting more with sound and rhythm. The repetition was hypnotic and they created a great fusion of art rock and afrobeat.
They did a reboot of Al Green's "Take Me To The River" about baptism -- turned it into a slow burn, almost sensual groove. My favorite though is probably "Psycho Killer." I like checking out Byrne's brain stretching work, but the tunes I play again and again are the easier hits.
As a white dude who’s always loved the Talking Heads, and who had always wanted to check out more Jay Z, but never went any farther than the black album or his big hits, showing the sample he use for “it’s all right,“ and how it all connected is what makes me love your guys’s channel. You are educating the masses out here and showing how music is connected through a wonderful intricate web of influence. It is both the great communicator and connector. Seeing you guys try out Dillinger Escape plan and knowing now that I’m going to specifically check out more Jay Z is exactly what makes this channel awesome - it is cultural exchange on the fundamentally amazing level. Thank you! Keep on rockin! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
I personally prefer Jay-Z's early catalog as that's what came out during my high school years. Check out "(Always Be My) Sunshine" which sampled Kraftwerk's Man Machine.
This was a song I always heard and bobbed my head to but never really listened. One day, out of nowhere, I was in a store and it was playing, and I was thinking about my childhood, and lyrics saying 'How did I get here?' just hit me with this emotional molotov cocktail. I was questioning everything about my life, genuinely asking how I got here, wondering what my younger self would think of me now, denying how quickly time flew by, and filled with terror of the future. I still like the song, but it hits a little too close to home for me, haha. It's sort of miserable and hopeful at once.
THISSSSS I absolutely just started emotinally balling and thinking about my childhood and if I had made different moves where would I be Yes these lyrics made you reflect
I saw David Byrne in 1990 in Orlando, Florida. He was such a showman and greatly entertaining. He sang with genuine enthusiasm and he made everyone in the room feel like he was there for them. More Talking Heads, please!
David Byrne studied Candomble and was eventually initiated as a priest, and still is practicing. Many of his songs have a spiritual foundation. He took a lot from different images and cultures, which you can see if you check out the TH official video for this song, which includes some very interesting visual storytelling. (Talking Heads was a fine art band - they all met in art school.) In this song, you can hear taking on the tone of a preacher, exhorting his flock not to be buried in a life not meant for them. As to his attitude about his art, I've followed his career since the 70's, and the impression I've always gotten is that he takes his art very seriously, but he doesn't expect anyone else to see it the same way. He does what he does and you can do what you want with it. He's an eclectic, interesting dude, so he makes eclectic, interesting art, and sometimes it's funny. :)
Byrne improvised lines as if he were giving a sermon, with a call-and-response chorus like a preacher and congregation. His vocals are "half-spoken, half-sung", with lyrics about living in a "beautiful house" with a "beautiful wife" and a "large automobile". The Guardian writer Jack Malcolm suggested that the song can be read "as an art-pop rumination on the existential ticking time bomb of unchecked consumerism and advancing age". Rolling Stone ranked it at number 28 on its 2021 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Talking Heads are an eclectic band and David Byrne is very theatrical onstage and seems neurotic with his stage persona. They had a big MTV hit with "Burning Down the House".
Talking Heads: Burning Down the House, The Great Curve, Take Me To The River, Born Under Punches, Girlfriend is Better, Life During Wartime, Cross-eyed and Painless, Making Flippy Floppy. Etc. Trust me. If you guys dive a bit deeper, your going to LOVE these guys. Bits of Funk, Soul, Very creative stuff.
In "Secret Window" (2004), Johnny Depp's character Mort Rainey (who is going through a divorce) drives past his house where his wife is with another man and quotes this song in a vengeful voice: "This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife." CLASSIC.
Now I'm going to have to go watch 'Stop Making Sense'. What a great concert movie and I urge you two to go watch it. Then report back to us!!!! Great song.
Talking Heads is a little unapproachable at first (sort of like Radiohead) because their music is unconventional and obscure to what you may be used to or expecting from music but once you get past that and the more viewed, i.e. more commercially popular songs, and dig deeper you will discover their truly great work. "Once in a Lifetime" is one of their most commercially successful songs but one of their weakest in my opinion and will give you not a true picture of their talent. They are one of the most unique, creative and groundbreaking bands ever.
Man, this song lyrically taps into something so many people can relate to- following someone else's bouncing ball, finding yourself terribly unhappy and thinking, "How did I get here?" How do I get out? The fact that this is all happening to a groovy beat isn't happenstance- thats LIFE- there's this great groovy beat happenning and it exposes all our lies and BS and what we have to do is surrender to it. But sometimes that seems so hard.
I think you all nailed this one. "Nerdy charismatic" is a bang on description of David Byrne's persona. And while the song is indeed plenty dark, it's deliberately funny too--a kind of satire of a certain sort of "straight" way of being in the world. And I have a feeling the whole band would have taken the comparison with The Whispers as the compliment that was intended.
" Remain in light " is one of the seminal albums of the past 50 years. The way it was recorded literally advanced the recording process for every artist that came after. " once in a lifetime " is an amazing song amongst an album filled with gems.
Love Talking Heads, they were way ahead of their time. Try “Burning down the house” from them, I think you’ll really dig it. I’m sure you’ve heard it in pieces it’s been used in a lot of tv shows & movies.
Was 13 when this came out; 55 now and still rock this is the car 🔥. I had the pleasure of seeing David Byrne in concert in 2018/2019 when he was touring smaller venues fine tuning his Utopia show for Broadway; he’s only gotten better with age. This song is timeless❤❤❤ Brooklyn in the house 😊🗽🗽🗽
Brothers - the Talking Heads were THE JAM back in the 70's and 80's! Bernie Worrell the keyboardist from Parliament/Funkadelic was the keyboardist on ONCE IN A LIFETIME and provided the funk in a lot of Talking Heads songs (Worrell was considered the "5th Talking Head." Black folks in the clubs would be on the floor when ONCE IN A LIFETIME played. To see/hear more about Talking Heads, watch the documentary 'STOP MAKING SENSE' directed by Jonathan Demme which was a concert film of the Talking Heads performing at The Pantages Theater in the early 80's.
The first half of this record would be right up your guys alley. "Born Under Punches", "Crosseyed and Painless" and "The Great Curve" are a trio of funk/afrobeat jams that absolutely slam. Their other songs on other records are fantastic, but those three were made for you
George pretty much nailed it on the head with his interpretation of the lyrics, the song deals with the futility of not being content with what you have, wife,possessions etc...like water flowing under the earths surface, there's just no way to stop the forces of nature, or change the course you're on. In an interview with NPR, Talking Heads vocalist David Byrne said: "We're largely unconscious. You know, we operate half awake or on autopilot and end up, whatever, with a house and family and job and everything else, and we haven't really stopped to ask ourselves, 'How did I get here?'
Actually when it came out in the 80's, we were in our 20's and we all danced to the song. It was played a lot in dance clubs. 🕺 People repeated the lyrics while they danced 💃. And we mimic David Byrne's movement that was in the video. Great reaction!!! 👍
This song always makes me feel a feeling I’ve only ever felt before while listening to this song. It is a mixture of happiness and nostalgia tinged with a minor regret. Just uncanny.
David Byrne has said that he recorded this in the style of a Presbyterian preacher giving a sermon. This is why it’s not a conventional song. It’s said that some of members were really into disco in the 70’s and early 80’s and often hanged out in disco’s with disco artists this was some what of an influence.
World music just means music from other parts of the world. In the Talking Heads case, they incorporated a lot of different types of music from around the world like Afrobeat and particularly the Latin music that was so popular in New York City in the 1970s in to their songwriting.
You guys know what you’re talking about. You’re the best. Keep it up. Don’t stop. Never stop. Do more Talking Heads and other acts please. You know what you’re talking about. 8 stars.
It's funny listening to what this song is about. IMHO it's just about how universally, for everyone, life passes you by, and that is the nature of life itself. Even the title 'Once in a Lifetime' refers to this moment in your life, but it also refers to every moment in your life. It's Deep.
you gotta check out live performances, whether it's the Stop Making Sense concert, or more recent David Byrne live performances (he still performs Talking Heads hits along with his vast solo material). He was the musical guest on SNL a couple years ago, and the performance of this song was fiiiire. Also, if you have a chance to see him live, I'd almost guarantee you or anyone would would have their minds blown- he just has a brain for how to create a production
This is from David himself: This song deals with the futility of not being happy with the things you have. Like trying to remove the water at the bottom of the ocean, there's no way to stop life from moving on. The forces of nature (like the ocean) keep you moving almost without your conscious effort - like a ventriloquist moving a puppet.” And if you see the video, that is how he danced in the video, like a puppet being controlled by the strings
You guys have to check out Little Feat. Spanish Moon or Skin it Back or anything at this point. But if you’re looking for bands you haven’t heard before just give them a listen.
This is a great TH track and it must be wild to hear this one for the first time as your first TH experience. I highly recommend Road to Nowhere if you want to check out any more of their material. That one is very different and reminds me of my dad, listening to it with him in the 80s and 90s. Good times. Great reaction and props for recognizing the Jay-Z sample!
Tina Weymouth, the bassist, came up with these propulsive riffs. She also started the Tom Tom Club, whose “Genius of Love” was sampled heavily, famously by Mariah Carey for “Fantasy” and most recently Latto. I’d love to see you guys do a reaction to that too. Speaking of Parliament, their keyboardist Bernie Worrell went on to tour with the Talking Heads in the 80s.
Psycho Killer is another (of their many) incredible songs that is quite different from this song. Also the Talking Heads had a side project called the Tom Tom Club that is worth dipping into. Genius Of Love was their big hot.
David Byrne is a treasure. It's still amazing to me that the Talking Heads, Blondie, Television, and The Ramones all came out of CBGB's at around the same time from the same scene.
