Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads song)
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| “Once in a Lifetime” | |||||
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| Single by Talking Heads from the album Remain in Light |
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| Released | October 8, 1980 | ||||
| Format | 7", 12", CD | ||||
| Recorded | 1980 | ||||
| Genre | Post-punk | ||||
| Length | 4:19 | ||||
| Label | Sire Records | ||||
| Writer(s) | David Byrne | ||||
| Producer | Brian Eno | ||||
| Talking Heads singles chronology | |||||
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"Once in a Lifetime" is a song by Talking Heads, from their album Remain in Light, Written by David Byrne and Brian Eno, it was later used for the promotion of the concert film Stop Making Sense, and was named one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century by National Public Radio.[1]
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[edit] Lyrics
The verses of the song consist of David Byrne speaking rather than singing. With the lyrics "Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down", the song has a rather existential vibe to it, although it is usually interpreted to be a song dealing with the middle age crisis and the inevitable sacrifice of youthful ideals and dreams for conventional success:
- 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!
The main portion of the lyric is said to be based on a preacher heard on the radio by Byrne and Eno while they were driving through New York.
[edit] Music video
The music video features a bespectacled David Byrne dancing much like a marionette. The choreography was done by Toni Basil, famous for her hit song "Mickey". Byrne is shown making sudden flings of his arm, tapping his head, and getting on his hands and knees to pat the floor, much like simple tricks which can be done with actual marionettes. In the background, we see several David Byrnes dancing in perfect synchronisation, in the foreground, a large David Byrne is getting further and further out of synch. Some of Byrne's mannerisms (such as physical spasms, unfocussed eye movements, and sharp intakes of breath) were inspired by choreographer Basil showing him footage of epilepsy sufferers.
The video is noted for being exhibited in the New York Museum of Modern Art.
[edit] Cover versions/Samples
- The following year, 1989, hip-hop/house rapper KC Flightt sampled the chorus and the main riff from "Once in a Lifetime" on his racism-themed single "Planet E".
- In the same year, Rapper/DJ Chuck Chillout sampled the main riff in "Rhythm Is The Master" on his album, "The Masters of Rhythm".
- In 1998, Rapper Jay-Z sampled and looped "Once In a Lifetime" on his song "It's Alright", featuring Memphis Bleek on Vol. 2... Hard Knock Life.
- "Once in a Lifetime" was covered live by The Smashing Pumpkins and performed at a major number of their shows in 2000. The Pumpkins turned the song into a hardcore/heavy metal piece by playing a heavy-droning two-note sequence instead of the main riff. Lead singer Billy Corgan improvised over the verse lyrics, while sharing the chorus with guitarist James Iha. The song was always preceded by "Bullet with Butterfly Wings". It lasted up to 15 minutes and resulted in a long instrumental jam that was different each time. Despite being a cover, "Once in a Lifetime" became a very important song for The Smashing Pumpkins, and was often performed as an encore.
- Cabaret duo Kiki and Herb have covered the song in their live performances, often as part of a medley. One such medley, performed at Carnegie Hall in 2004, was recorded and released as Kiki and Herb Will Die for You: Live at Carnegie Hall.
- Phish covered the song in a concert at the Omni in Atlanta, Georgia on October 31, 1996. They covered the entire Remain in Light album, as part of a "Halloween costume" tradition where they would cover a different band's album on their Halloween concerts each year. This concert can be found on Live Phish Volume 15.
- The Exies recently released a new and more melodic version of the song on their album, A Modern Way of Living with the Truth.
- Senegalese musician Wasis Diop recorded the song in Wolof as "Defaal Lu Wor". [2]
- Once in a Lifetime was covered by P. M. Dawn on their 1995 album "Jesus Wept" in a medley entitled Fantasia's Confidential Ghetto. It includes Prince's 1999, segues into Once in a Lifetime, and finishes with Harry Nilsson's Coconut.
- Jimmy Buffett covered the song on his 2007 "Bama Breeze" tour, first at Riverbend Music Center in Cincinnati, Ohio
- U-Melt has covered this song numerous times in concert, first at The Knitting Factory in New York, NY on September 30, 2006.
- Keller Williams covered the song during his 2008 tour with the WMD's.
