Talking Heads first appeared on the New York music scene as a trio in 1974. At the time, the band consisted only of Byrne and Frantz, and was initially called The Artistics. By 1975, the band had recorded a demo album for CBS Records and landed a gig opening for the Ramones at CBGB in June 1975, which was the first time the band used the name Talking Heads. The band was signed to Sire Records in late 1976 and the group released their first single, "Love → Building on Fire" in February 1977. In March 1977, the band added Jerry Harrison, formerly of Jonathan Richman's band The Modern Lovers.
Their first album, Talking Heads: 77 was released soon afterward and did not contain the earlier single, although it did include the underground singles Psycho Killer and Uh-Oh, Love Comes To Town. Despite being regulars at New York's legendary CBGB, the band only began to break through further with the landmark Brian Eno-produced, 1978 album More Songs About Buildings And Food, an album which continued in the same vein, but with a more accessible style, wittier lyrics, and ultimately better songs. It was a great critical hit with subject matter ranging from home movies to the art world. It also included their cover of Take Me To The River. On the following year's Fear Of Music the band started to dabble in African rhythms, notably on I Zimbra, and more straightforward pop styles, on Life During Wartime and Cities.
1980 brought the band's fourth and most innovative effort Remain In Light. Notable for the single Once In A Lifetime, which became an early MTV staple, Remain In Light saw the band experiment with ambient sounds, fugal structures, polyrhythms, and about everything under the sun to make the body groove. Following this, the group split with Brian Eno, enjoying greater commercial success with 1983's Speaking In Tongues. It took the musical innovations of its predecessor and refined them into pop songs, most notably Burning Down The House, Girlfriend Is Better and This Must Be The Place. This period was topped off with a live album, from Jonathan Demme's documentary, Stop Making Sense. The documentary, with its name taken from a line in Girlfriend Is Better, was a great success, and took their inimitable style to a wider audience.
1985's Little Creatures was an even bigger hit, and exhibited another stylistic shift for the band. It saw the punk styles of '77 almost completely abandoned for simple, three or four chord pop songs. The album produced the singles And She Was, and Road To Nowhere. The following two albums, True Stories and Naked, were both moderate successes, the former producing their biggest radio hits, Love For Sale and Wild Wild Life, and the latter focusing more on Latin influences with hits like (Nothing But) Flowers. After this, a long quiet period followed, with the band eventually officially announcing their break up in 1991. Since the split, Byrne continued his solo career and Weymoth and Frantz continued to record and tour as Tom Tom Club. Weymouth, Harrison and Frantz reunited for an album, "No Talking, Just Head", recorded under the name The Heads in 1996.
The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2002. The band reunited for a three song performance at the ceremony. Due to personality conflicts between Byrne and the other members, further reunions are unlikely.
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Blind
Talking Heads Lyrics
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Signs disappeared
Turn invisible
Got no sign
Somebody got busted
Got a face of stone and a
Ghostwritten biography
Hungry for some food
Dogs started twitching and they're looking at you
It was light by five
Torn all apart
All in the name of democracy
He's hurt, he's dying
Claimed he was a terrorist
Claimed to avert a catastrophe
Someone should've told him
That the buck stops here
No one ever said
He was involved with thieves
They're blind, blind
Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
Blind, blind
Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
No sense of harmony, no sense of time
Don't mention harmony
Say "what is it? What is it? What is it?"
Give a little shock, and he raises his hand
Somebody shouts out, says
"What is it? What is it? What is it?"
He was shot down in the night!
People ride by but his body's still alive
The girl in the window, what has she done?
She looks down at me and says "I don't wanna die!"
And I'm blind, blind
Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
Blind, blind
Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
Somebody could have told us where they go
Crawling all around looking for foot, foot, footprints
Now tell me what the hell have we become?
Some dirty little bastards, what the hell is going on?
No sense of harmony, no sense of time
Don't mention harmony
Say "What is it? What is it? What is it?"
Give a little shock, and he raises his hand
Somebody shouts out
Says "What is it? What is it? What is it?"