Talking heads was one of the origional NY punk alternative bands but they always had some dance grooves in the mix. .Keep in mind this is from New York City in 1980. His quirky spoken aproach on this track was actually a bit of a nod to the rap scene. (kind of like Blondies song Rapture was inspired by Grandmaster Flash and the furious five) try their song 1978's Psycho KIller or 1983's Burning down the house
Ryan this is art rock, not everything is a groove let me sing in the pocket. that's what dope about this is David Byrne's doing a spoken word thing over this, off beat but it works, nobody's ignoring what he's saying, his vocal is the lead actor in this, nobody remembers the groove everyone remembers 'this is not my beautiful house, this is not my beautiful wife?!"
it's a song about a man living on autopilot, coming back to his human senses every now and then to see where his life is. "you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife; and you may ask your self, how did i get here?" the man stops for a moment to look around and sees that he has started a family. "and you may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful house, and you may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful wife!" the house has changed, no longer the idealized house with infinite potential, it is a comfortable home to live in. nice, but without the glow of potential His wife is older now. wrinkles and crowfeet have begun to appear, she isn't the young woman he once knew "Where is that beautiful house?" where has the potential gone? "Where does that highway go to?" is there a way out "am i right, am i wrong?" did i do the right thing by getting into this life? "My god, what have i done?" a midlife crisis has begun
This song makes so much more sense once you've taken acid; it's much more divine than most people can initially pick up on. It's a reminder of our eternal struggle across lifetimes
I have an interesting relationship to this song. I'm a nomad. I live on the road and I carry everything that I own with me. I live that life to an extreme even. I don't own a camper van. I travel the whole world and I never take anything more with me that I can't store in a backpack. When I go from one place to another I take a bus or I hitch. I still remember years ago flying into Peru where I first started all of this having to walk for hours through the city of Lima trying to find my hostel with no internet and having learned what I thought was, but what turned out to be no Spanish because they speak Castellano there, trying to ask people where the plaza de armas was and finally getting there at sunrise and meeting an Israeli girl there who was as lost as I was, but had actually gotten some sleep. We fell in love fast and after spending a month in the jungle on the border of Bolivia I met with her again in Cusco and we lived a whole life in the span of a month. I could never conform to the life of "a simple house, with a simple wife" etc. At the same time I don't see this song as overtly critical of that life. It just attempts to make people question it. I try to do the same.
I FINALLY get what this song is about! Like you said, the music is great enough to not worry about the lyrics. But George, I think you nailed it. It's about letting all those "days go by".
![Eminem - Fuel (feat. JID) [Official Lyric Video]](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/t5H_CewqpKA/mqdefault.jpg)
David Byrne always sounds like a man who's talking himself through a nervous breakdown and kind of enjoying the trip.
Why is this my life
@@littleboxxes our lives
@@PadreMortalisWell, Cheers; to US, then
It’s a joyful celebration of not knowing what you’re doing.
Perfect
The Stop Making Sense concert film should have won an Oscar, what a Masterpiece
Remastered version hitting theatres this year 👀
Agreed. They should do Life During Wartime from that.
@@eljobo3258 you have great taste in my opinion 🙂
Yeah, a person needs to watch the entire concert. David Byrne is a master composer and the entire arrangement of the music was by design.
I had to smile when they talked about trying to make sense of the lyrics; Stop Making Sense came immediately to mind.
The lyrics are actually quite deep & meaningful. Reflecting on your life and all the decisions you made and then still asking yourself. How did I get here?
Yeah, thank you. Buddhist concepts of simultaneous impermanence (material possessions) and continuity (water flowing underground & same as it ever was). This is a brilliant piece of art. Not everyone is going to get it on the first listen...or ever
@@benshafer5198 spot on. Reminds me of my favorite Bob Marley quote, “some people are so poor, all they have is money”. Cheers
In my teens I rocked out to it. In my thirties it made me laugh. Now I listen to it staring at the screen without blinking . . . . .
exactly
It is more about how the things that you didn't decide influenced your path through life. Just going through your time, then looking back and wondering what happened to put you where you are now.
George nailed the meaning behind the song, but watching you two melt down trying to make it through the avant-garde acid trip of it all is a riot 😂😂
Yup, exactly. Lately, I've been thinking about the lines at the end, "Time isn't after us, time isn't holding us," and thinking that he's trying to tell us that time isn't up, and that it's not too late to live how you want.
@@wyattjett9005 I completely agree. That’s how I take that as well. Beautiful, really.
@@wyattjett9005No. He's saying that time isn't the enemy of life. It it life, and everything else. It's not evil, it's just indifferent to how we tumble, toil and transform with it. Any perspective or humanity you can tie to it is utterly unrelated to the actual nature of it and it's impermanence.
George nailed it . Letting the days go by , let the water hold me down . Time has passed him by and he's only just realizing , for once in his lifetime , that he is now so far ... down river that he's looking around wondering " how did I get here ? " RIvers flow into the sea. The tides are inevitable. Father time always wins.
...same as it ever was.
Same as it ever was
@@djinndevyl7077 same as it ever was...
If the revelation of the Jay-Z sampling of this blew your mind, you guys need to react to "Genius of Love" by The Tom Tom Club (which is a side band by two members of the Talking Heads). Once you hear the bass line of that track, your mind will explode at HOW MANY SONGS have sampled it. You'll know it INSTANTLY.
