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.
www.talking-heads.net
Swamp
Talking Heads Lyrics
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The devil he has a plan
A bag a' bones in his pocket
Got anything you want
No dust and no rocks
The whole thing is over
All these beauties in solid motion
All those beauties, gonna swallow you up
Hi hi hi hi hi,
One time too many
Too far to go
I-We come to take you home
And when they split those atoms
It's hotter than the sun
Blood is a special substance
They gonna pray for that man
So wake up young lovers
The whole thing is over
Watch but touch monkeys
All that blood, gonna swallow you whole
Hi hi hi hi hi
What's that? Who's driving?
Where we goin'? Who knows?
I-We come to take you home
How many people do you think I am
Pretend I am somebody else
You can pretend I'm and old millionaire
A millionaire washing his hands
Rattle the bones, dreams that stick out
A medical chart on the wall
Soft violence and hands touch your throat
Ev'ryone wants to explode
And when your hands get dirty
Nobody knows you at all
Don't have a window to slip out of
Lights on, nobody home
Click click- see ya later
Beta beta- no time to rest
Pika pika- risky business
All that blood, will never cover that mess.
Hi hi hi hi hi
So soft hard feelings
What's that, who's driving
No tricks lets go
I-We come to take you home
I-We come to take you home
Hi hi hi hi hi
Etc.
The Talking Heads’s song Swamp features cryptic, surrealistic lyrics that paint a vivid picture of chaos and destruction. The song describes a devilish character with a plan and a bag of bones. The character is able to provide anything one could want, however, everything is false, without dirt or rocks, and it’s all over in the end. The song then shifts to describe the splitting of atoms, which produces a heat hotter than the sun. The lyrics discuss blood as a special substance, and that people will pray for the man with it. The final verse speaks to the disconnection from reality and the end result of the chaos. The song finishes with mentioning someone who is driving and the band coming to take the listener home.
The lyrics of Swamp are purposefully enigmatic and non-linear, forcing the listener to interpret them in a way that is both personal and abstract. The song could be viewed as a cautionary tale about giving in to temptations that are too good to be true or a warning about the dangers of technology and nuclear power. The song is also notable for the unusual juxtaposition of lyrics that are abstract and surreal, yet music that is straight-forward rock.
Line by Line Meaning
Now lemme tell you a story
Let me share something with you
The devil he has a plan
There's an ominous scheme at hand
A bag a' bones in his pocket
The devil has many tricks up his sleeve
Got anything you want
He'll tempt you with anything you desire
No dust and no rocks
All is well and quiet
The whole thing is over
The end has arrived
All these beauties in solid motion
The world's synchronous movements are mesmerizing
All those beauties, gonna swallow you up
The world's allure could consume you
Hi hi hi hi hi,
One time too many
Too far to go
I-We come to take you home
Trying to escape a hopeless situation with someone else's help
And when they split those atoms
It's hotter than the sun
Nuclear reactions are exceptionally powerful
Blood is a special substance
They gonna pray for that man
Blood has unique meaning and value
So wake up young lovers
The whole thing is over
Don't be naive; it's all over
Watch but touch monkeys
All that blood, gonna swallow you whole
Observing others cuts both ways
What's that? Who's driving?
Where we goin'? Who knows?
I-We come to take you home
Lost, confused, and in desperate need of guidance
How many people do you think I am
Pretend I am somebody else
You can pretend I'm and old millionaire
A millionaire washing his hands
Rattle the bones, dreams that stick out
A medical chart on the wall
Soft violence and hands touch your throat
Ev'ryone wants to explode
The imagination can wildly wander through many scenarios
And when your hands get dirty
Nobody knows you at all
Don't have a window to slip out of
Lights on, nobody home
When you're in trouble, no one is around to help
Click click- see ya later
Beta beta- no time to rest
Pika pika- risky business
All that blood, will never cover that mess.
The situation is full of danger
So soft hard feelings
What's that, who's driving
No tricks lets go
I-We come to take you home
I-We come to take you home
Hi hi hi hi hi
Allowing oneself to be taken under someone's care to escape stress
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: CHRIS FRANTZ, CHRISTOPHER FRANTZ, DAVID BYRNE, JERRY HARRISON, TINA WEYMOUTH
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind