Song of the Day: Once In A Lifetime by Talking Heads


Today’s song of the day, much like our scene that I love for today, is taken from Jonathan Demme’s Stop Making Sense.  Here is Once In A Lifetime, performed by Talking Heads.

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, “Well, how did I get here?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

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”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was

Water dissolving and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Under the water, carry the water
Remove the water from the bottom of the ocean
Water dissolving and water removing

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Leting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

You may ask yourself, “What is that beautiful house?”
You may ask yourself, “Where does that highway go to?”
And you may ask yourself, “Am I right, am I wrong?”
And you may say to yourself, “My God, what have I done?”

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground

Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money’s gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground

Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, look where my hand was
Time isn’t holding up, time isn’t after us
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was (I couldn’t get no rest)
Same as it ever was, hey let’s all twist our thumbs
Here comes the twister

Letting the days go by (same as it ever was, same as it ever was)
Letting the days go by (same as it ever was, same as it ever was)
Once in a lifetime, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground

Songwriters: David Byrne / Phoebe Esprit / Tina Weymouth / Jerry Harrison / Christopher Frantz / Brian Peter George Eno / Ronald Amanze

Scenes I Love: The Performance of Life During Wartime from Stop Making Sense


Today’s scene that I love comes from the Jonathan Demme-directed concert film, 1984’s Stop Making Sense.  In this scene, brilliantly directed and edited by Demme, Talking Heads perform Life During Wartime.  I love the energy in this performance.  I’d love to be Tina Weymouth, able to play perfect bass and run in place at the same time.

 

Song of the Day: 200 Years by Henry Gibson


Today’s song of the day comes from the soundtrack of Robert Altman’s 1975 masterpiece, Nashville.

Written and performed by Henry Gibson (who played the role of Haven Hamilton in Altman’s film), 200 Years was meant to be a satire of patriotic country music.  But apparently, Gibson did such a good job capturing the feel of those songs that several patriotic singing groups actually added 200 Years to their repertoire.

Myself, I find the song to be just as heavy-handed in its satire as the song itself is meant to be heavy-handed in its patriotism.  But, perhaps that’s the point.  It’s definitely effective in its way and it certainly fits in with Altman’s stylized portrayal of American culture.  I guess this song is a real Rorschach test.  Some will see it as a commentary on jingoism.  Others will hear it and say, “He’s right, we must be doing something right.”

My mother’s people came by ship
And fought at Bunker Hill
My daddy lost a leg in France
I have his medal still
My brother served with Patton
I saw action in Algiers
Oh we must be doin’ somethin’ right
To last 200 years.‎

I pray my sons won’t go to war
But if they must, they must
I share our country’s motto
And in God I place my trust
We may have had our ups and downs
Our times of trials and fears
But we must be doin’ somethin’ right
To last 200 years.‎

I’ve lived through two depressions
And seven Dust Bowl droughts
Floods, locusts and tornadoes
But I don’t have any doubts
We’re all a part of history
Why Old Glory waves to show
How far along we’ve come ’til now
How far we’ve got to go.‎

It’s been hard work but every time
We get into a fix
Let’s think of what our children faced
In two – ought – seven – six
It’s up to us, to pave the way
With our blood and sweat and tears
For we must be doin’ somethin’ right
To last 200 years.‎

Lyrics: Henry Gibson

Song Of The Day: Let It Snow! Let It Snow! Let It Snow! by Dean Martin


We woke up to glorious snow this morning.  It’s pretty, even if it’s not quite the blizzard that we were promised by the weather service.  That said, it’s 11 degrees outside and I’m looking forward to spending the next few days cuddled up inside.

In others words, let it snow!

Here’s Dean Martin expressing the thought perfectly in today’s song of the day.

Oh, the weather outside is frightful
But the fire is so delightful
And since we’ve no place to go
Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Man it doesn’t show signs of stopping
And I brought me some corn for popping
The lights are turned way down low
Let it snow! Let it snow!

When we finally kiss goodnight
How I’ll hate going out in the storm
But if you’ll really hold me tight
All the way home I’ll be warm

And the fire is slowly dying
And, my dear, we’re still goodbying
But as long as you’d love me so
Let it snow! Let it snow and snow!

When we finally kiss goodnight
How I’ll hate going out in the storm
But if you really grab me tight
All the way home I’ll be warm

Oh, the fire is slowly dying
And, my dear, we’re still goodbying
But as long as you’d love me so
Let it snow, let it snow, let it snow!

Songwriters: Jule Styne / Sammy Cahn

Music Video of the Day: Down by Victoria Justice (2024, dir by Luis De Pena)


Today, we wish a happy birthday to the one and only Victoria Justice!  I’m currently up at our lakehouse so I can relate to this video in spirit, even though it’s currently 18 degrees up here.  It’s the thought that counts.

Enjoy!

Song of the Day: Don’t Your Forget About Me by Simple Minds


Given the fact that today is the birthday of both John Hughes and Molly Ringwald, it seems obvious what today’s song of the day should be.

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Ooh, woah

Won’t you come see about me?
I’ll be alone, dancing, you know it, baby

Tell me your troubles and doubts
Giving everything inside and out and
Love’s strange, so real in the dark
Think of the tender things that we were working on

Slow change may pull us apart
When the light gets into your heart, baby

Don’t you, forget about me
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
Don’t you, forget about me

Will you stand above me?
Look my way, never love me
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down

Will you recognize me?
Call my name or walk on by
Rain keeps falling, rain keeps falling
Down, down, down, down

Hey, hey, hey, hey
Ooh, woah

Don’t you try and pretend
It’s my feeling we’ll win in the end
I won’t harm you or touch your defenses
Vanity and security, ah

Don’t you forget about me
I’ll be alone, dancing, you know it, baby
Going to take you apart
I’ll put us back together at heart, baby

Don’t you, forget about me
Don’t, don’t, don’t, don’t
Don’t you, forget about me

As you walk on by
Will you call my name?
As you walk on by
Will you call my name?
When you walk away

Or will you walk away?
Will you walk on by?
Come on, call my name
Will you call my name?

I say
La, la-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la-la
La-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la-la
When you walk on by
And you call my name
When you walk on by

Songwriters: Keith Forsey / Steve W. Schiff