The song I'm introducing today, and the glorious No. 1 spot on the Talking Heads Best 25 list, is track 4, <Once In a Lifetime>, from Talking Heads' 4th album, *Remain In Light*, released in 1980.
The 4th album is often cited as the greatest Talking Heads album. <Once in a Lifetime> is considered the biggest mainstream hit from it, and I also picked it as their best song. The active crossover with world music that Talking Heads pursued, along with cutting and pasting parts of the recording—almost like sampling—to create a repetitive yet evolving groove and rhythm-centric development without standardized chord progressions or melodic structures, reached its peak on this album. Every single one of the 8 tracks here is high-quality enough to be released as a standalone single. Especially the theme and narrative running through tracks 1 through 4 completely capture the message David Byrne wanted to convey through this album.
Track 1, <Born Under Punches>, focuses on the individual, singing about the anxiety, confusion, and self-loss of modern people born and raised under societal oppression. https://www.fmkorea.com/8806777892 Track 2, <Crosseyed and Painless>, focuses on society and the collective, lost and directionless in this era of information overload. https://www.fmkorea.com/8842134404 And in Track 3, <The Great Curve>, the message goes beyond the individual and society, throwing out the macroscopic message that "the world itself is already in a giant, curved flow that individuals and society cannot control." https://www.fmkorea.com/8931137914 The topic shifts from the Individual -> Society -> World across Tracks 1 to 3, expanding the subject from a microscopic to a macroscopic view. The energy of Afrobeat and polyrhythms also maximizes and peaks as the tracks progress. Then, in the very next track, <Once In a Lifetime>, all this explosive energy settles down, and the theme returns to the individual's inner self. In short, the macroscopic flow from individual -> society -> world circles back to the individual's interior. And <Once In a Lifetime> constantly asks the ontological question: “How did you get here?”
The things happening in society and the world are a giant curved flow that the individual cannot control. What the individual *can* do is look inward, concentrate on their inner self, and focus on "how they came to be and how they are living right now." I think the process of conveying this theme and narrative to the public through tracks 1-4 of this 4th album—the message being: don't be oppressed or suffer amid all the incomprehensible and unreasonable things happening in the world, but rather look inside and focus on your own existence—is the biggest reason this album is a masterpiece.
David Byrne explained the theme of the song in an interview with NPR: “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?'.” Rather than criticizing this unconscious life of modern people, he emphasized the attitude of recognizing and accepting this absurdity. He sends the message that we shouldn't passively let our lives just drift away, but instead experience and feel every moment of life while simultaneously looking back at ourselves and striving to live consciously.
David Byrne also said that the song's unique vocal style was inspired by Christian broadcasts he heard on the radio while driving through the Southern US. The preacher’s highly rhythmic and intense way of addressing the congregation was very impressive and heavily influenced the song's vocal delivery. This is why David Byrne delivers the lyrics in this song less like singing and more like a rapid chant (though he was already prone to that style).
The music video for this song is also highly acclaimed for its original direction and performance, consistently making it onto lists of the best music videos across various media. The MV starts with David Byrne gasping for breath, as if waking up or emerging from water. He then performs various acts, moving awkwardly and unnaturally, almost like a robot. This visually represents modern people unconsciously repeating their routines, as if being controlled by someone.
Also, the dreamy keyboard sound in the beginning, which sounds like sinking into water, is impressive, and was the idea of the band's guitarist, Jerry Harrison. Harrison, who is both a guitarist and keyboardist, saw David Byrne’s lyrics and suggested laying down a sound effect that felt like diving underwater. He played both analog synthesizers and electronic keyboards together to create a bubbling sound effect, increasing the song's immersion. The song begins with the dreamy keyboard sounds and rhythmic bass/drum sounds. [Verse 1] 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?" *You might look around and find yourself living in a shanty-like house / You might look around and find yourself in a completely different part of the world / You might look around and find yourself driving a large car / You might look around and find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife. / And then you ask yourself, “Well... how did I get here?”*
[Chorus 1] 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 *Life flows on, letting the water hold the body down / Life flows on, like water flowing underground / Into the blue again, after the money's gone / Once in a lifetime. Like water flowing underground.* [Verse 2] 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!" *And you might ask yourself, “How does this work?” / “Where did that big car go?” / And you might tell yourself, “This is not my beautiful house!” / “This is not my beautiful wife!”*
[Chorus 1] 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 *Life flows on, letting the water hold the body down / Life flows on, like water flowing underground / Into the blue again, after the money's gone / Once in a lifetime. Like water flowing underground.* [Bridge] Same as it ever was (x8) *Same as it ever was (x8)*
[Verse 3] Water dissolving, and water removing There is water at the bottom of the ocean Under the water, carry the water Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean Water dissolving, and water removing *Water dissolves, and water washes away. / There is water at the bottom of the ocean / Under the water, carrying the water / Removing the water at the bottom of the ocean / Water dissolves, and water washes away.*
[Chorus 2] 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 *Life flows on, letting the water hold the body down / Life flows on, like water flowing underground / Into the blue again, into the silent water / Water flows beneath the rocks and stones / Life flows on, letting the water hold the body down / Life flows on, like water flowing underground / Into the blue again, after the money's gone / Once in a lifetime. Like water flowing underground.*
[Verse 4] You may ask yourself "What is that beautiful house?" You may ask yourself "Where does that highway go to?" And you may ask yourself "Am I right? Am I wrong?" And you may say to yourself "My God! What have I done?!" *And you might ask yourself, “What is that beautiful house, anyway?” / “Where does that highway lead?” / And you might ask yourself, “Am I right? Am I wrong?” / And eventually you say to yourself, “My God... What have I done?!”*
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