Once in a lifetime
You may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
You may find yourself in another part of the world
You may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
You may find yourself in a beautiful house with a beautiful wife
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
You may ask yourself, how do I work this?
You may ask yourself, where is that large automobile?
You may tell yourself, this is not my beautiful house
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
Remove the water, carry the water
Remove the water from 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
Into the blue again, into silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
Letting the days go by, into silent water
Once in a lifetime, water flowing underground
You may ask yourself, what is that beautiful house?
You may ask yourself, where does that highway lead to?
You may ask yourself, am I right, am I wrong?
You may say to 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
Into the blue again, into silent water
Under the rocks and stones, there is water underground
Letting the days go by, into silent water
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
Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us
Time isn’t holding us, time doesn’t hold you back
Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us
Time isn’t holding us…
Letting the days go by, letting the days go by, letting the days go by, once in a lifetime
Letting the days go by, letting the days go by, letting the days go by, once in a lifetime
“Once in a lifetime”
Talking Heads
The first verse describes a possible situation you may find yourself in. The third verse is about the realization this is not what you had envisioned for yourself. The ninth verse is about making choices or the choices you made.
Letting the days go by, after the money’s gone, same as it ever was – all resemble time holding us. Water is used as a metaphor for time: into the blue again, into silent water, let the water hold me down all resemble time holding us. Note the water is holding us (down); it is restricting us – it is not used as a reference to floating or rescue; rather the opposite.
‘Once in a lifetime’ is when you are choosing not to move with the flow of time, when you are not letting the days go by; moments like where does that highway lead to, am I right, am I wrong, what have I done, etc.
Water dissolving, water removing, water under the rocks and stones / underground is about aging (water/time dissolving), death (water/time removing) and life (water/time under the rocks and stones) – time is permeating everything around us. Remove / carry the water from the bottom of the ocean is about forgetting (removing water/time) and remembering (carry water/time).
This is the most powerful verse in the lyrics and self-explanatory:
Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us
Time isn’t holding us, time doesn’t hold you back
Time isn’t holding us, time isn’t after us
Time isn’t holding us…
Substitute ‘time’ with ‘water’ if you will – time is like water and we are not bound by it.
Even though our lives are lived through time, time itself is not moving us – as there is so much time in a lifetime we often feel we are just letting the days go by and flow as if subjected to time. But it doesn’t have to be that way – you can choose to actively live in the moment and make decisions and take actions; time is not holding you (back).