Tina Weymouth does not get enough credit. She was self-trained and quickly became a master of the instrument. In about 5 years she went from never played the bass to creating some of the best basslines in history.
@@jasonremy1627 I came to say the same thing. Tina Weymouth should be considered like a godmother of Hip Hop for providing these killer bass lines.
@@thecrye6798 Godmother of hiphop is stretch
@@IlladelphiaP nope
@@thecrye6798 kinda is considering only one song sample. There are a lot of other women in hip hop production so to give it to her for a baseline in one song is a stretch to me at least.
The comparison to Parliament-Funkadelic is more accurate than you know. He's not on this track, but Bernie Worrell was their keyboard player throughout most of the 80's
And a Bride of Funkenstein on backing vocals.
And that’s a girl on the bass - Tina Weymouth. She’s an absolute star!
Trailblazing goddess. ❤
I still jam out to Tom Tom Club
One of the more underrated bassists ever. I'm pretty sure George and Ryan being born in the early 80s are familiar with Genius of Love from Tom Tom Club/Mariah Carey using it in Fantasy.
It doesn't matter...great bass line. Period
would you say: "and that's a boy on bass" ?
The Talking Heads were interviewed by my mother in our living room when I was about twelve.🖖🏼
That is so cool.
Was she a journalist?
Writing songs ain’t hard. I wrote Billy Jean.
"Talking Heads" is slang for tv news anchors.
Their videos were as innovative as their music. Other classics are "Psycho Killer", "Burning Down the House", "Take Me to the River", "This Must Be the Place", "Road to Nowhere", "Life During Wartime", "Stay Up Late", and "Wild, Wild Life".
Don't forget And She Was
Psycho Killer influenced Cop Killer...
Every song you mentioned are classic Talking Heads!!! Love it all.
@@alrivers2297 Absolutely one of my favs!!!
I like cities. Underrated
Psycho killer is a great tune. Do that one.
Or “this must be the place”
The SMS version is an absolute banger ❤
They're all good songs, but I'd be curious to see if they recognized 'Burning Down the House'.
One of my favs
Yess, Psycho Killer is a great song!!
One of the greatest songs ever recorded. I'm 49 and this song makes more sense to me every day. I agree with a lot of your analysis, but the song IS really about the lyrics. It's both "fun" and serious. Also, I love seeing people who have never been exposed to David Byrne getting their first dose. You need to see him perform live: he's neurotic, twitchy, awkward, and sweaty. You can't take your eyes off of him. He's not even trying to be a rock star or funk front man. Byrne questioned all of that rock star shit forty years ago and people are still trying to understand.
Lol I’m 50 and remember all their weird videos on mtv in the 80’s…so nostalgic!
This band was way ahead of their time and if this song had come out in the mid 90s, it would have been just as successful.
i feel like it had a resurgence in the early 90s...a movie maybe? i know Burning Down the House in revenge of the nerds was probably where i first heard TH when I was a kid in the 80s.
"Way ahead of their time" is a bit of an overstatement. Maybe half a decade, at most.
They weren't ahead of their time.
It's just people are now catching up😊.
@@josephgoforth9722 this song was featured in Down and Out in Beverly Hills with Nick Nolte. Then my other favorite song by them, Naive Melody was featured in Wall Street. But yes, I remember Burning Down the House in Revenge of the Nerds. They seem to have quite a few songs in major motion pictures. Those royalties and residuals must be quite nice for David Byrne.
@@UlyssesJF I'd say a full decade ahead of their time, especially within their time of the early 80s.
It's called New Wave.. That was his style of Talk/singing. Very deep song about achievements in a lifetime that really don't make you happy.
David Byrne is so incredibly influential and accomplished musician, he has Grammys, Oscars, Tonys and is in the rock and roll hall of fame.
And he's still making stuff!
The song is essentially about the subconscious. About the fear and doubt and disbelief that we all face in our lives. About getting the things society tells us to want, but wondering if any of it is real.
Bingo!!
Brian Eno the producer and David Byrne have spoken about making this song and it's pretty interesting. Byrne said “It wasn’t one of Brian Eno’s favorite tracks that we were working on. And there was a motion to just abandon this one. But I thought, ‘There’s something about this. I’m sure I can write words to it that it’s gonna make this work. And pull it together.’” Apparently it took a while but he wrote the right words and did the vocals in the style of giving a sermon rather than singing them.
I love this song for how groovy, unique and otherworldly it sounds. The lyrics to me aren't necessarily meaningful but there is something in the words that intrigues you and makes you stop, look around and think about the world and your life.
I always saw it as realizing an almost Eastern philosophy type dissatisfaction with life, feeling dissociated, looking around and thinking you aren't really there. The days going by, like you're water flowing underground. But thats probably reading too much into it
100% with you on this 👌
@@metafication That's a good take too. Some of the lyrics are so non specific and abstract that so many ideas or meanings can be taken from it.
