Para Remain in Light (1980), Talking Heads decidió adoptar un método de grabación completamente nuevo: en lugar de llegar al estudio con demos ya escritas, los cuatro miembros construyeron partes individuales que podían editarse y ajustarse en la mezcla. El productor Brian Eno descartaba cualquier fragmento que empezara a sonar demasiado a un hit de rock convencional.
El grupo desarrolló la canción a partir de jams extensas, inspiradas en el afrobeat de Fela Kuti, que Eno había introducido a la banda. Byrne describió el proceso como el de "samplers humanos": escuchaban las cintas, aislaban los mejores fragmentos y aprendían a tocarlos repetidamente. De hecho, casi abandonaron la canción. Lo que la salvó fue el riff de bajo de dos compases de Tina Weymouth, que Chris Frantz oyó en su cabeza y le gritó durante la jam.
Para las letras, Byrne se sentó a escuchar sermones de televangelistas, extrayendo frases y construyendo los textos a partir de ellas. El resultado es una meditación sobre la inconsciencia con la que vivimos: la casa, el coche, la mujer, el trabajo... y de repente la pregunta: ¿cómo llegué aquí?
Sobre el vídeo: codirigido por Byrne y la coreógrafa Toni Basil, estudiaron archivos de rituales de tribus africanas, sectas japonesas, personas en trance y evangelistas cristianos. Basil puso a Byrne delante de una cámara y lo dejó solo con esas ideas. El resultado es uno de los vídeos más memorables de los 80, rodado con un presupuesto mínimo. Cuando MTV arrancó seis meses después del lanzamiento, entró en rotación masiva y la canción se convirtió en un icono.
And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And you may ask yourself, "Well, how did I get here?"
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
And you may ask yourself, "How do I work this?"
And you may ask yourself, "Where is that large automobile?"
And you may tell yourself, "This is not my beautiful house"
And you may tell yourself, "This is not my beautiful wife"
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Water dissolving and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Under the water, carry the water
Remove the water from the bottom of the ocean
Water dissolving and water removing
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
You may ask yourself, "What is that beautiful house?"
You may ask yourself, "Where does that highway go to?"
And you may ask yourself, "Am I right, am I wrong?"
And you may say to yourself, "My God, what have I done?"
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, into the silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
Into the blue again, after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, look where my hand was
Time isn't holding up, time isn't after us
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was (I couldn't get no rest)
Same as it ever was, hey let's all twist our thumbs
Here comes the twister
Letting the days go by (same as it ever was, same as it ever was)
Letting the days go by (same as it ever was, same as it ever was)
Once in a lifetime, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground
