Talking Heads — The Big Country
Album: More Songs About Buildings and FoodAvg rating:
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Total ratings: 1545
Length: 5:28
Plays (last 30 days): 2
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I see the shapes
I remember from maps
I see the shoreline
I see the whitecaps
A baseball diamond
Nice weather down there
I see the school
And the houses where the kids are
Places to park
By the factories and buildings
Restaurants and bars
For later in the evening
Then we come to the farmlands
And the undeveloped areas
And I have learned
How these things work together
I see the parkway
That passes through them all
And I have learned
How to look at these things, and I say
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
I guess it's healthy
I guess the air is clean
I guess those people
Have fun with their neighbors and friends
Look at that kitchen
And all of that food
Look at them eat it
I guess it tastes real good
They grow it in those farmlands
Then they bring it to the store
They put it in the car trunk
And they bring it back home, and I say
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
I'm tired of looking
Out the window of the airplane
I'm tired of traveling
I want to be somewhere
It's not even worth talking
About those people down there, no
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo-goo-goo, ga-ga-ga-ga
I remember from maps
I see the shoreline
I see the whitecaps
A baseball diamond
Nice weather down there
I see the school
And the houses where the kids are
Places to park
By the factories and buildings
Restaurants and bars
For later in the evening
Then we come to the farmlands
And the undeveloped areas
And I have learned
How these things work together
I see the parkway
That passes through them all
And I have learned
How to look at these things, and I say
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
I guess it's healthy
I guess the air is clean
I guess those people
Have fun with their neighbors and friends
Look at that kitchen
And all of that food
Look at them eat it
I guess it tastes real good
They grow it in those farmlands
Then they bring it to the store
They put it in the car trunk
And they bring it back home, and I say
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
I'm tired of looking
Out the window of the airplane
I'm tired of traveling
I want to be somewhere
It's not even worth talking
About those people down there, no
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo, ga-ga-ga
Goo-goo-goo-goo, ga-ga-ga-ga
Comments (148)add comment
Timeless excellence
The weary thoughts of a over-stimulated traveler. Trying to make sense of the continuous image of a 'boring life'.
Very cool idea indeed.
Very cool idea indeed.
i guess it's time for our daily first dose of the talking heads...
NoisyMiner wrote:
There's a difference between having a preference and disparaging people who have a different preference.
Except when you write a song in which you explicitly disparage the people who have a different preference! There just isn't any evidence to support the idea that DB is speaking ironically here.
There's a difference between having a preference and disparaging people who have a different preference.
Except when you write a song in which you explicitly disparage the people who have a different preference! There just isn't any evidence to support the idea that DB is speaking ironically here.
Not heard this before; whow a somewhat elitest critique of so much of the US .
Nonetheless one can't argue with it's validity and insightfulness.
Thanks for playing it. Just love RP.
Nonetheless one can't argue with it's validity and insightfulness.
Thanks for playing it. Just love RP.
T E D I O U S byrne
GTT wrote:
A possible interpretation ... but in the end where does DB choose to live? and would he live there (in flyover country) if you paid him? ... and doesn't he want to find himself a city to live in?
There's a difference between having a preference and disparaging people who have a different preference.
A possible interpretation ... but in the end where does DB choose to live? and would he live there (in flyover country) if you paid him? ... and doesn't he want to find himself a city to live in?
There's a difference between having a preference and disparaging people who have a different preference.
Think of this song every, every time I'm sitting in my window seat looking down, down below.
Love the song selection here: Once In a Lifetime by Big Daddy into this song.
Anyone else get the similarities with Lynyrd Skynyrd 'Freebird' - Also Donovan's 'Atlantis'... Can't just be me...
Absolutely love this song. Along with Take Me to the River it marked the giant leap Talking Heads were about to take.
I'd live there if you paid me enough
A song about flyover country! This is such a massive part of living in the US for those living on either coast, many of who have absolutely no interaction with anything with what's down below aside from eating the food grown there. Five hours on the plane and you get to avoid it all in its entirety.
It's interesting that there's very little music in US culture about this curious paradox. Talking Heads really did a great job here.
I love this song - probably my favourite TH song. In University I was in a house I wasn't thrilled about and the line "I wouldn't live there if you paid me". Songs like the Big Country and Take Me to the River were the Rubber Soul signs indicating Talking Heads were about to branch out into some really interesting music.
grandkrok wrote:
Hmmm...every now and then we get a comment like this...I read this six times and still have no idea what this means...no vaseline? okay then...
No vaseline.. no my way, anyway. End july David B and Marianne F ensemble. at les Nuits de Fourvière, Lyon, france. So check it up..
Hmmm...every now and then we get a comment like this...I read this six times and still have no idea what this means...no vaseline? okay then...