You guys are living proof that the writer accomplished what he set out to do. You said it yourself just groove to the rhythm and beat and not worry about the meaning. Most people just go to the beat and rhythm of life. Letting the days go by letting the water hold me down! That is what seperates artists and leaders from the common man.
The first side of this album is ridiculously good. Been obsessed with it for over 40 years. Oh, and Tina Weymouth knows how to hit you with a sick bass groove.
And she was self taught too
The Talking Heads had a side band called "Tom Tom Club" AND I KNOW YA'LL HEARD ONE OF THEIR SONGS..."Genius of Love". One of the greatest songs of the 80s.
Super sampled.
Can't believe how far I had to go down the comments to find this comment. Epic band & super highly sampled.
Is it all the same members?
@@bigol9223 no it's Tina (TH bass) and Chris (TH drums), Tina's sisters and maybe Adrian Belew (80's King Crimson)
@@bigol9223 No, it's Tina Weymouth and her husband Chris Frantz, the drummer.👍
“Life During Wartime” from their Stop Making Sense concert is phenomenal 👍
Classic song. Most sick bassline from the 80s. Y'all will love Talking Heads "Naive Melody" 🙏🏼
Notice she never plays the root of either chord and when they're finally made explicit in the chorus, her line is revealed to be just the pickup notes in between. Simple and brilliant.
That is my absolutely favorite TH song. The Stop Making Sense version is just *chef's kiss*.
As an aside, I find it very interesting that you refer to it by the parenthetical "Naive Melody". I've always called it "This Must Be the Place" because he actually says that line in the song. I usually forget there's a parenthetical in the title unless I'm looking at it😅
Yes. I first discovered Naive Melody in the movie Wall Street. I’ve never shown it to anyone who didn’t like it.
This song, which was featured in the movie Down and Out in Beverly Hills, and Naive Melody are my two favorite Talking Heads songs. So brilliant.
Naive Melody hits different as an adult.
You have a low bar for basslines.
"Once in a Lifetime" was the lead single from Talking Heads' fourth studio album, Remain in Light (1980), which is one of those albums that deserves a full listen. I remember first hearing the song on the radio before seeing the video on early MTV. On the radio the song came across as the bright bouncey pop song it is. Dig that Fela Kuti inspired Afrobeat! And that simple but powerful bass line is supplied by Tina Weymouth. I rediscovered the song in a big way when the video came out a few years later. My buddies and I thought it was the bomb. The trippy water graphics, Byrne's quirky dancing, his duck walk, those jerky motions -- like he was getting beat up by the invisible man -- and that chopping gesture, that was strange and weird and cool to us. You'll have to watch it to get the full effect.
^^^this.
"that chopping gesture" - Yes. I can't hear this song without being tempted to do it.
This is basically an existential crisis in song form, kind of a midlife crisis where you ask how you ended up where you are and feeling like an impostor.
Nailed it!
I live this track.
Like weighing the water you carry compared to others. Water being a metaphor for time, opportunities, success all while being mixed with a healthy dose of imposter syndrome.
Yep! I'd add the confusion and disorientation of instant fame and the sudden loss of it. He doesn't know how to navigate a life of fame or what to do when it slips away.
Yep. Gotta be a certain age to finally "get it."
A truly original band. Overused word, but genius.
One of the most instantly recognizable bass lines in music history. This whole Album is 🔥
The live version from the Stop Making Sense concert movie, where the had some Parliament-Funkadelic members filling out the band. The concert version really elevates the song.
Cool to know, thanks
Remain in Light is one of the greatest albums ever made. They essentially recorded loops and played over them, experimenting more with sound and rhythm. The repetition was hypnotic and they created a great fusion of art rock and afrobeat.
The Talking Heads are true geniuses. The more I listen, I just love them. I've seen David live, and he was amazing.
They did a reboot of Al Green's "Take Me To The River" about baptism -- turned it into a slow burn, almost sensual groove. My favorite though is probably "Psycho Killer." I like checking out Byrne's brain stretching work, but the tunes I play again and again are the easier hits.
3 out of the 4 band members met at Rhode Island School of Design so art school band in the best sense of the word.
And She Was was pop rock bliss, but Psycho Killer is the song that started it for them
It’s a love thing!!! YES!!! You are in my world now!!! Early 80’s Funk R&B and Disco was and is my LIFE! ❤❤❤
LOL.....................I'm in Vietnam watching this! Lived here for the past 20 years.
Lol!!
This is a song where you HAVE to listen to the lyrics. They reflect on a life not lived - the road not taken.
As a white dude who’s always loved the Talking Heads, and who had always wanted to check out more Jay Z, but never went any farther than the black album or his big hits, showing the sample he use for “it’s all right,“ and how it all connected is what makes me love your guys’s channel. You are educating the masses out here and showing how music is connected through a wonderful intricate web of influence. It is both the great communicator and connector. Seeing you guys try out Dillinger Escape plan and knowing now that I’m going to specifically check out more Jay Z is exactly what makes this channel awesome - it is cultural exchange on the fundamentally amazing level. Thank you! Keep on rockin! 🤘🏻🤘🏻🤘🏻
I personally prefer Jay-Z's early catalog as that's what came out during my high school years. Check out "(Always Be My) Sunshine" which sampled Kraftwerk's Man Machine.
