Lyrically Speaking: What is Talking Heads’ ‘Once in a Lifetime’ all about?
It’s no exaggeration to say that Talking Heads created one of the greatest songs of all time in 1981 with ‘Once in a Lifetime’. Over 40 years on from its release, the Remain in Light lead single remains just as beloved and relevant as it was on its first release – but what are the lyrics all about?
According to songwriter David Byrne, the song is about the 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?’,” the frontman told NPR.
Byrne encapsulates that auto-piloted routine of everyday life from the beginning moments of the song. Each line in the first verse opens with the phrase, “And you may find yourself,” five short words that somehow distil the song’s entire message. Immediately, Byrne shines a light on the feigned sense of control we have over our lives – you haven’t actively pursued a beautiful house or a beautiful wife, you have merely found yourself with one.
The repetition of the phrase throughout the first verse reflects the monotony most of us blindly accept, rarely stopping to take a look at what our life has become. It’s not all doom and gloom, though. Byrne’s words shock us into taking a look around, encouraging us to celebrate the achievement and beauty we may have accidentally acquired and to ask ourselves, “How did I get here?”
As he continues to address us in the second person, the frontman’s weighty words and unflinching vocal delivery give him the illusion of a pastor, an intentional stylistic choice by Byrne. Speaking on Brian Eno’s melody for the chorus, he explained to Uncut, “It worked as a call-and-response pattern, like a preacher’s conversation with his congregation. I improved lines as if I was giving a sermon.”
The singer also took inspiration from phrases frequented by radio evangelists, giving it a stirring feeling of transcendence. Water-based imagery is also present throughout the track, reflecting the unstoppable flow of life and of time. “Remove the water, carry the water,” Byrne encourages us. It’s an impossible task, but with the frontman’s help, it almost seems possible.
In between the repeated reminders of the unconscious every day continue throughout the song – in the continued refrains of, “Letting the days go by,” and the iconic “Same as it ever was,” – Byrne also implores us to break through. ‘Once in a Lifetime’ is not merely nihilistic — it’s celebratory. The idea that everything remains the same as it ever was is contrasted against Byrne’s more optimistic declarations and playful instrumentation.
“Time isn’t holding up, time isn’t after us,” he reassures us, and it’s difficult not to believe him. “What’s fantastic about David’s lyrics is that he’s using that blood-and-thunder intonation of the preacher, but his words are terribly optimistic,” Eno explained in Uncut, “It’s saying what a fantastic place we live in, let’s celebrate it. That was a radical thing to do when everyone was so miserable and grey!”
If we are to believe Byrne, letting the days go by as we absentmindedly fulfil social expectations and let our achievements pass us by isn’t the only option. This point is finally driven home in the song’s closing moments, as Byrne delivers the title words, “Once in a lifetime”. It’s a sharp reminder of the fleeting nature of life. At the very least, we owe it to Byrne to break those unconscious operations and look to celebrate life more often.