Shimmer wrote:
Dude you must be a prophet, cause 20 years later, EVERY TH song is overplayed here.
Getting to overplayed here on RP.
Dude you must be a prophet, cause 20 years later, EVERY TH song is overplayed here.
One of my favorite bands of all time, and I have some good bands on my list. The clean lyrics and off the wall combination of stoicism and frenetic moves by Byrne makes me smile, every time.
…another day, another SEVEN good-not-great Talking Heads songs on RP, which is otherwise fantastic.
ovidiu wrote:
this and remain in light are their best album followed by '77
Cheers to transitioning from a great cover of a Talking Heads song to a Talking Heads song I never heard before. I should go get their entire discography and fill in the gaps as it seems there's plenty of jewels left lurking there.
this and remain in light are their best album followed by '77
bobrk wrote:
I agree!! GREAT!!
Still a 10.
I agree!! GREAT!!
Crazy, fun, wild memories! We were kids, driving around in Mom's car, smoking weed and enjoying the grapes and grains, with this jamming in the 8-track deck... Listening to this band was like tearing the top off the Universe and peeking inside... We kept remarking how, "Dude, the music changed...it sounds really weird!" Ha! Well, part of that was simply because it was the freakin' TALKING HEADS! We loved their sharp-eyed, groovy, snarky genius then, and love and appreciate it even more now! This band is truly a National Treasure!
Cheers to transitioning from a great cover of a Talking Heads song to a Talking Heads song I never heard before. I should go get their entire discography and fill in the gaps as it seems there's plenty of jewels left lurking there.
Still a 10.
cc_rider wrote:
On the contrary, I suspect his 'disability' is a big part of his genius. Folks on the spectrum typically test higher in IQ. A big part of 'IQ' is making logical connections, relating disparate things together in subtle ways. Which is a big element in Music too. And Philosophy, and Literature, and Physics, and Engineering, and, well, nearly everything.
I don't think he 'overcame' his 'disability' so much as he channeled his talents. Tomayto, tomahto, but hey.
c.
People on certain parts of the Autistic Spectrum can test higher, particularly those of us who were diagnosed with Asperger's under the old DSM criteria, but you must remember that the spectrum runs from those of us who you'd just find a 'little off' through the Rainman-esque 'idiot savant' (to use an old and deprecated term) to those poor souls who find the world so hard to interact with that they sit, non-verbal, stimming, shouting and rocking to their inner world.
It doesn't do anyone on the spectrum any favors to pretend that it isn't a disability for many, and even those of us who are only 'lightly' touched can find it debilitating at times.
A good song, tho :)
On the contrary, I suspect his 'disability' is a big part of his genius. Folks on the spectrum typically test higher in IQ. A big part of 'IQ' is making logical connections, relating disparate things together in subtle ways. Which is a big element in Music too. And Philosophy, and Literature, and Physics, and Engineering, and, well, nearly everything.
I don't think he 'overcame' his 'disability' so much as he channeled his talents. Tomayto, tomahto, but hey.
c.
People on certain parts of the Autistic Spectrum can test higher, particularly those of us who were diagnosed with Asperger's under the old DSM criteria, but you must remember that the spectrum runs from those of us who you'd just find a 'little off' through the Rainman-esque 'idiot savant' (to use an old and deprecated term) to those poor souls who find the world so hard to interact with that they sit, non-verbal, stimming, shouting and rocking to their inner world.
It doesn't do anyone on the spectrum any favors to pretend that it isn't a disability for many, and even those of us who are only 'lightly' touched can find it debilitating at times.
A good song, tho :)
My thoughts regarding Texas could not be summed up more succinctly:
"
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
"
And I am in no way being sarcastic.
"
I wouldn't live there if you paid me
I wouldn't live like that, no siree
I wouldn't do the things the way those people do
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to
"
And I am in no way being sarcastic.
Lee wrote:
Their music is better than it sounds.
Mark Twain would agree...
Tony in NJ
W.A.S.T.E.
pfreet wrote:
A possible interpretation ... but in the end where does DB choose to live? and would he live there (in flyover country) if you paid him? ... and doesn't he want to find himself a city to live in?
Love this song. The sarcastic way Byrne bashes the New York attitude of dismissing fly-over country is brilliant. Before anyone had even coined the phrase. Do not take this song literally, you'll miss out on a masterpiece of writing.
A possible interpretation ... but in the end where does DB choose to live? and would he live there (in flyover country) if you paid him? ... and doesn't he want to find himself a city to live in?
Laptopdog wrote:
I recently discovered that David Byrne is autistic and suffers with Asperger's Syndrome. It makes me appreciate his talent all the more. For someone with that condition to overcome his disability and find great success in the music business is quite an accomplishment.