I really liked them pointing out the connections between all these songs. Cool stuff.
👍💯💯💯
This was a song I always heard and bobbed my head to but never really listened. One day, out of nowhere, I was in a store and it was playing, and I was thinking about my childhood, and lyrics saying 'How did I get here?' just hit me with this emotional molotov cocktail. I was questioning everything about my life, genuinely asking how I got here, wondering what my younger self would think of me now, denying how quickly time flew by, and filled with terror of the future. I still like the song, but it hits a little too close to home for me, haha. It's sort of miserable and hopeful at once.
THISSSSS I absolutely just started emotinally balling and thinking about my childhood and if I had made different moves where would I be Yes these lyrics made you reflect
I read your comment over 3 times its exactly how i feel i am balling right now
Same reason nostalgia brings me a sort of clarity but a mix of sorrow that is so direct I basically avoid it all together lol.
@@jordanjoestar8839 According to Mad Men, nostalgia means 'pain from an old wound.' It is very bittersweet and I like to avoid it as well, haha.
don't worry. it's better now than it will be in the future.
They must absolutely be seen live. The choreography and stage presence are amazing !
Stop making sense, ftw!
I saw David Byrne in 1990 in Orlando, Florida. He was such a showman and greatly entertaining. He sang with genuine enthusiasm and he made everyone in the room feel like he was there for them. More Talking Heads, please!
David Byrne studied Candomble and was eventually initiated as a priest, and still is practicing. Many of his songs have a spiritual foundation. He took a lot from different images and cultures, which you can see if you check out the TH official video for this song, which includes some very interesting visual storytelling. (Talking Heads was a fine art band - they all met in art school.) In this song, you can hear taking on the tone of a preacher, exhorting his flock not to be buried in a life not meant for them.
As to his attitude about his art, I've followed his career since the 70's, and the impression I've always gotten is that he takes his art very seriously, but he doesn't expect anyone else to see it the same way. He does what he does and you can do what you want with it. He's an eclectic, interesting dude, so he makes eclectic, interesting art, and sometimes it's funny. :)
Byrne improvised lines as if he were giving a sermon, with a call-and-response chorus like a preacher and congregation. His vocals are "half-spoken, half-sung", with lyrics about living in a "beautiful house" with a "beautiful wife" and a "large automobile". The Guardian writer Jack Malcolm suggested that the song can be read "as an art-pop rumination on the existential ticking time bomb of unchecked consumerism and advancing age". Rolling Stone ranked it at number 28 on its 2021 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time".
Talking Heads are an eclectic band and David Byrne is very theatrical onstage and seems neurotic with his stage persona.
They had a big MTV hit with "Burning Down the House".
Talking Heads: Burning Down the House, The Great Curve, Take Me To The River, Born Under Punches, Girlfriend is Better, Life During Wartime, Cross-eyed and Painless, Making Flippy Floppy. Etc. Trust me. If you guys dive a bit deeper, your going to LOVE these guys. Bits of Funk, Soul, Very creative stuff.
In "Secret Window" (2004), Johnny Depp's character Mort Rainey (who is going through a divorce) drives past his house where his wife is with another man and quotes this song in a vengeful voice: "This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife." CLASSIC.
Also quoted in the grim adventures of Billy and Mandy
Cheers, George! Shout out to the Tunnel! Snuck in when I was 16 one summer while visiting family in NYC. Good times. ;-D
this album is one of the best of all time, absolute classic
Now I'm going to have to go watch 'Stop Making Sense'. What a great concert movie and I urge you two to go watch it. Then report back to us!!!! Great song.
Talking Heads are amazing..gotta do a deep dive..genius song writing. New wave is so underrated. B-52's REM. New Order, etc..soooo good!
Totally agree
Talking Heads is a little unapproachable at first (sort of like Radiohead) because their music is unconventional and obscure to what you may be used to or expecting from music but once you get past that and the more viewed, i.e. more commercially popular songs, and dig deeper you will discover their truly great work. "Once in a Lifetime" is one of their most commercially successful songs but one of their weakest in my opinion and will give you not a true picture of their talent. They are one of the most unique, creative and groundbreaking bands ever.
well put
The music video will make you laugh or scratch your head even more- a classic
Man, this song lyrically taps into something so many people can relate to- following someone else's bouncing ball, finding yourself terribly unhappy and thinking, "How did I get here?" How do I get out? The fact that this is all happening to a groovy beat isn't happenstance- thats LIFE- there's this great groovy beat happenning and it exposes all our lies and BS and what we have to do is surrender to it. But sometimes that seems so hard.
I think you all nailed this one. "Nerdy charismatic" is a bang on description of David Byrne's persona. And while the song is indeed plenty dark, it's deliberately funny too--a kind of satire of a certain sort of "straight" way of being in the world. And I have a feeling the whole band would have taken the comparison with The Whispers as the compliment that was intended.
I used to ride my racing bike to the music of the Talking heads (just "head music"). It has the right cadence for spinning.
