“…well, how did I get here?”

Chris Frantz, David Byrne and Tina Weymouth, all alumni of the Rhode Island School of Design were looking for a new name for their band (then called the Artistics) when a friend mentioned an interesting piece in “TV Guide” that referred to the term that studios used to describe a head-and-shoulder shot of a person talking with all content but no action.

The name was a match and within a few years Talking Heads were at the very crest of New Wave, combining elements of punk, pop, funk, art rock, avant-garde and world music, with Byrne’s fanciful and esoteric lyrics.

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First released in 1981 on the group’s fourth album, “Remain in Light” the music video for “Once in a Lifetime” became an MTV staple, featuring a bespectacled Byrne dancing like a marionette. Now on permanent exhibit at the New York Museum of Modern Art, it’s fascinating to note that some of Byrne’s mannerisms were inspired by choreographer, Toni Basil (“Hey Mickey”) who’d shown him footage of epilepsy sufferers.

A live version from one of “the great” concert films, “Stop Making Sense” was released in 1985….

Once In A Lifetime

 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

You may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife

You may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”

 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

 And you may ask yourself, “How do I work this?”

And you may ask yourself, “Where is that large automobile?”

And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful house”

And you may tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful wife”

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

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Water dissolving and water removing

There is water at the bottom of the ocean

Under the water, carry the water

Remove the water from the bottom of the ocean

Water dissolving and water removing

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, into the silent water

Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Leting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, after the money’s gone

Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

 You may ask yourself, “What is that beautiful house?”

You may ask yourself, “Where does that highway go to?”

You may ask yourself, “Am I right, am I wrong?”

You may say to yourself, “My God! What have I done?”

 Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Into the blue again, into the silent water

Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

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

 Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, look where my hand was

Time isn’t holding up, time isn’t after us

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Same as it ever was, hey let’s all twist our thumbs

Here comes the twister

 Letting the days go by

Letting the days go by

Once in a lifetime

Let the water hold me down

Letting the days go by