On the contrary, I suspect his 'disability' is a big part of his genius. Folks on the spectrum typically test higher in IQ. A big part of 'IQ' is making logical connections, relating disparate things together in subtle ways. Which is a big element in Music too. And Philosophy, and Literature, and Physics, and Engineering, and, well, nearly everything.
I don't think he 'overcame' his 'disability' so much as he channeled his talents. Tomayto, tomahto, but hey.
c.
I recently discovered that David Byrne is autistic and suffers with Asperger's Syndrome. It makes me appreciate his talent all the more. For someone with that condition to overcome his disability and find great success in the music business is quite an accomplishment.
On the contrary, I suspect his 'disability' is a big part of his genius. Folks on the spectrum typically test higher in IQ. A big part of 'IQ' is making logical connections, relating disparate things together in subtle ways. Which is a big element in Music too. And Philosophy, and Literature, and Physics, and Engineering, and, well, nearly everything.
I don't think he 'overcame' his 'disability' so much as he channeled his talents. Tomayto, tomahto, but hey.
c.
I stare out the airplane window and fall asleep, David Byrne writes a song about it.
bkrans9 wrote:
Many people argue that Asperger's, and to a degree, autism, are not disabilities, but different ways of functioning. People familiar with Asperger's might say that, contrary to overcoming his disability, Byrne's art is a perfect expression of how Aspberger's folks think and see the world. He's just being him.
Funny story, he hosted a music show (Sessions on W 54th Street?) and would interview the artists in between - he seemed very uncomfortable, awkwardly so, and this was back before I knew anyone 'on the spectrum'. We thought him shy!
Many people argue that Asperger's, and to a degree, autism, are not disabilities, but different ways of functioning. People familiar with Asperger's might say that, contrary to overcoming his disability, Byrne's art is a perfect expression of how Aspberger's folks think and see the world. He's just being him.
Funny story, he hosted a music show (Sessions on W 54th Street?) and would interview the artists in between - he seemed very uncomfortable, awkwardly so, and this was back before I knew anyone 'on the spectrum'. We thought him shy!
Laptopdog wrote:
I recently discovered that David Byrne is autistic and suffers with Asperger's Syndrome. It makes me appreciate his talent all the more. For someone with that condition to overcome his disability and find great success in the music business is quite an accomplishment.
Many people argue that Asperger's, and to a degree, autism, are not disabilities, but different ways of functioning. People familiar with Asperger's might say that, contrary to overcoming his disability, Byrne's art is a perfect expression of how Aspberger's folks think and see the world. He's just being him.
I recently discovered that David Byrne is autistic and suffers with Asperger's Syndrome. It makes me appreciate his talent all the more. For someone with that condition to overcome his disability and find great success in the music business is quite an accomplishment.
Many people argue that Asperger's, and to a degree, autism, are not disabilities, but different ways of functioning. People familiar with Asperger's might say that, contrary to overcoming his disability, Byrne's art is a perfect expression of how Aspberger's folks think and see the world. He's just being him.
pfreet wrote:
I find it odd and dispiriting that so many commenters miss the off-kilter Byrne perspective. This is a great piece of art on several levels and apparently there are those who can only hear a literal story line. A fantastic piece of music.
Love this song. The sarcastic way Byrne bashes the New York attitude of dismissing fly-over country is brilliant. Before anyone had even coined the phrase. Do not take this song literally, you'll miss out on a masterpiece of writing.
I find it odd and dispiriting that so many commenters miss the off-kilter Byrne perspective. This is a great piece of art on several levels and apparently there are those who can only hear a literal story line. A fantastic piece of music.
unclehud wrote:
(for the record, mooseisadick posted that 13 years ago ... )
I, too, visited NYC several times (kid was in college in Great Neck) and worked there (at 100 Broadway!) for 6 months. While I wouldn't consider it a cesspool, I certainly found it far less attractive than Atlanta, where I've lived for ten years immediately post-NYC.
What you have failed to understand, Mr. Dick, is that everyone has their own opinions of "cesspool" and "great place to live". Your opinion apparently doesn't line up with Mr Byrne's opinion, the opinion of 12 million who live in metro NYC, nor my own.
That's perfectly OK; the USA is supposed to be built on the understanding that your opinion and mine don't have to match, and we can still respect each other's right to believe the way we do.
The assertion in your final paragraph is up for a vote in 1 week (11/3/20). Realistically, though, the horse has probably left the barn on that belief forever. I'd love to be wrong on this point, but all I see is disunity and unending violent strife whichever way we go.
