Released: March 15, 1988
Songwriter: Tina Weymouth Chris Frantz Jerry Harrison David Byrne
Producer: Talking Heads Steve Lillywhite
[Verse 1]
Here we stand
Like an Adam and Eve
Waterfalls
Garden of Eden
Two fools in love
So beautiful and strong
Birds in the trees
Are smiling upon them
From the age of the dinosaurs, cars have run on gasoline
Where? Where have they gone?
Now, it's nothing but flowers
[Chorus 1]
There was a factory
Now there are mountains and rivers
You've got it, you've got it
We caught a rattlesnake
Now we've got something for dinner
You've got it, you've got it
There was a shopping mall
Now it's all covered with flowers
You've got it, you've got it
If this is paradise
I wish I had a lawn mower
You've got it, you've got it
[Verse 2]
Years ago
I was an angry young man
I'd pretend
That I was a billboard
Standing tall
By the side of the road
I fell in love
With the beautiful highway
This used to be real estate, now it's only fields and trees
Where? Where is the town?
Now, it's nothing but flowers
[Bridge 1]
The highways and cars
Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we'd start over
But, I guess I was wrong
[Chorus 2]
Once there were parking lots
Now it's a peaceful oasis
You've got it, you've got it
This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daises
You've got it, you've got it
I miss the honky tonks
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
You've got it, you've got it
And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention
You've got it, you've got it
[Instrumental Bridge]
[Chorus 3]
I dream of cherry pies
Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies
You've got it, you've got it
We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries
You've got it, you've got it
This was a discount store
Now it's turned into a cornfield
You've got it, you've got it
Don't leave me stranded here
I can't get used to this lifestyle
Here we stand
Like an Adam and Eve
Waterfalls
Garden of Eden
Two fools in love
So beautiful and strong
Birds in the trees
Are smiling upon them
From the age of the dinosaurs, cars have run on gasoline
Where? Where have they gone?
Now, it's nothing but flowers
[Chorus 1]
There was a factory
Now there are mountains and rivers
You've got it, you've got it
We caught a rattlesnake
Now we've got something for dinner
You've got it, you've got it
There was a shopping mall
Now it's all covered with flowers
You've got it, you've got it
If this is paradise
I wish I had a lawn mower
You've got it, you've got it
[Verse 2]
Years ago
I was an angry young man
I'd pretend
That I was a billboard
Standing tall
By the side of the road
I fell in love
With the beautiful highway
This used to be real estate, now it's only fields and trees
Where? Where is the town?
Now, it's nothing but flowers
[Bridge 1]
The highways and cars
Were sacrificed for agriculture
I thought that we'd start over
But, I guess I was wrong
[Chorus 2]
Once there were parking lots
Now it's a peaceful oasis
You've got it, you've got it
This was a Pizza Hut
Now it's all covered with daises
You've got it, you've got it
I miss the honky tonks
Dairy Queens, and 7-Elevens
You've got it, you've got it
And as things fell apart
Nobody paid much attention
You've got it, you've got it
[Instrumental Bridge]
[Chorus 3]
I dream of cherry pies
Candy bars, and chocolate chip cookies
You've got it, you've got it
We used to microwave
Now we just eat nuts and berries
You've got it, you've got it
This was a discount store
Now it's turned into a cornfield
You've got it, you've got it
Don't leave me stranded here
I can't get used to this lifestyle
more tracks from the album
Once in a Lifetime
- Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town (Alternate Version)
- Love for Sale
- The Big Country
- Stay Hungry
- I’m Not in Love
- Artists Only
- Found a Job
- Warning Sign
- Thank You for Sending Me an Angel
- The Democratic Circus
- Mr. Jones
- Blind
- People Like Us
- City of Dreams
- Love → Building on Fire
- Burning Down the House
- New Feeling (Alternate Version)
- Lifetime Piling Up
- A Clean Break (Let’s Work)
- Sax and Violins
- I Wish You Wouldn’t Say That
- In Asking Land
- Sugar on My Tongue
- Drugs (Alternate Version)
- Cities (Alternate Version)
- Puzzlin’ Evidence
- Wild Wild Life
- The Lady Don’t Mind
- Creatures of Love
- This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)
- Swamp
- Slippery People
- Girlfriend Is Better
- Making Flippy Floppy
- Pulled Up
- Psycho Killer
- Don’t Worry About the Government
- The Book I Read
- No Compassion
- Tentative Decisions
- Heaven
- Life During Wartime
- Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)
- Houses in Motion
- Memories Can’t Wait
- I Zimbra
- Road to Nowhere
- (Nothing But) Flowers
- Crosseyed and Painless
- Take Me to the River
- Air
- Listening Wind
- Stay Up Late
- And She Was
- Once in a Lifetime
From the albums
- Naked (1988)
- Once in a Lifetime: The Best of Talking Heads (1992)
- Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites (1992)
- Once in a Lifetime (2003)
- The Best of Talking Heads (2004)
- Music From the Motion Picture Clerks II (2006)
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