This song is about an acid trip. According to David Byrne, it was written about a girl he knew who used to take LSD in a field next to the Yoo-Hoo drink factory. it took me a while to warm up to The Talking Heads but I ended up really liking them. They always made interesting videos.
The song peaked at #54 in the Billboard 100 and #17 in the UK in 1985. The song was off of the “Little Creatures” album that peaked at #20 in the Billboard Album Charts. Byrne is listed as the sole author of Little Creatures’ nine songs, with the band credited only with arrangements.
It is a very good… catchy pop song.
From Songfacts.
The video was the first created by Jim Blashfield, who pioneered a collage-animation style with his short film, Suspicious Circumstances. That got the attention of Talking Heads, which wanted a similar motif for their “And She Was” video. The resulting clip earned MTV Video Music Award nominations for Best Group Video and Best Concept Video. Blashfield was commissioned for more videos in this style; his work can be seen in “The Boy in the Bubble” (Paul Simon), “Sowing the Seeds of Love” (Tears For Fears) and “Leave Me Alone” (Michael Jackson).
And She Was
Hey!
And she was lying in the grass
And she could hear the highway breathing
And she could see a nearby factory
She’s making sure she is not dreaming
See the lights of a neighbor’s house
Now she’s starting to rise
Take a minute to concentrate
And she opens up her eyes
The world was moving she was right there with it and she was
The world was moving she was floating above it and she was
And she was
And she was drifting through the backyard
And she was taking off her dress
And she was moving very slowly
Rising up above the earth
Moving into the universe and she’s
Drifting this way and that
Not touching the ground at all and she’s
Up above the yard
The world was moving, she was right there with it and she was
(Hey, hey)
The world was moving, she was floating above it and she was
(Hey, hey, hey)
She was proud about it, no doubt about it
She isn’t sure about what she’s done
No time to think about what to tell him
No time to think about what she’s done and she was
(Hey hey, hey hey, hey)
And she was looking at herself
And things were looking like a movie
She had a pleasant elevation
She’s moving out in all directions oh, oh oh
Hey, hey, hey
Hey-hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey-hey hey!
Hey, hey, hey
Hey-hey, hey, hey
Hey, hey, hey-hey hey!
The world was moving, she was right there with it and she was
(Hey, woo hoo)
The world was moving, she was floating above it and she was
(Hey, hey)
Joining the world of missing persons and she was
Missing enough to feel all right and she was
And she was
And she was
And she was
And she was
And she was
Hey!
And she was!
And she was
And she was!
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That’s an interesting story behind that song! I wore this song out when I was younger. I like their distinct sound, but I probably haven’t heard a great deal of their music. Psycho Killer is a blast too!
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I like the weirdness of them… they are one group who videos I couldn’t help but watch
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Yes they certainly are intriguing!
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I always liked this song; never knowing, or even wondering what it was about. The background story makes sense, but the lyrics are written in a way that the listener can decide what the story is, which I love.
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I didn’t know either…I I like the ambiguous part of it also. The Talking Heads were always interesting.
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Good tune. I never knew what any of their lyrics are about really!
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I never was able to fully commit to the Talking Heads, though I tried. It is just not my cup of tea. “And She Was” is easily one of my very favorites, tho.
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It took me a long time to warm up to them. Byrnes is always interesting regardless.
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I may have already asked if you had seen “True Stories”? Very odd but good movie, the brainchild of Byrne. I love this song and the video. I’m not *into* Talking Heads but do enjoy their music. Only have one 2-cd set of theirs.
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I don’t think I have seen it but I may have…it sure seems familiar. The guy is interesting for sure.
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I think they just did a re-release of the soundtrack of it. I did a post awhile back on it…
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It seems like I’ve seen it. I will check it out again. I started to listen to more of their stuff last night.
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I saw that film back in the day but don’t remember much of it 30+ years on. I know i liked it back then though
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I always thought they could have made a song around that closing riff. Good song, but they started to lose me on Little Creatures – feels like a vehicle for Byrne without much input from the other band members, and it gets uninteresting when the songs aren’t strong.
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The closing riff would have made a good foundation for a good pop song.
I agree with you on the vehicle for Byrne…
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They are odd but, fun.
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