He was shot down in the night
People ride by but his body's still alive
Girl in the window what has she done?
She looks down at me and says "I don't want to die!"
An' it's blind and they're blind
Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
Blind, blind
Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
Blind, blind
Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
And I'm blind, blind
Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
The Talking Heads’ song “Blind” is a poetic and enigmatic reflection on the confusion and violence of contemporary society. It is a dark commentary on the state of society where the signs of direction and guidance that people rely on are lost, disappeared, and invisible. The lyrics describe the confusion and chaos that result from the absence of these signs, and how people are susceptible to being manipulated in such an environment.
The song alludes to a political situation where somebody got busted, claimed he was a terrorist and to avert a catastrophe, and was shot down in the night. The incident is portrayed as a tragedy, with the song’s narrator expressing regret that nobody told the man that the “buck stops here” and no one ever accused him of being involved with thieves. The song describes how the man’s body is still alive, but he is dying, and the girl in the window says she doesn’t want to die.
The song speaks to the lack of harmony and sense of time in society, and how people don’t know what’s going on. The singer is also blind and unable to see the situation clearly. The song ends with the repetition of the word “blind,” suggesting that people are unable to see or understand what is happening around them.
Overall, the song seems to be a commentary on the political and social confusion of the early 1980s, as well as a broader commentary on the human condition, where people are often lost and directionless.
Line by Line Meaning
Signs, signs are lost
The signs indicating direction or meaning are gone or misplaced
Signs disappeared
The signs that were once present cannot be found anymore
Turn invisible
The signs cannot be seen or noticed despite searching for them
Got no sign
There are no indications or clues to follow
Somebody got busted
Someone got caught doing something wrong
Got a face of stone and a Ghostwritten biography
The person caught has a hard expression and a deceitful, crafted backstory
Dogs started rushin' in, Hungry for some food
The dogs came in quickly and with a great urge to devour something
Dogs started twitching and they're looking at you
The dogs started to tic nervously, while keeping eyes locked onto something
It was light by five, Torn all apart, All in the name of democracy
The situation is destructive and rough, coming just barely after the dawn of a day and all that is happening is in the name of democracy
He's hurt, he's dying, Claimed he was a terrorist, Claimed to avert a catastrophe
The person is injured and close to death, they were accused of being a terrorist, but they claimed they were trying to prevent a disaster
Someone should've told him, That the buck stops here
Someone should have warned him that responsibility ultimately lies with him/her
No one ever said, He was involved with thieves
There were no actual claims stating that they were involved with theft
They're blind, blind, Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind, blind, blind, Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
People are unaware, and everything is unclear or hidden
No sense of harmony, no sense of time
There is no synchronicity or pacing
Don't mention harmony, Say "what is it? What is it? What is it?"
Rather than bringing up balance, focus on trying to understand the situation
Give a little shock, and he raises his hand
Startle him and he reflexively raises his hand out of surprise
Somebody shouts out, says "What is it? What is it? What is it?"
Someone in the crowd is yelling and demanding to know what is going on
He was shot down in the night! People ride by but his body's still alive
He was shot when it was dark but stayed alive while people continue to pass by
The girl in the window, what has she done? She looks down at me and says "I don't wanna die!"
The female in the window asks what she did wrong, and she pleads with the singer not to let her die
Somebody could have told us where they go, Crawling all around looking for foot, foot, footprints
Someone could have notified them about where to go, and they are scurrying around searching for trails
Now tell me what the hell have we become? Some dirty little bastards, what the hell is going on?
The singer questions who they have become, referring to themselves as wretched and also confused about everything happening around them
Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind, Blind, blind, Blind, blind, blind, blind
The lack of awareness, difficulty seeing, and confusion persists
And I'm blind, blind, Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind, blind, Blind, blind, blind, blind, blind
And the singer (or narrator) is also blind, just as clueless as everyone else
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRIS FRANTZ, DAVID BYRNE, JERRY HARRISON, TINA WEYMOUTH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind