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Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)

Music Video | 1977
ArtistTalking Heads
SongThis Must Be The Place (Naive Melody)
AlbumThe Best Of - Once In A Lifetime
DirectorDavid Byrne
MusicDavid Byrne, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth
GenreRock
OutroNo
DistributionEMI Records Ltd.
Additional Single CreditsCopy Editors: Kirk Paskal, Kathe Duba-Noland; Project Coordinators: Renée Lehman, Ira Lippy
Business ManagerGary Kurfirst - Overland Productions
Guest Appearances (Musician+Label)Wally Badarou - Island Records
LabelTalking Heads Tours Inc.
Licensees(+Country)EMI Records Ltd.
LyricsDavid Byrne
Music ProducerTaking Heads
MusiciansDavid Byrne - Guitar, Vocals, Keyboards; Chris Frantz - Drums; Jerry Harrison - Keyboards; Tina Weymouth - Guitar, Backing Vocals<BR>Wally Badarou - Synthesizer<BR>Percussion - David Van Tieghem
NotesTina Weymouth about this song: We jammed to create this song. I played guitar (I don't really know how to playanything, so it was all the same to me, whatever instrument I played); Chris played drums (no jam really got off the ground if anyone else tried to play them); Jerry played a Prophet keyboard, including the left-hand bass line; and David kept going between guitar and another Prophet keyboard, where he went wild witth the pitch modulationwheel and campy piano glissandos. It was great and it was truly naive.
PublishingIndex Music Inc., Bleu Disque Music Co. Inc. (ASCAP), Sire Records Company / Talking Heads Tours Inc.
Recording StudioBasic Tracks: Blank Tapes, NY; Final Overdubs and Mixing: Compass Point Studios
Runtime4:56
Single Art DirectorFrank Olinsky
Single Cover DesignFrank Olinsky
Single Cover PhotosDavid Byrne
Single PhotographyAcme Photography, Hugh Brown w/ David Byrne, David Byrne, John Daltton, Jimmy Desana, Marcia Resnick, Ebet Roberts, Dilly Shelton, Wynnewood Recreation Center
Sound MixStereo
Technical Specificationscolour - format unknown

Wiki

Synopsis

The video opens with the expanded Talking Heads lineup relaxing in a living room and watching playful home-movie footage projected on the wall. As the song develops, the musicians leave the room and descend into a cramped basement, where they perform together in an intimate, informal setting. The contrast between domestic amusement and full-band performance gives the song's idea of home a warm, communal feeling, while preserving the band's eccentric visual style.

Factoids & Trivia

  • The video features the larger touring ensemble associated with the 1983-84 Talking Heads period, rather than presenting only the band's four core members.
  • Its first section uses projected home movies, creating the impression that the musicians are watching a private record of their own lives and performances.
  • The basement sequence deliberately feels small and unpolished. That setting works against the scale of the band's stage show and reinforces the song's themes of intimacy and belonging.
  • The clip belongs to the same creative period as the concert film *Stop Making Sense*, but it is a separate production. The familiar performance in which David Byrne dances with a floor lamp comes from the concert film, not this music video.
  • "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" appeared on the 1983 album *Speaking in Tongues*, where it served as the closing track.
  • The video was later included on *Storytelling Giant*, the 1988 compilation of Talking Heads music videos.
  • The song became one of the band's most enduringly sentimental recordings, and the video's emphasis on domestic togetherness helped establish that side of its legacy.

Lyrics

Home is where I want to be
Pick me up and turn me round
I feel numb - burn with a weak heart
(So I) guess I must be having fun
The less we say about it the better
Make it up as we go along
Feet on the ground
Head in the sky
It's ok I know nothing's wrong . . nothing

Hi yo I got plenty of time
Hi yo you got light in your eyes
And you're standing here beside me
I love the passing of time
...
© Talking Heads - This Must Be The Place (Naive Melody). This is an excerpt, provided as citation under fair-use.
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