(for the record, mooseisadick posted that 13 years ago ... )
I, too, visited NYC several times (kid was in college in Great Neck) and worked there (at 100 Broadway!) for 6 months. While I wouldn't consider it a cesspool, I certainly found it far less attractive than Atlanta, where I've lived for ten years immediately post-NYC.
What you have failed to understand, Mr. Dick, is that everyone has their own opinions of "cesspool" and "great place to live". Your opinion apparently doesn't line up with Mr Byrne's opinion, the opinion of 12 million who live in metro NYC, nor my own.
That's perfectly OK; the USA is supposed to be built on the understanding that your opinion and mine don't have to match, and we can still respect each other's right to believe the way we do.
The assertion in your final paragraph is up for a vote in 1 week (11/3/20). Realistically, though, the horse has probably left the barn on that belief forever. I'd love to be wrong on this point, but all I see is disunity and unending violent strife whichever way we go.
Man are the Talking Heads so good but David does get a bit cynical and roomy.
This album comes from a great time in my life, and it's produced so well by Brian Eno. I really like everything on the record.
"I wouldn't live like that, no sirree."
"I wouldn't live like that, no sirree."
slandering wrote:
This song will always be linked to a mountain bike trip in the BC Rockies, where I eventually moved to. " I wouldn't live there if you paid me" became the theme song , right or wrong, for my hometown of Winnipeg
Some songs and the place you heard them you dont forget your whole life.
It was my first flight ever - bonding from Salzburg to Zurich 40 years ago. I listened to this fantastic song by an walkman and believe it: at that time i wasn t tired of traveling.
It was my first flight ever - bonding from Salzburg to Zurich 40 years ago. I listened to this fantastic song by an walkman and believe it: at that time i wasn t tired of traveling.
This song will always be linked to a mountain bike trip in the BC Rockies, where I eventually moved to. " I wouldn't live there if you paid me" became the theme song , right or wrong, for my hometown of Winnipeg
Some songs and the place you heard them you dont forget your whole life.
It was my first flight ever - bonding from Salzburg to Zurich 40 years ago. I listened to this fantastic song by an walkman and believe it: at that time i wasn t tired of traveling.
It was my first flight ever - bonding from Salzburg to Zurich 40 years ago. I listened to this fantastic song by an walkman and believe it: at that time i wasn t tired of traveling.
Love this song. The sarcastic way Byrne bashes the New York attitude of dismissing fly-over country is brilliant. Before anyone had even coined the phrase. Do not take this song literally, you'll miss out on a masterpiece of writing.
mooseisadick wrote:
(for the record, mooseisadick posted that 13 years ago ... )
I, too, visited NYC several times (kid was in college in Great Neck) and worked there (at 100 Broadway!) for 6 months. While I wouldn't consider it a cesspool, I certainly found it far less attractive than Atlanta, where I've lived for more than ten years immediately post-NYC.
What you have failed to understand, mooseisadick, is that everyone has their own opinions of "cesspool" and "great place to live". Your opinion apparently doesn't line up with Mr Byrne's opinion, the opinion of 12 million who live in metro NYC, nor my own.
That's perfectly OK; the USA is supposed to be built on the understanding that your opinion and mine don't have to match, and we can still respect each other's right to believe the way we do.
Cool song, but if it is a put down of non-New York America then I don't get it. I've spent a lot of time in NYC and I can't think of a bigger cesspool than that place. Unless maybe Ohio. Anyway I like the tune.
(for the record, mooseisadick posted that 13 years ago ... )
I, too, visited NYC several times (kid was in college in Great Neck) and worked there (at 100 Broadway!) for 6 months. While I wouldn't consider it a cesspool, I certainly found it far less attractive than Atlanta, where I've lived for more than ten years immediately post-NYC.
What you have failed to understand, mooseisadick, is that everyone has their own opinions of "cesspool" and "great place to live". Your opinion apparently doesn't line up with Mr Byrne's opinion, the opinion of 12 million who live in metro NYC, nor my own.
That's perfectly OK; the USA is supposed to be built on the understanding that your opinion and mine don't have to match, and we can still respect each other's right to believe the way we do.
shakitten wrote:
I recently discovered that David Byrne is autistic and suffers with Asperger's Syndrome. It makes me appreciate his talent all the more. For someone with that condition to overcome his disability and find great success in the music business is quite an accomplishment.
What is it with this guy and baby noises?
Gah-gah-gah!
Almost like he got stuck developmentally somewhere. But I guess it works for him. Just not my thing.
Gah-gah-gah!
Almost like he got stuck developmentally somewhere. But I guess it works for him. Just not my thing.
I recently discovered that David Byrne is autistic and suffers with Asperger's Syndrome. It makes me appreciate his talent all the more. For someone with that condition to overcome his disability and find great success in the music business is quite an accomplishment.
