With Apologies To David Byrne, Brian Eno, And Talking Heads
Posted by: fred simon on 04 June 2010
Once In A Lifetime (Same As It Ever Was)
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 oil hold me down
Letting the days go by/oil flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/oil 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 oil hold me down
Letting the days go by/oil flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/oil 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 ...
Oil dissolving ... and oil removing
There is oil at the bottom of the ocean
Carry the oil at the bottom of the ocean
Remove the oil at the bottom of the ocean!
Letting the days go by/let the oil hold me down
Letting the days go by/oil flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent oil
Under the rocks and stones/there is oil underground.
Letting the days go by/let the oil hold me down
Letting the days go by/oil flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/oil flowing underground.
And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? ... Am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
MY GOD! ... WHAT HAVE I DONE?
Letting the days go by/let the oil hold me down
Letting the days go by/oil flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent oil
Under the rocks and stones/there is oil underground.
Letting the days go by/let the oil hold me down
Letting the days go by/oil flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the money's gone
Once in a lifetime/oil 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 ...
Posted on: 04 June 2010 by Steve2701
I could see that getting to number 1, especially if the proceeds went towards helping clear the aftermath / help those suffering.
Well done Fred, it has a big ring of truth about it unfortunately.
Posted on: 04 June 2010 by fred simon
quote:
Originally posted by Steve2701:
I could see that getting to number 1, especially if the proceeds went towards helping clear the aftermath / help those suffering.
Well done Fred, it has a big ring of truth about it unfortunately.
It really does make the song uncannily prescient, doesn't it? I think it's time for Bryne to re-do the vocal.
I think the best we can hope for is that this disaster becomes one of the final nails in the coffin of fossil fuel use.
Posted on: 04 June 2010 by irwan shah
Nice on Fred. All you have to do now is get 50 cent to rap, JayZ to produce with you on keyboard! I can see the headlines now ... 'Fred Simon does hip-hop and brings credibility to the genre'!
Posted on: 05 June 2010 by Harry
We had Psycho Chicken so why not?
Posted on: 05 June 2010 by mikeeschman
Fred, at this particular juncture, these lyrics make me a tad bitter :-(
Posted on: 05 June 2010 by fred simon
quote:
Originally posted by mikeeschman:
Fred, at this particular juncture, these lyrics make me a tad bitter :-(
And well they should, Mike ... they are bitter. And they make me bitter, too.
I assume you're familiar with the original lyric? The "only" changes are the replacement of all instances of "water" with "oil." And in doing so, it occurred to me that the lyric is transformed into an ironic commentary on conspicuous consumption of oil and oil-related goods ... the archetypal American "large automobile," etc. And the realization that this gluttonous addiction is causing egregious harm to human and animal health, to livelihoods, to the environment at large ... is this humankind's "My god, what have I done?" moment? "Same as it ever was," indeed.
It's a monumental tragedy unfolding day by day, caused by human hands, and my heart goes out to everyone in the gulf who must pay the direct price. Unless humans make a global commitment to clean renewable energy, we will ultimately all pay the price.
Posted on: 05 June 2010 by mikeeschman
Fred, I get where you are coming from. At this moment, my heart is clearly broken, as I watch half of my environment implode. Repossessions, foreclosures, beatings, infidelities, fights. God only knows what will come next, it's only been six weeks.
I can't see my future, which seemed a constant only months ago.
A bit gloomy at the moment.
Later.
Posted on: 05 June 2010 by fred simon
Mike, I can't even begin to imagine what it's like for you and your neighbors ... a real nightmare.
And then to have the CEO of BP say that he wants his life back! The utter gall is sickening, no matter that he subsequently "apologized."
Posted on: 05 June 2010 by irwan shah
Is there anything that forum members can do for the community over there? It is strange to keep on posting on these boards whilst a tragedy just keeps on getting worse over there. Would Naim be willing to set up some sort of mechanism on its website where we can donate via our credit cards? The proceeds can go towards charities that are responding to the tragedy. Any community that cares this much about music must surely care about what's happening over there? Is it not time for us to do our bit?
Posted on: 05 June 2010 by u5227470736789439
Surely there are better placed, already proven, and far more expert well established organisations/charties that would serve far better than a Hifi company for making such acts of generosity through?
My favourite is Oxfam.
If Oxfam thinks that the USA is more requiring of financial help than elsewhere, then I will sit up and take notice, however sad the situation is in the Mexican Gulf just now.
ATB from George
Posted on: 08 June 2010 by mudwolf
I have heard that the oil is showing up on eastern seaboard in bits that have been taken by the Gulf stream so Europe might see some of this by years end.
On PBS Business news they discussed the stock price drop, the future costs and litigation. Then later another guy suggested this would be a buying opportunity.... bugger.
Posted on: 09 June 2010 by Jono 13
Just got the original on. Fred's reworking is just perfect.
You wouldnt even need to change the original video with David B in his role as TV preacher going off on one.
Jono