- Argentinian band Cienfuegos covered the song in their album NSNC
[edit] In popular culture
This song has been seen many times in entertainment, from TV to movies.
- The November 15, 1980 episode of WKRP in Cincinnati, entitled "Real Families," used the song to underscore a short scene.
- The Drew Carey Show parodied the song in the episode when Drew has to help Mimi take care of her baby. Drew remarks: "This is not my ugly house, this is not my ugly wife. My God...what have I done?"
- The video to Once in a Lifetime was one of first music videos aired on MTV- #59
- Johnny Depp's character in the movie Secret Window quotes "Once in a Lifetime"'s lyrics while watching his former wife and house.
- It has been used as the part of the soundtrack of The Family Man, starring Nicholas Cage, as well as several other films, including Down and Out in Beverly Hills.
- In one Homestar Runner cartoon, the character Strong Sad dresses as David Byrne for Halloween, prompting Coach Z to quote the song.
- The song is quoted in the Steve Alten novel Meg: A Novel of Deep Terror.
- A contemporaneous episode of Saturday Night Live parodied the music video with Rich Hall in the Byrne role. Hall wore a comically-oversized costume, leading to the line, "You may ask yourself, 'Why am I wearing...such a large...suit?'"
- In the cartoon series The Grim Adventures of Billy and Mandy, Grim dreams of being married in one episode, then exclaims: "This is not me beautiful house.... This is not me beautiful wife!" before being awakened by Billy yelling, "Same as it ever was!"
- In the pilot episode of Clerks: the Animated Series, the opening scene of a typical morning at the Quick Stop concludes with Dante sighing, "Same as it ever was."
- The "Weird Al" Yankovic song "Dog Eat Dog", which parodies the Talking Heads' musical style, includes the lyric, "This is not my beautiful stapler / This is not my beautiful chair." In the music video for the "Weird Al" Yankovic song "UHF", from the album of the same name, "Weird Al" parodies several contemporary artists and their videos, including Byrne's dancing from "Once in a Lifetime."
- Kermit the Frog performed this song on "Muppets Tonight", parodying the music video. Vocals were done by Steve Whitmire. Kermit also performs sudden jerky movements in the video.
- This song was used in an episode of the short-lived Fox sitcom That '80s Show.
- The lyrics were parodied to summarize the plot of the first season of the ABC drama Lost.
- The song was used in trailers for the 1998 Jim Carrey film The Truman Show.
- When David Byrne was a featured guest on Space Ghost Coast to Coast, bandleader Zorak made a reference to the song by interrupting Byrne in mid-sentence — "These days I find myself ..." — with the lyric "Living in a shotgun shack".
- When David Byrne's video "Angels" was played on an episode of Beavis & Butthead, they started singing part of the lyrics of "Once in a Lifetime". Beavis chanted, "And you may find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife and you may ask her, where's the bathroom at?"
- The song is played as the introduction song for Robot Food's 2002 snowboarding video, "Afterbang".
- In the "Hercules Unchained" episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Tom Servo remarks, "This is not my beautiful house. This is not my beautiful wife," in response to Hercules having lost his memory and being abducted by Queen Omphale.
- New York Times columnist Paul Krugman makes a reference to this song in his op-ed titled "Same Old Party" on October 8, 2007 in which he discusses whether or not President Bush has strayed from the path of true conservatism. Krugman concludes that "as they survey the wreckage of their cause, conservatives may ask themselves: “Well, how did we get here?” They may tell themselves: “This is not my beautiful Right.” They may ask themselves: “My God, what have we done?” But their movement is the same as it ever was. And Mr. Bush is movement conservatism’s true, loyal heir. "
- In an Episode of the TV show Weeds, whilst talking to his wife, Dean Hodes quotes a line from the song, "same as it ever was," after she says "this is not my life."
- The song was used in the official trailer for 2008 film Charlie Wilson's war.
- The song was also used in the special edition 4-disc set of Titanic, as background music to the montage of crew images on the 2001: A Ship's Odessey - the crew video.
[edit] External links
- NPR 100 reviews the song's genesis and legacy on 27 March 2000
- NPR interviews David Byrne on the occasion of the Once in Lifetime box set release on 18 November 2003
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