What is it with this guy and baby noises?
Gah-gah-gah!
Almost like he got stuck developmentally somewhere. But I guess it works for him. Just not my thing.
Gah-gah-gah!
Almost like he got stuck developmentally somewhere. But I guess it works for him. Just not my thing.
mooseisadick wrote:
You say that you've spent a lot of time in NYC, but it sure reads like it was written by someone who has never even been close to NYC, let alone actually in it.
Great song. It's a recurring theme with the Talking Heads, all the way through to Nothing But Flowers.
Cool song, but if it is a put down of non-New York America then I don't get it. I've spent a lot of time in NYC and I can't think of a bigger cesspool than that place. Unless maybe Ohio. Anyway I like the tune.
You say that you've spent a lot of time in NYC, but it sure reads like it was written by someone who has never even been close to NYC, let alone actually in it.
Great song. It's a recurring theme with the Talking Heads, all the way through to Nothing But Flowers.
Don't care much for this song off a quite good album with great cover art and album title. Still have the vinyl.
mooseisadick wrote:
IF. Exactly. Why do so many people here assume the lyrics are a) meant to be taken so seriously and b) referring specifically to the "flyover" states? (People actually do fly over all the coastal states, too...and other countries...and most of them have some suburbia and farmland. How many communities in the "Heartland" have prominent shorelines?)
I always thought of it as maybe some wry, thought-provoking observations about post-WW2 suburban sprawl development, industrialization, and the car-dependent, highly consumptive, often materialistic lifestyle that developed. It's hard for me to see it as passing judgment on particular groups of people at all.
Fascinating how different the interpretations and reactions are. That alone bumps the rating up for me.
Cool song, but if it is a put down of non-New York America then I don't get it. I've spent a lot of time in NYC and I can't think of a bigger cesspool than that place. Unless maybe Ohio. Anyway I like the tune.
IF. Exactly. Why do so many people here assume the lyrics are a) meant to be taken so seriously and b) referring specifically to the "flyover" states? (People actually do fly over all the coastal states, too...and other countries...and most of them have some suburbia and farmland. How many communities in the "Heartland" have prominent shorelines?)
I always thought of it as maybe some wry, thought-provoking observations about post-WW2 suburban sprawl development, industrialization, and the car-dependent, highly consumptive, often materialistic lifestyle that developed. It's hard for me to see it as passing judgment on particular groups of people at all.
Fascinating how different the interpretations and reactions are. That alone bumps the rating up for me.
LowPhreak wrote:
Not by me...
Great, under-appreciated album.
Not by me...
Great, under-appreciated album.
No vaseline.. no my way, anyway. End july David B and Marianne F ensemble. at les Nuits de Fourvière, Lyon, france. So check it up..
Love this band. But really dislike this particular song.
FFS, David - you do go on, don't you? Short is sweet, you know ;-|
bam23 wrote:
So true. Listen to the other songs on the early Heads albums, and this is exactly what you see/hear. To take this literally is, literally, crazy talk.
A number of his songs appear to me as commentary on the attitudes of ... people ...
So true. Listen to the other songs on the early Heads albums, and this is exactly what you see/hear. To take this literally is, literally, crazy talk.
slowly, he goes me on the nerves 
Reading the comments on RP illustrates the obvious truth that everyone hears things in a unique way. For this song, there are those who assume, apparently because they read the lyrics as if they are in a textbook, that David Byrne is strictly literal in his outlook. He is knocked by some commenters for his arrogant attitude. And so on. Oddly, I have always seen more than a little humor in his writing. To me, "I wouldn't live there if they paid me" is a sort of sarcastic take on a bi-coastal attitude that is strong in such places as New York, or even Providence, RI. A number of his songs appear to me as commentary on the attitudes of the people he has been associating with for years. Of course, maybe he is a smug artiste who scorns the common among us, maybe. But I also like the music.
Always enjoyed this one a lot, even though it's not exactly a typical Heads tune.
greyfin10 wrote:
Same problem the record companies ran into over and over so that's why things got called New Wave.
Of all the groups I've ever not liked that RP plays, Talking Heads is the only I'm not won over on yet. I get the suspicion that Bill likes em more than a little bit, and I'll keep trying to have an open ear since I trust Bill.
A recent development that bodes well is that I recently found out that Adrian Belew (I know him from King Crimson and his quirky solo stuff) was involved with TH at some point in the past. Never knew that, made me go hmm. I think one thing that influenced me in my attitude is that I equated (rightly or wrongly) TH with the Punk attitude of not caring about the music as much as the heart/fire of the delivery. Maybe I got them confused with Sonic Youth?
