Some time ago I listened to an interview with David Byrne discussing his music and lyrics. I heard him say that lyrics don’t matter really or something akin to that, that I have repeated, I guess since 2010, just grabbed the quote.
Here is the quote from a CNN interview .
(CNN) — David Byrne is fascinated by sounds, not words.
The former Talking Heads front man, who has spent decades writing and performing eclectic-sounding music, takes a realistic approach to song lyrics.
“People ignore them half the time,” he said.
It’s the unique sounds he hopes listeners will remember.
“In a certain way, it’s the sound of the words, the inflection and the way the song is sung and the way it fits the melody and the way the syllables are on the tongue that has as much of the meaning as the actual, literal words,” he said.
End.
“Were not alone”, the second to last line, in the video you can see St Vincent mouth “Were” but stifle as David repeats “I’ll harmonize”.
I wake up every morning
I hear your feet on the stairs
Your’e in the next apartment
I hear you singing over there
These beats are out of fashion
This groove is 20 years old
I saw you lend a hand to
The ones out standing in the cold
Strange Overtones in the music you are playing
Ill harmonize
It is strong and you are tough
But a heart is not enough
Put on your socks and mittens
Its getting colder tonight
A snowball in my kitchen
I watched it melt before my eyes
Your song still needs a chorus
I know you’ll figure it out
The rising of the verses
A change of key will let you out
Strange overtones though they’re slightly out of fashion
Ill harmonize
I see the music in your face
That your words cannot explain
Strange Overtones in the music you are playing
Were not alone
It is strong and you are tough
But a heart is not enough
The Exeter Town Crier 