David Byrne was born in Dumbarton, Scotland. Two years later, his parents moved to Hamilton, Ontario, and then to Arbutus, Maryland. Before high school, David Byrne already knew how to play the guitar, accordion, and violin. He was rejected from his middle school's choir because they claimed he was "off-key and too withdrawn." From a young age, he had a strong interest in music. His parents say that he would constantly play his phonograph from age three and he learned how to play the harmonica at age five. In his journals he says, "I was a peculiar young man — borderline Asperger's, I would guess." As revealed by Tina Weymouth in the commentary for the concert film Stop Making Sense, Byrne is left handed but plays guitar right handed.
He graduated from Lansdowne High School in southwest Baltimore County. Byrne started his musical career in a high school duo named Bizadi with Mark Kehoe. Their repertoire consisted mostly of songs such as "April Showers," "96 Tears," "Dancing On The Ceiling," and Frank Sinatra songs. Byrne then attended the Rhode Island School of Design (during the 1970–71 term) and the Maryland Institute College of Art (during the 1971–72 term) before dropping out and forming a band called "The Artistics" with fellow RISD student Chris Frantz. The band dissolved within a year, and the two moved to New York together with Frantz's girlfriend Tina Weymouth. Unable to find a bass player in New York, Frantz and Byrne persuaded Weymouth to learn to play the bass guitar.
After some practice and playing together they founded the group Talking Heads which had its first gig in 1975. Multi-instrumentalist Jerry Harrison joined the group in 1977. The band released 8 studio albums before going into hiatus in 1988. David Byrne desired to go solo, but it took 3 years to announce that the band was breaking up in 1991. A brief reunion for a single "Sax and Violins" in 1991 occurred before again dissolving. The band was inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002, when they reunited to play 4 tracks.
During his time in the Talking Heads, Byrne took on outside projects, collaborating with Brian Eno during 1979 and 1981 on the album My Life in the Bush of Ghosts, which attracted considerable critical acclaim due to its early use of analogue sampling and found sounds. Following this record, Byrne focused his attention on Talking Heads. My Life in the Bush of Ghosts was re-released for its 25th anniversary in early 2006, with new bonus tracks. In keeping with the spirit of the original album, two of the songs' component tracks were released under Creative Commons licenses and a remix contest site was launched.
Rei Momo (1989) was the first solo album by Byrne, after leaving Talking Heads, that features mainly Afro-Cuban, Afro-Hispanic, and Brazilian song styles including popular dances including merengue, Cuban Son, samba, mambo, cumbia, cha-cha-chá, bomba, and charanga. His third solo album Uh-Oh (1992) followed that featured a brass-section and was driven by catchy tracks such as "Girls on My Mind" and "The Cowboy Mambo (Hey Lookit Me Now)". His fourth solo album, titled davidenryb (1994), was a more proper rock record, with Byrne playing most of the instruments on it, leaving percussion for session musicians. "Angels" and "Back in the Box" were the two main singles released from the album. The first one entered the US Modern Rock Tracks chart, reaching #24. For his fifth studio effort the emotional Feelings (1997), Byrne employed a brass orchestra called Black Cat Orchestra. His sixth Look into the Eyeball (2001) continued the same musical exploration of Feelings, but was compiled of more upbeat tracks, like those found on Uh-Oh.
Grown Backwards (2004), released by Nonesuch Records, used orchestral string arrangements, and includes two operatic arias as well as a rework of X-Press 2 collaboration "Lazy". He also launched a North American and Australian tour with the Tosca Strings. This tour ended with Los Angeles, San Diego and New York shows in August 2005.
Byrne and Eno reunited for his eighth album Everything That Happens Will Happen Today (2008).
He assembled a band to tour worldwide for the album for a six-month period from late 2008 through early 2009 on the Songs of David Byrne and Brian Eno Tour.
In September 2012, Byrne and St. Vincent released a collaborative album, Love This Giant.
In 1981, Byrne partnered with choreographer Twyla Tharp, scoring music he wrote that appeared on his album, The Catherine Wheel for a ballet with the same name, prominently featuring unusual rhythms and lyrics. Productions of The Catherine Wheel appeared on Broadway that same year. In Spite of Wishing and Wanting is a soundscape David Byrne produced for the Belgian choreographer Wim Vandekeybus's dance company Ultima Vez.