A recent development that bodes well is that I recently found out that Adrian Belew (I know him from King Crimson and his quirky solo stuff) was involved with TH at some point in the past. Never knew that, made me go hmm. I think one thing that influenced me in my attitude is that I equated (rightly or wrongly) TH with the Punk attitude of not caring about the music as much as the heart/fire of the delivery. Maybe I got them confused with Sonic Youth?
Same problem the record companies ran into over and over so that's why things got called New Wave.
greyfin10 wrote:
Always remember: Bill loves Byrnin' down the house.
Of all the groups I've ever not liked that RP plays, Talking Heads is the only I'm not won over on yet. I get the suspicion that Bill likes em more than a little bit, and I'll keep trying to have an open ear since I trust Bill.
A recent development that bodes well is that I recently found out that Adrian Belew (I know him from King Crimson and his quirky solo stuff) was involved with TH at some point in the past. Never knew that, made me go hmm. I think one thing that influenced me in my attitude is that I equated (rightly or wrongly) TH with the Punk attitude of not caring about the music as much as the heart/fire of the delivery. Maybe I got them confused with Sonic Youth?
A recent development that bodes well is that I recently found out that Adrian Belew (I know him from King Crimson and his quirky solo stuff) was involved with TH at some point in the past. Never knew that, made me go hmm. I think one thing that influenced me in my attitude is that I equated (rightly or wrongly) TH with the Punk attitude of not caring about the music as much as the heart/fire of the delivery. Maybe I got them confused with Sonic Youth?
Always remember: Bill loves Byrnin' down the house.
Of all the groups I've ever not liked that RP plays, Talking Heads is the only I'm not won over on yet. I get the suspicion that Bill likes em more than a little bit, and I'll keep trying to have an open ear since I trust Bill.
A recent development that bodes well is that I recently found out that Adrian Belew (I know him from King Crimson and his quirky solo stuff) was involved with TH at some point in the past. Never knew that, made me go hmm. I think one thing that influenced me in my attitude is that I equated (rightly or wrongly) TH with the Punk attitude of not caring about the music as much as the heart/fire of the delivery. Maybe I got them confused with Sonic Youth?
A recent development that bodes well is that I recently found out that Adrian Belew (I know him from King Crimson and his quirky solo stuff) was involved with TH at some point in the past. Never knew that, made me go hmm. I think one thing that influenced me in my attitude is that I equated (rightly or wrongly) TH with the Punk attitude of not caring about the music as much as the heart/fire of the delivery. Maybe I got them confused with Sonic Youth?
rscherm wrote:
unpopular, nonfavorite
unpopular, nonfavorite
I have to admit they're honest. It's not singing, just talking.
rosedraws wrote:
I love TH. But not this one.
Ditto. This one plods, the melody is atonal in places, and Byrne's vocal is really annoying.
Blech.
Wow! Lots a bashing of this TH album #2 closer cut. I always thought it was a pretty cool song, regardless of whether or not Byrne was trashing "flyover America". And I live here! And nobody pays me to!
miahfost wrote:
Yet these days, the music is childish in its arrangement, with insipid lyrics. His voice, which used to stand out as the warbling nerd now just sounds untrained and dull. They used to have something to say, these talking heads. Now they just talk.
true, but isnt that what happens when you get old? you have something to say until you are almost dead
I love TH. But not this one.
love it!
wookie wrote:
The only way I could dance to this is with a pogo stick...enough already with the Heads!
This has to be the most awesome idea I have heard all day. I am getting a pogo stick on my way home tonight.
miahfost wrote:
Yet these days, the music is childish in its arrangement, with insipid lyrics. His voice, which used to stand out as the warbling nerd now just sounds untrained and dull. They used to have something to say, these talking heads. Now they just talk.
Well said, gotta agree. TH has not aged well.
miahfost wrote:
Yet these days, the music is childish in its arrangement, with insipid lyrics. His voice, which used to stand out as the warbling nerd now just sounds untrained and dull. They used to have something to say, these talking heads. Now they just talk.
I couldn't have said it better myself. RP could use a few days...weeks...months without Talking Heads or any offshoots.
The only way I could dance to this is with a pogo stick...enough already with the Heads!
not TH again and again and again Bill!!
Not one of their best. I always thought the beat on this was Neanderthal compared to some of the interesting riffs they found elsewhere.
mooseisadick wrote:
Cool song, but if it is a put down of non-New York America then I don't get it. I've spent a lot of time in NYC and I can't think of a bigger cesspool than that place. Unless maybe Ohio. Anyway I like the tune.
i used to listen to this song when it first came out and think, yes, that is right... of course, i grew up in NYC for all my life, then i moved to AZ and found out what am arrogant, hubris lyric it is... having said all that, "More Songs about... is still one of my favorite all time records...