" Remain in light " is one of the seminal albums of the past 50 years. The way it was recorded literally advanced the recording process for every artist that came after. " once in a lifetime " is an amazing song amongst an album filled with gems.
The same is true of Eno and Byrne's "My Life in the Bush of Ghosts" album.
hell yeah, you guys gotta do more talking heads
gotta watch the music video for the full experience 🤣 such a trip
Love Talking Heads, they were way ahead of their time. Try “Burning down the house” from them, I think you’ll really dig it. I’m sure you’ve heard it in pieces it’s been used in a lot of tv shows & movies.
Was 13 when this came out; 55 now and still rock this is the car 🔥. I had the pleasure of seeing David Byrne in concert in 2018/2019 when he was touring smaller venues fine tuning his Utopia show for Broadway; he’s only gotten better with age. This song is timeless❤❤❤ Brooklyn in the house 😊🗽🗽🗽
Yep one year older than me I remember when this came out I had the album still have it to this very day remain in light on the old sire LP record
Speaking of samples, Tom Tom Club was a spinoff band from Talking Heads. They did a song called Genius of Love. It's, uh, been sampled a bit.
In a Robert De Niro voice: “just a little bit”, Lol
Brothers - the Talking Heads were THE JAM back in the 70's and 80's! Bernie Worrell the keyboardist from Parliament/Funkadelic was the keyboardist on ONCE IN A LIFETIME and provided the funk in a lot of Talking Heads songs (Worrell was considered the "5th Talking Head." Black folks in the clubs would be on the floor when ONCE IN A LIFETIME played. To see/hear more about Talking Heads, watch the documentary 'STOP MAKING SENSE' directed by Jonathan Demme which was a concert film of the Talking Heads performing at The Pantages Theater in the early 80's.
This song has been a running joke in my family for almost 30 years. 😂 "Same as it ever was!"
Rishloo - Downhill: a case for the song
Dear boiz,
It's all down hill from here.
I literally wearing the "you may ask yourself" shirt rn lolololol
I'm a 50 year old bald accountant named Bob...this song...oh yeah I can completely relate to what he is saying. My God! What have I done....
The first half of this record would be right up your guys alley. "Born Under Punches", "Crosseyed and Painless" and "The Great Curve" are a trio of funk/afrobeat jams that absolutely slam.
Their other songs on other records are fantastic, but those three were made for you
George pretty much nailed it on the head with his interpretation of the lyrics, the song deals with the futility of not being content with what you have, wife,possessions etc...like water flowing under the earths surface, there's just no way to stop the forces of nature, or change the course you're on. In an interview with NPR, Talking Heads vocalist David Byrne said: "We're largely unconscious. You know, we operate half awake or on autopilot and end up, whatever, with a house and family and job and everything else, and we haven't really stopped to ask ourselves, 'How did I get here?'
Actually when it came out in the 80's, we were in our 20's and we all danced to the song. It was played a lot in dance clubs. 🕺 People repeated the lyrics while they danced 💃. And we mimic David Byrne's movement that was in the video. Great reaction!!! 👍
🫱🫱🫱
And thankfully that's all over.
This song always makes me feel a feeling I’ve only ever felt before while listening to this song. It is a mixture of happiness and nostalgia tinged with a minor regret. Just uncanny.
The Great Curve is another one of my favorites from that album. has a lot of cool vocal harmonies
David Byrne has said that he recorded this in the style of a Presbyterian preacher giving a sermon. This is why it’s not a conventional song. It’s said that some of members were really into disco in the 70’s and early 80’s and often hanged out in disco’s with disco artists this was some what of an influence.
World music just means music from other parts of the world. In the Talking Heads case, they incorporated a lot of different types of music from around the world like Afrobeat and particularly the Latin music that was so popular in New York City in the 1970s in to their songwriting.
Yes, using musical instruments and percussion that aren't generally familiar to American & British artists.
You guys know what you’re talking about. You’re the best. Keep it up. Don’t stop. Never stop. Do more Talking Heads and other acts please. You know what you’re talking about.
8 stars.
When people ask me how I'm doing I answer "Same as it ever was".
It's funny listening to what this song is about. IMHO it's just about how universally, for everyone, life passes you by, and that is the nature of life itself. Even the title 'Once in a Lifetime' refers to this moment in your life, but it also refers to every moment in your life. It's Deep.
Acording to David Byrne the song is about how we, as people, tend to “operate half-awake or on autopilot”
Nice to see you guys getting to some Talking Heads.
A must see to appreciate the talent of the Talking Heads: Life during Wartime (LIVE). Great performance.
you gotta check out live performances, whether it's the Stop Making Sense concert, or more recent David Byrne live performances (he still performs Talking Heads hits along with his vast solo material). He was the musical guest on SNL a couple years ago, and the performance of this song was fiiiire. Also, if you have a chance to see him live, I'd almost guarantee you or anyone would would have their minds blown- he just has a brain for how to create a production
This is from David himself: This song deals with the futility of not being happy with the things you have. Like trying to remove the water at the bottom of the ocean, there's no way to stop life from moving on. The forces of nature (like the ocean) keep you moving almost without your conscious effort - like a ventriloquist moving a puppet.” And if you see the video, that is how he danced in the video, like a puppet being controlled by the strings
You guys have to check out Little Feat. Spanish Moon or Skin it Back or anything at this point. But if you’re looking for bands you haven’t heard before just give them a listen.
