Barnes & Barnes formed in 1970. Robert Haimer (died 2023) and Bill Mumy were childhood friends who occasionally jammed together on their musical instruments. Around 1968, they would shoot short films with a Super 8 motion picture camera, dubbed "Art Films". The two began calling each other "Art", and thus, their alter egos were born. Their surname, "Barnes" was taken from a Bill Cosby comedy routine called "Revenge", in which a character called Junior Barnes throws a snowball at Cosby as a child. Originally, both Haimer and Mumy were named "Art Barnes", but Haimer's alter ego was publicly renamed "Artie" in 1979 to differentiate between them. To each other, however, they both still remain "Art". They first received airplay on The Dr. Demento Show in 1978 with their songs "Boogie Woogie Amputee" and "Fish Heads." The latter tune was released as a single on their own Lumania Records in 1979 and remains their best-known song, and the most requested song in the history of The Dr. Demento Show. The song was often mis-attributed to The Chipmunks for its processed high-pitched chorus:
Fish heads, fish heads
Rolly-polly fish heads
Fish heads, fish heads
Eat them up, yum!
Barnes and Barnes have produced two albums for Wild Man Fischer, and one album for Crispin Hellion Glover.
Where
Barnes & Barnes Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
We looked at each other in the same way then
But I can't remember where or when
The clothes you're wearing are the clothes you wore
The smile you are smiling you were smiling then
But I can't remember where or when
Seem to be happening again
And so it seems that we have met before
And laughed before, and loved before
But who knows where or when
The Barnes & Barnes song "Where" is a surreal meditation on the themes of memory, déjà vu, and the strange feeling of encountering situations and people that seem profoundly familiar without being able to place them. The singer reflects on a conversation with someone who seems both familiar and unfamiliar, as if they have spoken before in the same way, looked at each other with the same expressions, but cannot recall where or when. The song suggests a sense of the uncanny or the mystical, as if there is some kind of deeper connection or shared history between the two individuals that is inaccessible to rational memory.
The song's lyrics are intentionally ambiguous and open to interpretation. They could be read as a reflection on the nature of reality and the way that experience is shaped by our perceptions and memories. The theme of déjà vu, for example, suggests that there is something strange and mysterious going on in the way we experience time and space. The repeated refrain of "where or when" echoes the uncertainty and ambiguity of the situation, emphasizing the ineffability of memory and the limitations of language.
Line by Line Meaning
It seems we stood and talked like this before
I feel like we've had this exact same conversation before
We looked at each other in the same way then
Our eye contact is just as intense as it was before
But I can't remember where or when
Unfortunately, I don't recall when or where this happened previously
The clothes you're wearing are the clothes you wore
I know you've worn that outfit before
The smile you are smiling you were smiling then
You're smiling the same way as you did in our previous encounter
But I can't remember where or when
Again, I'm not sure when or where that was
Some things that happened for the first time
Experiences that were new at one point
Seem to be happening again
Appear to be recurring now
And so it seems that we have met before
All of these similarities make it seem like we've already met
And laughed before, and loved before
We've previously shared good times and even love
But who knows where or when
Still, it's unclear as to the specific time and place of our past interactions
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc., IMAGEM MUSIC INC
Written by: LORENZ HART, RICHARD RODGERS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
FurtherReview
Don't forget one of Bill Mumy's best-remembered roles: As the capricious but all-powerful 6-year-old in the Twilight Zone episode, "It's a Good Life." (Among other things, Mumy turns one of the townsfolk into a jack-in-the-box and banishes him to a cornfield.)
Colonel Angus
Didnt know that fact. ❤that twilight zone movie!!!! Great memory...kicking the can.
The Eggplant That Ate Chicago
Pure class!
Go Away
You gonna release the other music vids?? 😭these are amazing quality and I would love to see the others
Nunya Bidness
Truly "demented" in the best possible sense!
Joaquin Odriozola
Been a big fan of Barnes and Barnes ever since i first saw the fish heads video on Vh1. I discovered them at about the same time i discovered The Residents and weirdly enough both times was on tv when i was about 10! Lol
Weird Al Yankovic Countdowns AND MORE
Whoa! Your profile picture is Frank Zappa and you're into Barnes & Barnes, So you must have good taste.
I never got into the Residents. What's a good song to check out?
Conan G
You should check out the band LARD
Lee Gray
@Weird Al Yankovic Countdowns AND MORE A good Residents song to try is Don't Be Cruel.
Joaquin Odriozola
@Weird Al Yankovic Countdowns AND MORE never saw your reply went back to see this clip lol. Def check out The Commercial Album. Duck stab. Third reich 'n roll. Not Available is a very deep one.