Once in a Lifetime
| "Once in a Lifetime" | |
|---|---|
| Cover song by The Smashing Pumpkins
Original by Talking Heads | |
| Songwriter(s) | David Byrne, Brian Eno, Chris Frantz, Jerry Harrison, Tina Weymouth |
"Once in a Lifetime" is a cover song by The Smashing Pumpkins of the 1981 single by Talking Heads. It was a staple at Pumpkins shows during the Resume the Pose and The Sacred and Profane tours, with improvised lyrics during the verses and variations on the original lyrics during choruses. Performances during the U.S. dates featured spoken word portions that were replaced by repetition of "same as it ever was" over a spacey jam on the later European dates. When the song returned in 2022 on the Rock Invasion 2 tour, the song was performed with the original lyrics.
Video[edit | edit source]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
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 water hold me down
letting the days go by, water flowing underground
into the blue again, after the money's gone
once in a lifetime, water 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 water hold me down
letting the days go by, water flowing underground
into the blue again, after the money's gone
once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
same as it ever was
water dissolving, and water removing
there is water at the bottom of the ocean
carry the water at the bottom of the ocean
remove the water at the bottom of the ocean
letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
letting the days go by, water flowing underground
into the blue again, after the money's gone
once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
letting the days go by, water flowing underground
into the blue again, after the money's gone
once in a lifetime, water 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 water hold me down
letting the days go by, water flowing underground
into the blue again, after the money's gone
once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
letting the days go by, let the water hold me down
letting the days go by, water flowing underground
into the blue again, after the money's gone
once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
same as it ever was
Tour stats
- Total plays: 158 plays (157 full, 1 tease, 2 soundcheck)
- First performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2000-02-08 at Huntridge Theater, Las Vegas, NV, US (tease)
- First full performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2000-02-12 at Deep Ellum Live, Dallas, TX, US
- Last performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2023-09-09 at Ruoff Music Center, Noblesville, IN, US
- Longest performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2000-05-08 at Hard Rock Live, Orlando, FL, US [12:02]
- Shortest performance: The Smashing Pumpkins 2000-02-12 at Deep Ellum Live, Dallas, TX, US [3:35]