Yet these days, the music is childish in its arrangement, with insipid lyrics. His voice, which used to stand out as the warbling nerd now just sounds untrained and dull. They used to have something to say, these talking heads. Now they just talk.
I guess my take on the lyrics is a little different. I was just thinking how political the song is - and was even more so in the Reagan years, when turning your back on the values of the self-interested mainstream of America was a hugely political act. At the same time, it's also an expression of the slightly self-important art school graduate he also was. But by instinctively supporting the outsider in songs like 'Listening Wind' and 'Life During Wartime', which flirts dangerously with the glamor of guerrilla chic, he gave voice to many others at the time who felt they just didn't fit.
Very cool song IMO. Always liked it a lot. For any who think he is being an arrogant "city slicker", I would say "no-sirree!"
the most irriverent name for an album in the music history! 
hcaudill wrote:
My take on the lyrics is that the person being parodied is a self-important urban sophisticate, who thinks he's better than all the people down there. David Byrne's a pretty subtle and thoughtful guy, and I don't think he's being scornful of rural/suburban people - just the opposite. Here are the lyrics for your reference:
For all those folks discussing and pondering the meaning of the lyrics, I suggest you read AllMusic's insightful song review: (click here)
You can never overplay the talking heads Bill.
Also, to the people below. He isn't singing as if he is better and more sophisticated then country folk. In college I did acid and listend to this song. You see what he is saying.
ndfan75 wrote:
$$#@!$^Y%^#&%@&%&@$$^^#$
make it stop
seriously, wtf.
I'm replying to my own messages now
ndfan75 wrote:
$$#@!$^Y%^#&%@&%&@$$^^#$
make it stop
Agree with you. Can't stand that voice.
Cool song, but if it is a put down of non-New York America then I don't get it. I've spent a lot of time in NYC and I can't think of a bigger cesspool than that place. Unless maybe Ohio. Anyway I like the tune.
hcaudill wrote:
My take on the lyrics is that the person being parodied is a self-important urban sophisticate, who thinks he's better than all the people down there. David Byrne's a pretty subtle and thoughtful guy, and I don't think he's being scornful of rural/suburban people - just the opposite. Here are the lyrics for your reference:
I think the key line is "And I have learned how to look at these things." Not a slam at all; it's about someone forced to rationalize because he can't live like those down below because he's too busy climbing the ladder of success.
$$#@!$^Y%^#&%@&%&@$$^^#$
make it stop
ObsidianInfinity wrote:
i hate the talking heads so much...his voice hurts my head
Turn it up. Loud. You will be cured soon.
Immediately evokes my junior and senior years of high school. A perfect song of alienation for people of a certain age and temperament -- which I most definitely was. Is it any wonder I went on to become a land planner?
stonesmaster wrote:
Very disrespectful of rural america.
My take on the lyrics is that the person being parodied is a self-important urban sophisticate, who thinks he's better than all the people down there. David Byrne's a pretty subtle and thoughtful guy, and I don't think he's being scornful of rural/suburban people - just the opposite. Here are the lyrics for your reference:
I see the shapes,
I remember from maps.
I see the shoreline.
I see the whitecaps.
A baseball diamond, nice weather down there.
I see the school and the houses where the kids are.
Places to park by the fac'tries and buildings.
Restaunts and bar for later in the evening.
Then we come to the farmlands, and the undeveloped areas.
And I have learned how these things work together.
I see the parkway that passes through them all.
And I have learned how to look at these things and I say,
(CHORUS)
I wouldn't live there if you paid me.
I couldn't live like that, no siree!
I couldn't do the things the way those people do.
I couldn't live there if you paid me to.
I guess it's healthy, I guess the air is clean.
I guess those people have fun with their neighbors and friends.
Look at that kitchen and all of that food.
Look at them eat it' guess it tastes real good.
They grow it in the farmlands
And they take it to the stores
They put it in the car trunk
And they bring it back home
And I say ...
(CHORUS)
I say, I wouldn't live there if you paid me.
I couldn't live like that, no siree!
I couldn't do the things the way those people do.
I wouldn't live there if you paid me to.
I'm tired of looking out the windows of the airplane
I'm tired of travelling, I want to be somewhere.
It's not even worth talking
About those people down there.
Meghan: what happen to queen liner-notie drag on paragraphs ???
Why does this have to be a song? Why couldn't he have just written it down as an essay in the New Yorker? Why couldn't it just be a painting?
I just think it's funny how DB loves baby noises...cracks me up!
Gagaga....
I wouldn't do the things that most people do!!!!!!!! Gagagagagagaga 
LOVE IT! and the guitar slidin' is waaay fun....