In 1991, Byrne released a classical instrumental album The Forest, where some of the tracks were already featured as a score for 1988 Robert Wilson theatre piece of the same name.
His work has been extensively used in movie soundtracks, most notably in collaboration with Ryuichi Sakamoto and Cong Su on Bernardo Bertolucci's The Last Emperor, which won an Academy Award for Best Original Score. In 2004, Lead Us Not Into Temptation (music from the film "Young Adam") included tracks and musical experiments from his score to Young Adam. Byrne also wrote, directed, and starred in True Stories, a musical collage of discordant Americana released in 1986, as well as producing most of the film's music. Byrne also directed the documentary Île Aiye and the concert film of his 1992 Latin-tinged tour titled Between the Teeth. He was chiefly responsible for the stage design and choreography of Stop Making Sense in 1984. Byrne added "Loco de Amor" (Crazy for Love) with Celia Cruz to Jonathan Demme's 1986 film Something Wild.
Byrne wrote the Dirty Dozen Brass Band-inspired score for Robert Wilson's Opera The Knee Plays from The Civil Wars: A Tree Is Best Measured When It Is Down. Some of the music from Byrne's orchestral album The Forest was originally used in a Wilson-directed theatre piece with the same name. The Forest premiered at the Theater der Freien Volksbühne, Berlin in 1988. It received its New York premiere in December 1988 at BAM, the Brooklyn Academy of Music. The Forestry Maxi-single contained dance and industrial remixes of pieces from The Forest by Jack Dangers, Rudy Tambala, and Anthony Capel.
In late 2005 Byrne and Fatboy Slim began work on Here Lies Love, a disco opera or song cycle about the life of Imelda Marcos, the controversial former First Lady of the Philippines. Some music from this piece was debuted at Adelaide Festival of Arts in Australia in February 2006 and the following year at Carnegie Hall on February 3, 2007.
In 2008 Byrne released Big Love: Hymnal – his soundtrack to season two of Big Love. These two albums constituted the first releases on his personal independent record label Todo Mundo.
Byrne and Brian Eno provided the soundtrack for the film Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.
Byrne has contributed songs to five AIDS benefit compilation albums produced by the Red Hot Organization: Red Hot + Blue: A Tribute to Cole Porter, Red Hot + Rio, Silencio=Muerte: Red Hot + Latin, Onda Sonora: Red Hot + Lisbon, and Offbeat: A Red Hot Soundtrip. Byrne appeared as a guest vocalist/guitarist for 10,000 Maniacs during their MTV Unplugged concert, though the songs in which he is featured were cut from their following album. One of them, "Let the Mystery Be", appeared as the fourth track on 10,000 Maniacs' CD single "Few and Far Between". Byrne worked with the "Queen of Tex-Mex", Tejano superstar Selena, writing, producing and singing a song ("God's Child (Baila Conmigo)"), included on Selena's last album, "Dreaming of You", before her death. Byrne was the host of Sessions at West 54th during its second of three seasons and collaborated with members of Devo and Morcheeba to record the album Feelings in 1997.
In 2001 a version of Byrne's single "Like Humans Do", edited to remove its drug reference, was selected by Microsoft as the sample music for Windows XP to demonstrate Windows Media Player (not included in SP2 installs).
In 2002, he co-wrote and provided vocals for a track, "Lazy" by X-Press 2, which reached number 2 in the United Kingdom and number 1 on the U.S. Dance Charts. Byrne said in an interview in BBC Four Sessions's coverage of his Union Chapel performance that "Lazy" was number 1 in Syria. The track later featured with orchestral arrangements on his Grown Backwards (2004) album.
In 2006, his singing was featured on "The Heart's a Lonely Hunter" on The Cosmic Game by Thievery Corporation.
He is featured on the tracks "Money" and "The People Tree", on N.A.S.A.'s 2009 album The Spirit of Apollo. Also in 2009, David Byrne appeared on HIV/AIDS charity album Dark Was the Night for Red Hot Organization. He collaborated with Dirty Projectors on the song "Knotty Pine". In the same year, Byrne performed at the Bonnaroo Music Festival in Manchester, Tennessee. He also was a signator of a letter protesting the decision of the Toronto International Film Festival to choose Tel Aviv as the subject of its inaugural City-to-City Spotlight strand.
