Talking Heads

Talking Heads was an American rock band formed in 1975 in New York City and active until 1991. The band was comprised of David Byrne (lead vocals, guitar), Chris Frantz (drums), Tina Weymouth (bass), and Jerry Harrison (keyboards, guitar). Former art school students who became involved in the 1970s New York punk scene, Talking Heads integrated elements of punk, art rock, funk, and pop music with avant-garde sensibilities to become a pioneering post-punk and new wave group.

Live in Toronto (1978)

Song lyrics

All songs written and composed by David Byrne, except as noted.

Talking Heads: 77 (1977)

• You start a conversation you can't even finish it.
  You're talkin' a lot, but you're not sayin' anything.
  When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed.
  Say something once, why say it again?

  Psycho Killer,
  Qu'est-ce que c'est
  Fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa fa far better,
  Run run run run run run run away.

  • Psycho Killer, written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, and Tina Weymouth

Fear of Music (1979)

• I'm checking them out,
  I'm checking them out.
  I got it figured out,
  I got it figured out.
  There's good points and bad points.
  Find a city,
  Find myself a city to live in.
  • Cities

• Why stay in college? Why go to night school?
  Gonna be different this time.
  Can't write a letter, can't send a postcard,
  I can't write nothing at all.
  This ain't no party, this ain't no disco,
  This ain't no fooling around.
  I'd like to kiss you, I'd love you hold you,
  I ain't got no time for that now.
  • Life During Wartime, written by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth

• Heaven, Heaven is a place
  A place where nothing, nothing ever happens.
  Heaven, Heaven is a place
  A place where nothing, nothing ever happens.
  • Heaven, written by David Byrne and Jerry Harrison

Remain in Light (1980)

All songs written by David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, and Tina Weymouth.

• All I want is to breathe. I'm too thin.
  Won't you breath with me?
  Find a little space, so we move in-between. In-between it.
  And keep one step ahead, of yourself.
  • Born Under Punches

• Facts are simple and facts are straight.
  Facts are lazy and facts are late.
  Facts all come with points of view.
  Facts don't do what I want them to.
  Facts just twist the truth around.
  Facts are living turned inside out.
  Facts are getting the best of them.
  Facts are nothing on the face of things.
  Facts don't stain the furniture.
  Facts go out and slam the door.
  Facts are written all over your face.
  Facts continue to change their shape.
  • Crosseyed and Painless

• Sometimes the world has a load of questions
  Seems like the world knows nothing at all.
  The world is here but it's out of reach.
  Some people touch it...but they can't hold on.
  • The Great Curve

• The world moves on a woman's hips.
  The world moves and it swivels and bops.
  The world moves on a woman's hips.
  The world moves and it bounces and hops.
  • The Great Curve

• And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack.
  And you may find yourself in another part of the world.
  And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile.
  And you may find yourself in a beautiful house ... with a beautiful wife.
  And you may ask yourself, "Well ... how did I get here?"
  • Once in a Lifetime

• Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down.
  Letting the days go by/water flowing underground.
  Into the blue again/after the money's gone.
  Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.
  • Once in a Lifetime

• Same as it ever was.
  • Once in a Lifetime

• For a long time I felt without style or grace,
  Wearing shoes with no socks in cold weather.
  I knew my heart was in the right place,
  I knew I'd be able to do these things.

  And as we watch him digging his own grave,
  It was important to know that was where he's at.
  He can't afford to stop...that is what he believes.
  He'll keep on digging for a thousand years.

  • Houses in Motion

Speaking in Tongues (1983)

• Watch out, you might get what you're after.
  Cool babies, strange but not a stranger.
  I'm an ordinary guy.
  Burning down the house.

  Hold tight, wait till the party's over.
  Hold tight, we're in for nasty weather.
  There has got to be a way.
  Burning down the house.

  • Burning Down the House

• I . . . who took the money?
  Who took the money away?
  I . . . it's always showtime
  Here at the edge of the stage.
  I, I, I, wake up and wonder:
  What was the place, what was the name?
  We wanna wait, but here we go again...
  • Girlfriend Is Better

• I got a girlfriend that's better than this.
  And you don't remember at all.
  As we get older and stop making sense,
  You won't find her waiting long.
  Stop making sense, stop making sense...stop making sense, making sense.
  I got a girlfriend that's better than that
  And nothing is better than this (is it?).
  • Girlfriend Is Better

• Home is where I want to be.
  Pick me up and turn me round.
  I feel numb - burn with a weak heart.
  (So I) guess I must be having fun.
  The less we say about it the better.
  Make it up as we go along.
  Feet on the ground,
  Head in the sky.
  It's OK, I know nothing's wrong . . nothing.
  • This Must Be The Place

• Hi yo I got plenty of time.
  Hi yo you got light in your eyes.
  And you're standing here beside me.
  I love the passing of time.
  Never for money,
  Always for love.
  • This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)

• I'm just an animal looking for a home.
  Share the same space for a minute or two.
  And you love me till my heart stops.
  Love me till I'm dead.
  • This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)

Little Creatures (1985)

• And she was drifting through the backyard,
  And she was taking off her dress.
  And she was moving very slowly,
  Rising up above the earth.
  Moving into the universe,
  Drifting this way and that.
  Not touching ground at all,
  Up above the yard.

  The world was moving and she was right there with it (and she was).
  The world was moving she was floating above it (and she was) and she was.

  • And She Was

• This is a perfect world.
  I'm riding on an incline.
  I'm staring in your face,
  You'll photograph mine.
  • Perfect World, lyrics by David Byrne and Chris Frantz

• Baby, baby, please let me hold him.
  I wanna make him stay up all night.
  Sister, sister, he's just a plaything.
  We wanna make him stay up all night.
  • Stay Up Late

• Well, we know where we're going,
  But we don't know where we've been.
  And we know what we're knowing,
  But we can't say what we've seen.
  And we're not little children.
  And we know what we want.
  And the future is certain.
  Give us time to work it out.
  • Road to Nowhere

• There's a city in my mind.
  Come along and take that ride.
  And it's all right, baby, it's all right.
  • Road to Nowhere

True Stories (1986)

• I wrestle, with your conscience.
  You wrestle, with your partner.
  Sittin' on a window sill, but he
  Spends time behind closed doors.
  • Wild Wild Life

Naked (1988)

• From the age of the dinosaurs,
  Cars have run on gasoline.
  Where, where have they gone?
  Now, it's nothing but flowers.
  • (Nothing But) Flowers

• If this is paradise
  I wish I had a lawnmower.
  • (Nothing But) Flowers

• Once there were parking lots,
  Now it's a peaceful oasis.
  You got it, you got it.

  This was a Pizza Hut,
  Now it's all covered with daisies.
  You got it, you got it.

  • (Nothing But) Flowers

• And as things fell apart,
  Nobody paid much attention.
  • (Nothing But) Flowers

• Don't leave me stranded here.
  I can't get used to this lifestyle
  • (Nothing But) Flowers

External links

• Official website