Listen to the alternative lyrics for Talking Heads’ song ‘Psycho Killer’
As a child, Talking Heads frontman David Byrne was rejected from his school choir for being “off-key and too withdrawn”. From a shy kid to a rock icon, the musician is proof that passion and drive can get you a long way in life.
Despite that early rejection, Byrne’s passion for music endured. He spent his childhood singing along to his parent’s records and teaching himself instruments. He played in an unsuccessful cover band in school, but in 1974, his luck changed when he met drummer Chris Franz at an art college in Rhode Island.
Franz clearly saw Byrne’s talent, something that his past teachers failed to notice. With new vigour, when Byrne moved to New York, drummer Frantz and his girlfriend, Tina Weymouth, chased him down to start a band. They called themselves Talking Heads, and the rest is history.
Running ahead at the forefront of the fresh new wave movement, the band combined elements of punk, rock and funk with a sprinkling of reggae and soul for good measure. Their unique sound quickly got them noticed by the New York alternative scene. In 1975, fresh-faced and full of desire, Talking Heads played their first-ever gig when they opened for the Ramones at CBGBs – talk about starting as you mean to go on.
A year later, the band were still relatively new to gigging. Byrne was still trying to break through his slight reticence to become the captivating frontman he would later be celebrated as. Upon rewatching rare recordings from the band’s formative years, potentially the earliest captured footage of the band, the singer said, “This is a person who is profoundly uncomfortable addressing an audience and yet puts himself in that position.”
The footage below was recorded live at The Kitchen, the experimental arts venue in New York that stands as the city’s oldest nonprofit, artist-run space. At the time, Talking Heads were merely young up-starts taking their first steps into music. Byrne was only 23 years old, and the band hadn’t even gained their fourth member, Jerry Harrison. However, the setlist includes the foundations of several tracks from their 1977 debut album, Talking Heads ‘77.
Together, the group play ‘Tentative Decisions’, ‘I Feel It In My Heart’ and ‘I Wish You Wouldn’t Say That’. But the centre point and highlight comes in the form of an early draft of their hit ‘Psycho Killer’.
The song starts in a recognisable fashion. That well-known opening bass riff is there, the familiar groove is in place, and the chorus is done. But when Byrne hits the second verse, there are entirely different lyrics. Instead of the beloved characterful voice of the song, the earlier draft takes the track in a whole different direction. In this version, Byrne sings:
“Listen to me, now I’ve passed the test
I think I’m cute, I think I’m the best
Skirt tight, don’t like that style
Don’t criticize what I know is worthwhile”
Thankfully, the songwriter took the track back to the drawing board to give the world that iconic second verse of:
“You start a conversation, you can’t even finish it
You’re talking a lot, but you’re not saying anything
When I have nothing to say, my lips are sealed
Say something once, why say it again?”
See the footage in full, below.
