Released: March 15, 1988
Songwriter: Tina Weymouth Chris Frantz Jerry Harrison David Byrne
Producer: Talking Heads Steve Lillywhite
Day by day
Whistle while you work
Our backs are breaking
Up from hollow earth
From end to end
The noise begins
In the human battle stations
And the big one's coming in
Work, work, work, work
Work 'til holes are filled
Work, work, work, work
Bags of bone and skin
Lovers hold hands
Tossing their heads
Tangled in hair
Tied to earth
With skin and glue
But their skin is the same as yours
Coming in for the world to see
They can sit at the table, too
The same blood as you and me
Speak very softly
Hold my hand
Someone is sleeping
In my bed
Priests pass by
Worms crawl in
One dreams to be
One dream for all
His skin is the same as yours
Is he not made the same as you?
And some have fallen down
And blood spilled on the ground
Work, work, work
'Til his life is done
The old man
Is at our door
And he's knocking
Knocking
As his neighbors weep
Each day repeats
Are we nothing in your eyes?
Someone answer, someone answer
This rusted garden gate
Can barely even stand
Their work is over now
And rest will be at hand
Is their skin not the same as yours?
Can they sit at the table to drink cool water?
Cool water
And his lungs are filled with rain
And the water's rushing in
Whistle while you work
Our backs are breaking
Up from hollow earth
From end to end
The noise begins
In the human battle stations
And the big one's coming in
Work, work, work, work
Work 'til holes are filled
Work, work, work, work
Bags of bone and skin
Lovers hold hands
Tossing their heads
Tangled in hair
Tied to earth
With skin and glue
But their skin is the same as yours
Coming in for the world to see
They can sit at the table, too
The same blood as you and me
Speak very softly
Hold my hand
Someone is sleeping
In my bed
Priests pass by
Worms crawl in
One dreams to be
One dream for all
His skin is the same as yours
Is he not made the same as you?
And some have fallen down
And blood spilled on the ground
Work, work, work
'Til his life is done
The old man
Is at our door
And he's knocking
Knocking
As his neighbors weep
Each day repeats
Are we nothing in your eyes?
Someone answer, someone answer
This rusted garden gate
Can barely even stand
Their work is over now
And rest will be at hand
Is their skin not the same as yours?
Can they sit at the table to drink cool water?
Cool water
And his lungs are filled with rain
And the water's rushing in
more tracks from the album
From the album
- Naked (1988)
Talking Heads popular songs
- Once in a Lifetime
- Psycho Killer
- This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
- Burning Down the House
- Life During Wartime
- Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
- Road to Nowhere
- Crosseyed and Painless
- The Great Curve
- Girlfriend Is Better
- Slippery People
- (Nothing But) Flowers
- Heaven
- Take Me to the River
- And She Was
- Listening Wind
- Don’t Worry About the Government
- Seen and Not Seen
- Making Flippy Floppy
- Houses in Motion
- I Zimbra
- The Overload
- Cities
- Wild Wild Life