In 2007, David Byrne provided a cover of The Fiery Furnaces' song "Ex-Guru" for a compilation to celebrate the 15th birthday of Thrill Jockey, a Chicago-based label.
In 2008, Byrne and his production team turned the Battery Maritime Building, a 99-year-old ferry terminal in Manhattan, into a playable musical instrument. The structure was connected electronically to a pipe organ and made playable for a piece called "Playing the Building". This project was previously installed in Stockholm, Sweden in 2005, and later at the London Roundhouse in 2009. It bears similarities to a series of installations created by New Zealand and Detroit based artists Alastair Galbraith and Matt De Genaro, which were recorded on their 1998 record Wire Music and on the 2006 follow-up Long Wires in Dark Museums, Vol. 2. Byrne says that the point of the project was to allow people to experience art first hand, by creating music with the organ, rather than simply looking at it.
In April 2008, Byrne took part in the Paul Simon retrospective concert series at BAM performing "You Can Call Me Al" and "I Know What I Know" from Simon's Graceland album.
In 2008 Byrne collaborated with The Brighton Port Authority, composing the music and singing the lyrics for "Toe Jam".
In May 2011, Byrne contributed backing vocals to the Arcade Fire track "Speaking in Tongues" which appeared on the deluxe edition of their 2010 album The Suburbs.
In March 2013 he will debut a fully staged production of his 2010 concept album Here Lies Love at New York's Public Theater directed by Tony Award Nominee Alex Timbers following it's premiere at MoCA earlier in the year.
Byrne founded the world music record label Luaka Bop in 1990. It was originally created to release Latin American compilations, but it has grown to include music from Cuba, Africa, the Far East and beyond, releasing the work of artists such as Cornershop, Os Mutantes, Los De Abajo, Jim White, Zap Mama, Tom Zé, Los Amigos Invisibles and King Chango.
In 2005, Byrne initiated his own internet radio station, Radio David Byrne. Each month, Byrne posts a playlist of music he likes, linked by themes or genres. Byrne's playlists have included African popular music, country music classics, Vox Humana, classical opera, and film scores from Italian movies.
In 2006, Byrne released Arboretum, a sketchbook facsimile of his Tree Drawings, published by McSweeney's. Byrne is also a visual artist whose work has been shown in contemporary art galleries and museums around the world since the 1990s. Represented by the Pace/MacGill Gallery in New York, he has also created public art installations, many of them anonymously. In 2010 his original art work was in the exhibition The Record: Contemporary Art and Vinyl at the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University.
While working on the film True Stories, Byrne met costume designer Adelle Lutz whom he married in 1987. They have a daughter, Malu Abeni Valentine Byrne, born in 1989. Byrne and Lutz divorced in 2004. Byrne had a relationship with the artist Cindy Sherman from 2007 to 2011.
Although a resident of the United States since childhood, Byrne is a British citizen,[26] and only recently[clarification needed] applied for U.S. citizenship. He lives in New York City.
Cycling [edit]
Byrne is known for his activism in support of increased cycling, and for having used a bike as his main means of transport for most of his life, especially cycling around New York. He has a regular cycling column in the New York Times, and does not own a car.
He says that he cycled when he was in high school and returned to it as an adult in the late 1970s. He likes the freedom and exhilarating feeling cycling gives him. He has written widely on cycling, including a 2009 book, Bicycle Diaries. In August 2009, he auctioned his Montague folding bike in order to raise money for the London Cycling Campaign.
In 2008, Byrne designed a series of bicycle parking racks in the form of image outlines corresponding to the areas in which they were located, such as a dollar sign for Wall Street and an electric guitar in Williamsburg, Brooklyn. Byrne worked with a manufacturer that would construct the racks in exchange for the chance to sell them later as artworks, and the racks remained on the streets for about a year.
His most recent release, Everything That Happens Will Happen Today, is also his first collaboration with Brian Eno in 30 years. You can stream the full album or download an MP3 at EverythingThatHappens.com.
David maintains a frequently updated journal/blog. A detailed official bio and discography are available on his website.
His song "Like Humans Do" was featured in many installations of Microsoft Windows XP.