You have to see the video with this song, it is totally weird, funny, awesome and classic/legendary!
This is a great TH track and it must be wild to hear this one for the first time as your first TH experience. I highly recommend Road to Nowhere if you want to check out any more of their material. That one is very different and reminds me of my dad, listening to it with him in the 80s and 90s. Good times. Great reaction and props for recognizing the Jay-Z sample!
Tina Weymouth, the bassist, came up with these propulsive riffs. She also started the Tom Tom Club, whose “Genius of Love” was sampled heavily, famously by Mariah Carey for “Fantasy” and most recently Latto. I’d love to see you guys do a reaction to that too. Speaking of Parliament, their keyboardist Bernie Worrell went on to tour with the Talking Heads in the 80s.
Psycho Killer is another (of their many) incredible songs that is quite different from this song.
Also the Talking Heads had a side project called the Tom Tom Club that is worth dipping into. Genius Of Love was their big hot.
This band is amazing, I'm excited for you guys to explore more of them
David Byrne is a treasure. It's still amazing to me that the Talking Heads, Blondie, Television, and The Ramones all came out of CBGB's at around the same time from the same scene.
and Patti Smith
Talking heads was one of the origional NY punk alternative bands but they always had some dance grooves in the mix. .Keep in mind this is from New York City in 1980. His quirky spoken aproach on this track was actually a bit of a nod to the rap scene. (kind of like Blondies song Rapture was inspired by Grandmaster Flash and the furious five)
try their song 1978's Psycho KIller or 1983's Burning down the house
As a child in the '80s this was just a nice groove. Never tried to analyze it
Brian Eno introduced them to the music of Fela Kuti of Nigeria. Fela Kuti's drummer Tony Allen is one of the founders of afrobeat.
They are mind blowing
Ryan this is art rock, not everything is a groove let me sing in the pocket. that's what dope about this is David Byrne's doing a spoken word thing over this, off beat but it works, nobody's ignoring what he's saying, his vocal is the lead actor in this, nobody remembers the groove everyone remembers 'this is not my beautiful house, this is not my beautiful wife?!"
David Byrne is a genius, his lyrics always have a meaning, even if it doesn't seem that way initially.
Except Burning down the house, which he admits mostly is just phrases that sound good. One of my favs of all time
exactly they need to watch the live video done live its absolutely amazing
The most important line in the song is "After the Money's Gone"
I'd be curious to see your response to Crosseyed and Painless (there's a great live version too).
Does the live version you're thinking of have Adrian Belew playing with them?
@@GorgeousRoddyChrome absolutely -- Live in Rome 1980 :)
@@stevenmishos
Excellent! That big band lineup is my personal favorite. Belew's wild and unusual style works incredibly well with TH. 👍
it's a song about a man living on autopilot, coming back to his human senses every now and then to see where his life is.
"you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife; and you may ask your self, how did i get here?" the man stops for a moment to look around and sees that he has started a family.
"and you may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful house, and you may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful wife!"
the house has changed, no longer the idealized house with infinite potential, it is a comfortable home to live in. nice, but without the glow of potential
His wife is older now. wrinkles and crowfeet have begun to appear, she isn't the young woman he once knew
"Where is that beautiful house?" where has the potential gone?
"Where does that highway go to?" is there a way out
"am i right, am i wrong?" did i do the right thing by getting into this life?
"My god, what have i done?" a midlife crisis has begun
If you guys enjoyed this one, please try Psycho Killer by them.😊
Man, just when I thought your videos couldn't get more enjoyable - you guys do Talking Heads!
Loved seeing you guys react to this!
This song makes so much more sense once you've taken acid; it's much more divine than most people can initially pick up on. It's a reminder of our eternal struggle across lifetimes
I have an interesting relationship to this song. I'm a nomad. I live on the road and I carry everything that I own with me. I live that life to an extreme even. I don't own a camper van. I travel the whole world and I never take anything more with me that I can't store in a backpack. When I go from one place to another I take a bus or I hitch. I still remember years ago flying into Peru where I first started all of this having to walk for hours through the city of Lima trying to find my hostel with no internet and having learned what I thought was, but what turned out to be no Spanish because they speak Castellano there, trying to ask people where the plaza de armas was and finally getting there at sunrise and meeting an Israeli girl there who was as lost as I was, but had actually gotten some sleep. We fell in love fast and after spending a month in the jungle on the border of Bolivia I met with her again in Cusco and we lived a whole life in the span of a month. I could never conform to the life of "a simple house, with a simple wife" etc. At the same time I don't see this song as overtly critical of that life. It just attempts to make people question it. I try to do the same.
I FINALLY get what this song is about! Like you said, the music is great enough to not worry about the lyrics. But George, I think you nailed it. It's about letting all those "days go by".