THE NAME OF THIS POEM

The highest compliment you can pay a band
is to say that they do not sound
like any other band
before, during or since

Talking Heads in 1977
and 2007
do not sound
like anybody else
not even Talking Heads

Remain In Light is different from
77 or Little Creatures
and they are different from
Naked and Fear Of Music

Thank you for
being yourselves
It helps us
be ourselves as well

And being us
would not be as much fun
had you not been yourselves
when we needed it most

You are not Punk
You are not New Wave
You are not Rock
You are not dead
You are not broken up

You are new
and you are old
and you are here
and you are there
and you are everywhere
Eternal, Loud and Young

Like a Spring baptism
you brought me joy
You changed my life
You changed the Earth

I do not dance
I hate to dance
I never dance
But you made me almost try it
You came so close
to making me dance
That I almost let go
and learned to dance
But I did not
and that's okay
Cause dancing's not for everyone
And not dancing
is who I am

How do I count the ways
I might as well catch the stars
And put them in my pocket
along my merry way

I cannot fathom
the eternal reach
Of that which took you
And made you whole
Four people
one rock band
Inside forever
Chasing limits
There is no way
to comprehend

The Great Curve
The Overload
Facts Of Life
I Zimbra
Paper
Air

Thank you god
for making Talking Heads
out of four humans
and noise and air
Creative masters
live eternal
Outside the bounds
of human form

David
Chris
Tina
Jerry
and my name too
and everyone's

Thank you Talking Heads
for making sound a river
And flooding every town
and leaving us reborn

You might ask yourself
How did I get here,
how did I read this far?

Bucks Burnett
September 15, 2007
at the end of 29 years