Waters of March
David Byrne Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
É um resto de toco, it's a little alone
It's a sliver of glass, it's life, it's the sun
It is night, it is dealth, it's a trap it's a gun
É peroba no campo, é um nó na madeira
Cangá, candeia, é Matita Pereira
É madeira de vento, tombo na ribanceira
É um vento ventando, é o fim da ladeira
É a vida, é o vão, festa da cumeeira
É a chuva chovendo, é conversa ribeira
Das águas de março, é o fim da canseira
The foot, the ground, the flesh and the bone
Passarinho na mão, pedra de atiradeira
É uma ave no céu, é uma ave no chão
É o regato, é uma fonte, é um pedaço de pão
É o fundo do poço, é o fim do caminho
No rosto o desgosto, é um pouco sozinho
A spear, a spike, a point, a nail
A drip, a drop, the end of the tale
É um peixe, é um gesto, é uma prata brilhando
É a luz da manhã, é o tijolo chegando
A mile, o dia, a thrust, a bump
It's a girl, it's a rhyme, it's a cold, it's a cold, it's the mumps
É o projeto da casa, é o corpo na cama
É o carro enguiçado, é a lama, é a lama
A drift, ponte, flight, rã, resto, quail
The promise of spring
And the river bank talks (São as águas de março)
Of the waters of march, (Fechando o verão)
It's the promise of life (É promessa de vida,)
It's the joy in your heart (No meu coração)
A stick, a stone,
It's the end of the road
É um resto de toco,
é um pouco sozinho
It's a sliver of glass,
It's a life, it's the sun,
É a noite, é a morte,
é o laço, é o anzol
It's the plan of the house,
It's the body in bed,
It's the car that got stuck,
It's the mud, it's the mud
É o projeto da casa,
é o corpo na cama
É o carro enguiçado,
é a lama, é a lama
São as águas de março fechando o verão
É a promessa de vida no meu coração
And the riverbanks talk
of the waters of March,
It's the end of all strain,
It's the joy in your heart.
Waters of March is a song by David Byrne that paints a picture of the cycle of life, using imagery and symbols of nature and ordinary objects. The chorus of the song, "São as águas de março fechando o verão," translates to "It's the waters of March closing the summer," suggesting the passage of seasons and time. The lyrics begin with a stick, a stone, and a rest of a stump, symbolizing the end of the road or life's journey. Other objects such as a sliver of glass, a trap, and a gun, represent death and danger. The lyrics move on to more positive symbols like the sun, the promise of life, and the joy in your heart.
The verses contain Portuguese phrases and names of places like "Matita Pereira," adding a touch of Brazilian culture and local flavor to the song. The song continues to use imagery of nature like "passarinho na mão," meaning a little bird in your hand, and a "regato," which is a small stream. The chorus repeats, emphasizing the end of strain and promising joy in your heart.
Overall, the song is a poetic blend of Portuguese and English lyrics that beautifully captures the essence of life's cycle, its fleeting beauty, and its inevitable end.
Line by Line Meaning
A stick, a stone, it's the end of the road
These mundane, inanimate objects symbolize reaching an end point or a conclusion, suggesting that something is coming to an end.
É um resto de toco, it's a little alone
A small piece of leftover wood represents loneliness, emphasizing the feeling of isolation and being on one's own.
It's a sliver of glass, it's life, it's the sun
A tiny fragment of glass represents the fragility of life and the sun symbolizes its vitality and constant presence.
It is night, it is dealth, it's a trap it's a gun
The darkness of night represents the fear of death, while the trap and gun symbolize the dangers and risks of life.
É peroba no campo, é um nó na madeira
A peroba tree in the countryside with a knot in its wood represents an unexpected obstacle or challenge.
Cangá, candeia, é Matita Pereira
These names are likely just characters in a story, representing the people and objects encountered along life's path.
É madeira de vento, tombo na ribanceira
Wood that has been blown by the wind and fallen down the slope symbolizes the chaos and unpredictability of life.
É um mistério profundo, é um queria ou não queira
This line is intentionally vague and mysterious, possibly representing an enigma or something unknown that we must accept without explanation.
É um vento ventando, é o fim da ladeira
A wind blowing represents the completion of a journey or a task, a sense of accomplishment that comes from crossing the finish line.
É a vida, é o vão, festa da cumeeira
Life is represented by the empty spaces between things, the moments of joy and celebration that make it worth living.
É a chuva chovendo, é conversa ribeira
Rainfall represents the flow of conversation, ideas that pour and stream out of us like water.
