How a “very personal love song” became a Talking Heads anthem
Of all the wonderful Talking Heads songs, ‘This Must Be The Place (Naïve Melody)’ is arguably their best known. The track is the closer of their fifth studio album, Speaking in Tongues, which was released in 1983, and arrived as the second and final single to be taken from the record.
David Byrne had previously said that ‘This Must Be The Place’ is a “very personal love song” and that he wrote it about a specific person. That person is likely to be Adelle Lutz, the costume designer whom he married back in 1987. The couple would have a daughter, Malu, but would sadly divorce in 2004. Byrne said it was the first love song he had ever written; however, later added: “I didn’t try to compromise this time and say ‘love is nice’.”
Byrne’s personal life had typically been kept private from the press, so the song is something of a departure from the band’s other efforts. However, the track still retains and air of mystery and an indirect nature, free from the typical straightforwardness of the love songs we are used to hearing.
Talking Heads drummer Chris Frantz once said of the song, “The original basic track was called ‘Naive Melody’ because the melody was naive-sounding, the melody of the keyboard. When David finished writing the lyrics, he called it ‘This Must Be The Place’ but decided to keep ‘Naive Melody’ as part of the title but in parentheses. It’s a very comforting song.
He added: “I think people listen to it, and it kind of warms their hearts because it’s a song with a happy and secure message. I love that song myself. It’s really sweet – quite an accomplishment for a band such as ours.”
The track took the alternative title of ‘Naïve Melody’ as it was the name attached to the track before it had any lyrics. For Speaking in Tongues, the songs were all written, and basic tracks were recorded before any words were laid down.
Discussing the process, Chris Frantz said: “We recorded all the basic tracks instrumentally, and then the lyrics were added after. We were touring as well as recording that year, so we would record the basic track, then we would go off on tour, then we would come back, go to another studio and add overdubs and things like that”.
He added: “After the tour, David would take some time and write some lyrics, then we’d go back in the studio, and he’d sing the lyrics, and we’d add additional percussion and whatever else we wanted.”
Byrne’s career and art have not only been a mark of defiant liberation in the face of autism, but an exploration of humanity fuelled by his own insular curiosity; the defiance provides an acerbic energy, while the counterpoint of curiosity colours the songs with a wistfulness. ‘This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)’ is the perfect example of this, it is a love song in spite of itself in the same way that Byrne seems to be a rockstar in spite of himself.
The same can be said of all the creative wizardry deployed throughout the Talking Heads’ back catalogue. Every quirk and oddity is done with such sincerity that it is always fun and never alienating.
The band swapped instruments for this song, and while from the outside looking in, this may seem frivolous, it’s hard to argue with the result. It’s a move that sings of the profuse creative heart behind the band, and in the process, they crafted a love song that juices life right down to the bittersweet and blissful pith.