My lowest rated RP song ever, downright unlistenable. 
theticket.com
i really don't like this one. he sounds like he's straining to hit every note. every single one. i can't appreciate this one's sound at all. perhaps i need a lyric sheet.
the thumping part at the end makes it good enough for me: a 5.
sergeant_x wrote:
The album this song originally came from is one of my favorites and definitely the best Talking Heads. Another song from that one, "Found a Job" always sticks with me, espeicially when I hear about yet another bad television show. "Good Thing" and, of course "Take Me to the River" are excellent cuts as well.
Agree 1000 percent.
I think of flying when I hear this song, and I think of this song when I fly.
redeyespy wrote:"People fighting over little things and wasting precious time."
Uh uh. A perfect closer to a fabulous album (More Songs about Buildings and Food).
What redeyespy said.
timandjuliet wrote:
The only bad song on the album.
Uh uh. A perfect closer to a fabulous album (More Songs about Buildings and Food).
Excellent song. Love the lyrics. Amazing journey, following the ideas he is putting out, describing what he is seeing and his reaction to it. Super!
timandjuliet wrote:
The only bad song on the album.
Of course. Oh, and by the way, white is black and monkeys are bananas.
UPLOAD "DRUMMER BOY" BY VBC...
The only bad song on the album.
i hate the talking heads so much...his voice hurts my head
one of my rem faves. makes me look deeper in myself
ga ga ga ga ga ga ga 
:headshake:
Whiny. One of those songs that made me turn off the computer.
phineas wrote:
Not the best use of Byrne's sometimes-great voice.
And the music? Plodding.
totally agreed.
spoko wrote:
Is there anything from the Talking Heads that I don't hate?
If you were me, the answer would be no.
aharamanx wrote:
I do apologise for my ignorance, but I think this stinks. :(
Ah, that's not ignorance, it's discernment.
I love this song and the whole album from which it sprang, really. I love the musical accompaniment and don't think anyone should take a 20-something David Byrne's opinions about the heartland too seriously. I think it's meant to be ironic and fun.
Is there anything from the Talking Heads that I don't hate?
Not the best use of Byrne's sometimes-great voice.
And the music? Plodding.
sergeant_x wrote:
The album this song originally came from is one of my favorites and definitely the best Talking Heads. Another song from that one, "Found a Job" always sticks with me, espeicially when I hear about yet another bad television show. "Good Thing" and, of course "Take Me to the River" are excellent cuts as well.
Damn that television!
The album this song originally came from is one of my favorites and definitely the best Talking Heads. Another song from that one, "Found a Job" always sticks with me, espeicially when I hear about yet another bad television show. "Good Thing" and, of course "Take Me to the River" are excellent cuts as well.
tg3k wrote:
Regardless of the lyrical parody (or lack thereof, whatever), I just can't get past the wanky music behind this song. Talking Heads have never been one of my favorites, but this song stands out in its ability to push my buttons. (The wrong buttons, too -- the ones that make me reach for the Mute button.)
No offense intended at all to the Talking Heads fans out there -- if we all liked the same things all the time, it'd get real boring real quick.
I couldn't agree more!! This guy's voice was just grating on my nerves! Usually if I don't have anything nice to say, I don't write, but I was moved to log on and see what others were saying... like tg3k said, no offence..... Happy Turkey Weekend (all you Canucks, anyway)
I thought this was a Beck song until I heard Byrne's unmistakable voice.
hondok wrote:
One of their best songs, usually overlooked. I think of it every time I fly.
Yes, very, very overlooked and never played on commercial radio these days, although it was played often on the old KSAN in San Francisco way back in '78. Keep playing it, cuz no one else does.
A suggestion...another song that sorta sounds like this and would be great played next to it is Prarie Rose by Roxy Music. Off their Country Life record from '74.
dairyman from Oakland
Reading the comments on RP illustrates the obvious truth that everyone hears things in a unique way. For this song, there are those who assume, apparently because they read the lyrics as if they are in a textbook, that David Byrne is strictly literal in his outlook. He is knocked by some commenters for his arrogant attitude. And so on. Oddly, I have always seen more than a little humor in his writing. To me, "I wouldn't live there if they paid me" is a sort of sarcastic take on a bi-coastal attitude that is strong in such places as New York, or even Providence, RI. A number of his songs appear to me as commentary on the attitudes of the people he has been associating with for years. Of course, maybe he is a smug artiste who scorns the common among us, maybe. But I also like the music.
A tongue-in-cheek artist? My goodness, what has the world come to?
you're spot on here, imo. Not all art and storytelling is first person.
Confirmation bias for a lot of folks I suppose.