Das águas de março, é o fim da canseira
The end of the wearying month of March is a symbol of relief and rest, the easing of burdens and exhaustion.
The foot, the ground, the flesh and the bone
These body parts represent the physical and material aspects of human existence, our connection to the earth and our bodies.
Passarinho na mão, pedra de atiradeira
A bird held in one's hand and a slingshot stone represent the fleeting and shifting nature of our grasp on life, how easily things can slip through our fingers.
É uma ave no céu, é uma ave no chão
Whether in the sky or on the ground, a bird represents freedom and the ability to soar above the mundane aspects of life.
É o regato, é uma fonte, é um pedaço de pão
Water running over rocks represents the simplicity of life's sustenance, the basic necessities that keep us going.
É o fundo do poço, é o fim do caminho
Hitting the bottom of a well represents reaching the end of a journey, the point at which one cannot go any further.
No rosto o desgosto, é um pouco sozinho
Sadness and disappointment are reflected in our faces, and can make us feel even more isolated or alone.
A spear, a spike, a point, a nail
These sharp objects represent danger and pain, the obstacles that we must avoid or overcome in the course of life.
A drip, a drop, the end of the tale
A drip or droplet of water marks the conclusion of the story or the end of a chapter, a sense of finality and closure.
É um peixe, é um gesto, é uma prata brilhando
A glint of silver in the water or the movement of a fish represents the beauty and grace of life's small pleasures and moments of joy.
É a luz da manhã, é o tijolo chegando
A morning light illuminating a new brick being laid represents the dawning of new opportunities and the possibility of growth and progress.
A mile, o dia, a thrust, a bump
These objects and actions represent the physical and temporal passage of time, the journey from one moment to the next.
It's a girl, it's a rhyme, it's a cold, it's the mumps
This line represents the random nature of life, with its twists and turns, surprises and disappointments.
É o projeto da casa, é o corpo na cama
The blueprints of a house and a person's body in a bed represent the potential of our plans and the inevitability of our eventual demise.
É o carro enguiçado, é a lama, é a lama
A broken-down car stuck in the mud symbolizes the obstacles and difficulties that can slow us down and keep us from moving forward in life.
A drift, ponte, flight, rã, resto, quail
These objects and actions represent the unpredictable and often nonsensical nature of our everyday experiences.
The promise of spring
Spring represents the hope and promise of new beginnings, the possibility of growth and rebirth following a difficult period.
And the river bank talks (São as águas de março)
The river bank symbolizes the constant movement and flow of life, and the idea that everything is connected and interdependent.
Of the waters of march, (Fechando o verão)
The waters of March represent the passage of time, with the end of summer marking the beginning of a new season and a new phase of life.
It's the promise of life (É promessa de vida,)
Life is full of promise and possibility, with each new day bringing the potential for growth, joy, and fulfillment.
It's the joy in your heart (No meu coração)
Ultimately, the purpose of life is to find joy and meaning, to embrace the beauty and wonder of the world around us.
Contributed by Elliot B. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
@anacristinarocha7290
Jobim+ Marisa+ Byrne=❤❤❤
@petoromero3568
Los lenguajes existieron para diferenciar las tribus. Los únicos idiomas son el amor y la música. Marisa Monte tiene tanta dulzura que la derrama en la voz. David Byrne es un genio, no creo que sea mortal.
@aguscanzani
Peto Romero Hermoso comentario.
@PranakashaProductions
Totally love it!!!
@marcelmarck
Its funny how things happens.... I discovered Talking Heads listen Psyco Killer in a rock bar in small city in Sao Paulo and loved ... Marisa is unique in all meaning... Even in my best dream i never could imagine this combination !!! You guys Rocked it !!! thank you guys for this awesome gift !!! Valeu Marisa, Valeu David!!!
@susanmyers4029
A stick, a stone & the whole David Byrne of it all 🤩
@claudiotavernari9235
Difficile trovare le parole per dire quanto questo Gioiello musicale contenga GENIALITÀ, GARBO, DOLCEZZA , ma anche invenzioni di sconcertante Semplicità e POTENZA ESPRESSIVA.
Un vero godimento ascoltare questa bellissima performance a due.
@zprettpolly
Been searching for this song for maybe 20 years after seeing them performing it live on Later with Jools Holland! Beautiful.
@cathym3
Re-imagined brilliance.
@alotofwank
probably my favorite rendition so far