What is once in a lifetime about

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 Same as it ever was Same as it ever was Same as it ever was Same as it ever was Same as it ever was Same as it ever was Same as it ever was Water dissolving and water removing There is water at the bottom of the ocean Under the water, carry the water Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!

Water dissolving and water removing Letting the days go by, let the water hold me down Letting the days go by, water flowing underground Into the blue again into silent water 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 You may ask yourself What is that beautiful house?

You may ask yourself Where does that highway go to? And you may ask yourself Am I right? Am I wrong? And you may say yourself "My God!

What have I done? Lyrics powered by LyricFind. Once In A Lifetime song meanings. Add Your Thoughts Comments. Song Meaning This song is about how most people spend the vast majority of their lives unconscious to what happens. Most people let things happen to them, instead of being a causing and driving force in their life. The "you may find yourself" bits are brief moments of lucidity in an otherwise numb life, where you look around at your life and question how you ended up here.

You find yourself somewhere and you don't know how it happened, because you've been unconscious to the entirety of your life up until that brief moment of clarity. Rion on May 24, Link. There was an error. Nicely articulated. Metaphysician on March 13, Rion I think your interpretation of this song is excellent and is kinda similar to how I see it. I think it means we kind of go with the flow of life and accept what it gives us and while living we have some really special moments that we don't fully appreciate at the time then when you look back at those moments you think where did my life go Allycuk on July 22, Rion yes, but the imagery of water, there stones I agree with yuor your general comments, and I think these water images speak to our Unconscious.

Rion - Yeah, I was unconscious when I got married and when I bought my house. I don't dispute your interpretation, because this is "art" and therefore means absolutely nothing, but it's a load of shit.

It's just a smug artist telling everyone how acutely wonderful and "awake" and powerful he is, and everyone else is a poor, useless, unthinking zombie. And I say fuck that.

When I look back, time seems to have raced by, and I don't recall many things very deeply. But I do recall knowing that time is precious and that I should be aware and not be a zombie as I go through life. I also recall that no douchebag artist knows a thing about me. Rion Yes, this is my interpretation as well. I would add that if you watch the music video when he sings these parts: "Same as it ever was Same as it ever was Look where my hand was Time isn't holding up Time isn't after us Same as it ever was Same as it ever was" You can see the panic and exasperation in his face.

My interpretation is that in those lucid moments he realizes over and over again at certain points in his life how finite life is, how fragile it is, how directionless and meaningless it all is in the end. Same as it ever was. Time isn't holding up, but it isn't after you either.

It moves on, generations past you. We are all doing the same thing, letting the days go by and forgetting what life should really be about. And that's an overbearing thought to have. A repeating existential crisis for someone who has more than a couple of brain cells to rub together and think about.

That having been said, this song was written when he was a lot younger and a lot less up his own ass. I'll extend him a little benefit of the doubt on his earnestness and sincerity for this one. On the other side of the coin, "Like Humans Do" from his solo album "Look Into the Eyeball" does pretty much exactly what you're accusing him of in this song, so you've definitely got a pretty good read on him.

Dodge Silver on March 05, General Comment The first time I really listened closely to this song I was on acid, and kept asking my RA about existance, and whether or not people actually exist.

He showed me the video for this song he owned the DVD to help explain some things. I will say right now, that I have a completly different view than the rest of you, due to that experience. The way I interpret this song, is when you are not questioning, you are "letting the days go by.

Life is about discovering who you are, and discoveries are made by inquiry. The water part of the song is the key to everything in it. Water is pure, it is the most essential part of life for all creatures. However, water is what is keeping us from discovery, it is the barrier between us and god, us and nirvana, us and serenity.

And we end up with a house and family and job and we never stop and ask how did we get here. And the song backs this up. Notice how the song is spoken in a reflexive sort of way, as if the speaker is relating something that happened to him. He must not have had a meltdown, because the choruses of "Once in a Lifetime" are ecstatic with their call-and-response pattern:.

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. In fact, Byrne's delivery method suggests the roots of this call-and-response pattern: African and African American culture.

The celebration evokes the Black spirituals and gospel music of post-Civil War America. This doesn't sound like a nervous breakdown; it sounds like emancipation. The song seems to reflect not what producer Brian Eno calls "a kind of urban pessimism," but an awe at the standard of living that was available to certain people during the s. As Brian Eno says of the song and Remain in Light as a whole, "that record is terribly optimistic, looking out to the world and saying 'what a fantastic place we live in, lets celebrate it.

Parents Home Homeschool College Resources. Study Guide. Previous Next. Meaning New Rock By the early s, rock music had split into two separate realms: the Led Zeppelin-inspired classic rockers with long hair, tight pants, and mad guitar skills; and the three-chord punk rockers like the Ramones.

He must not have had a meltdown, because the choruses of "Once in a Lifetime" are ecstatic with their call-and-response pattern: 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 In fact, Byrne's delivery method suggests the roots of this call-and-response pattern: African and African American culture.

There is intense imagery that, combined with the bubbly synthesizer, makes the song hard not to listen to in its ability to capture and hold your imagination. It is certainly a relaxing and mindful technique to think about the constant flow of time, the sheer size of the world and all that is going on. You can choose to carry on with things or you can let the song shape your actions with a mind to the future.

The lyrics themselves are inspired by preachers and the apparent religiosity of the song is clear in its questioning of life and time. The technique of spoken and sung lyrics combined with the constant repetition of the keyboard and bass emphasises the existentiality of the song and the repetitive flow of life that we can become trapped in. The takeaway message for me is about not letting life go to waste. Tools to create your own word lists and quizzes. Word lists shared by our community of dictionary fans.

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