In addition, Belew is well-regarded for his contributions, particularly on guitar, to various other artists' recordings. In 1977, he performed with Frank Zappa, appearing in Zappa's 1979 concert film Baby Snakes, as well as Zappa's controversial album Sheik Yerbouti. He also supported David Bowie on his "Heroes" tour that was released as "Stage". He also played on the 1990 Sound + Vision tour. On both tours he was musical director, playing guitar and singing backing vocals.
Belew's other session credits include the 1980 album Remain in Light by the Talking Heads, Lights Out by Peter Wolf, and Paul Simon's landmark 1986 album Graceland. He worked with Laurie Anderson during the mid-1980s, appearing in her concert film Home of the Brave. During the 1990s, he contributed to three Nine Inch Nails albums, The Downward Spiral, The Fragile, and Ghosts. He played synthesized guitar on the song "God Shuffled His Feet" by Crash Test Dummies in 1993.
In the late-1980s, Belew formed the pop band The Bears with ex-Raisins members and released two albums, The Bears and Rise and Shine. A third album, Car Caught Fire, followed in 2001.
He features prominently on Tori Amos's 2001 cover album, "Strange Little Girls". He also contributed his lead guitar stylings to Porcupine Tree's album Deadwing (2005) as well as to a track ("I Can't Get Behind That", also featuring Henry Rollins) on the 2004 Ben Folds-produced William Shatner album Has Been.
Dinosaur
Adrian Belew Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
When I was a dumb young guy
Fossilized photos of my life then
Illustrate what an easy prey I must have been
Standing in the sun, idiot savant
Something like a monument
Im a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones
Ignorance has always been something I excel in
Followed by naivet
And pride
Doesnt take a scientist to see how
Any clever predator could have a piece of me
Standing in the sun, idiot savant
Something like a monument
Im a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones
When I look back on the past
Its a wonder Im not yet extinct
All the mistakes and bad judgments I made
Nearly pushed me to the brink
It doesnt pay to be too nice,
Its the one thing I have learned
Still I made my fossil bed
Now I toss and turn
Im a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones
The song "Dinosaur" by Adrian Belew reflects on the evolution of the self through the years. The lyrics describe the singer's past as a "dumb young guy" who was easy prey for predators due to his ignorance, naivete, and pride. The metaphor of being a dinosaur is used to symbolize the singer's outdated way of thinking and behavior. He compares himself to a monument, standing in the sun, representing the past that has been fossilized in photos. The singer reflects on his mistakes and bad judgments, nearly pushing him to the brink, but he still managed to learn from it and evolve himself. Overall, the lyrics of "Dinosaur" speaks about coming to terms with one's past, learning from it, and moving forward to become anew.
One interesting fact about "Dinosaur" is that it was released in 1990 as part of Adrian Belew's album "Young Lions," which features an electronic, pop rock style. Another fact is that the song was later covered by King Crimson, a band which Adrian Belew had previously performed with. The song's inspiration reportedly came from a conversation Belew had with Frank Zappa, who said, "Be careful not to become a dinosaur," which later inspired Belew's vision for the song. The song has been noted for its intricate guitar work, particularly the use of a distortion pedal to create a thunderous sound in the chorus. The song's music video features Belew turning into a dinosaur, with animation created by a team of artists from Bill Plympton Studios. Furthermore, the song has been used in various TV shows, such as "Breaking Bad," "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation," and "The Office."
Chords: (key of C# minor)
Verse:
C#m - A - E - B
C#m - A - E
Chorus:
G# - B - C#m - F#
G# - B - E
Bridge:
F# - A - C#m - B
F# - A - C#m
G# - B - E - F#
(Note: Adrian Belew uses alternative tunings, so these chord formations may not be entirely accurate)
Line by Line Meaning
Long ago and far away in a different age
Back in the day, in a different time and place
When I was a dumb young guy
When I was young and foolish
Fossilized photos of my life then
Photographs from back then, preserved like fossils
Illustrate what an easy prey I must have been
Show how vulnerable and easy to prey upon I must have been
Standing in the sun, idiot savant
Being clueless yet consumed by one's own intelligence
Something like a monument
Seeming like a monument, but in reality not being one
I'm a dinosaur, somebody is digging my bones
I'm old and outdated, and people are reminiscing about me
Ignorance has always been something I excel in
I've always been good at being ignorant
Followed by naiveté
It's followed by my lack of experience and wisdom
And pride
And arrogance
Doesn't take a scientist to see how
It's not hard to see how
Any clever predator could have a piece of me
Any smart person could deceive or take advantage of me
When I look back on the past
When I reflect on the past
It's a wonder I'm not yet extinct
It's a surprise I'm still around
All the mistakes and bad judgments I made
All the poor choices and wrong decisions I made
Nearly pushed me to the brink
Almost caused me to fail completely
It doesn't pay to be too nice,
Being too kind doesn't always benefit you
It's the one thing I have learned
That's the one lesson I've taken away
Still I made my fossil bed
Regardless, I've made my mark in history
Now I toss and turn
But I still have regrets and concerns
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Robert Fripp, William Scott Bruford, Trey Gunn, Anthony Charles Levin, Pat Mastelotto, Adrian Belew
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Mark Blasquez
An amazing musician, for sure, but he does not get enough credit as a lyricist. Such cool, clever, creative ideas and images. Such a talent.
Otto Kriete
I'd love to see a collaboration between Adrian and Jonathan Coulton.........
Andy
1967 is the ultimate for showing this
Sinembargo Navia
Un gran compositor, un GRAN guitarra, una GRAN persona, escindido, talentoso y total !!
Con una facultad que pocos músicos chilenos tienen: HUMILDAD .
Grande Belew que alegras nuestras vidas con tu creación.
Greg M
Brilliant! Excellent lyrics too. The first concert I ever took my daughters to was Adrian Belew, when they were 15 and 13 yrs old in a very small theater, maybe 500 seats. Sold them on it by saying "Hey this is the guy that made those weird sounds on the Talking Heads music you girls like, lets go see him". They LOVED it.
Alex Isabelle
I'm no guitar player but those chords look crazy as nuts
Carl-Richard Løberg
The chords aren't the hard part. It's what is going on inbetween.
17colosal
Que genio!.. Escribió ésta y Walking on air cuando estuvo con KC un mes entero en Buenos Aires, contado por él mismo.
Lyktwz
Exactamente.
Leonardo Campos G.
Capisimo Belew, tremenda canción de KC y la hace ver tan facil jaja