# List of songs recorded by Talking Heads

Talking Heads were an American new wave band who, between 1975 and 1991, recorded 96 songs, 12 of which were not officially released until after their break-up. The group has been described as "one of the most acclaimed bands of the post-punk era" by AllMusic and among the most "adventurous" bands in rock history by the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
After leaving art school, Talking Heads released their debut single, "Love → Building on Fire", in early 1977, followed by their debut album, Talking Heads: 77, later that year. The album contained "stripped down rock & roll" songs and was notable for its "odd guitar-tunings and rhythmic, single note patterns" and its "non-rhyming, non-linear lyrics". While initially not a big hit, the album was aided by the single "Psycho Killer". The band's follow-up, More Songs About Buildings and Food (1978), began the band's string of collaborations with producer Brian Eno. Its songs are characterized as more polished than its predecessor, emphasizing experimentation and the rhythm section, as well as the genres of art pop and funk. The experimentation continued on Fear of Music (1979), in which the band began utilizing African-styled polyrhythms, most notably on the album's opening track "I Zimbra". The style and sound of Fear of Music was expanded upon on their final Eno collaboration, Remain in Light (1980). Often classified as their magnum opus and one of the best albums of the 1980s, the album integrated several new musicians, including a horn section, which helped the band further experiment on their African-style rhythms and their use of funk, pop, and electronics. After Remain in Light, the band went on a three-year hiatus and worked on solo projects. During their hiatus, the live album The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads (1982), was released; it features live recordings of songs from their four albums to date, as well as the previously unreleased song "A Clean Break (Let's Work)".
In 1983, the band parted ways with Eno and released their fifth album, Speaking in Tongues (1983). The album continued the rhythmic innovation of Remain in Light, but in a more stripped-down, rigid pop song structure. The album also contained the band's first and only top ten hit, "Burning Down the House". The band's sixth album, Little Creatures (1985), marked a major musical departure from their previous albums – its songs being straightforward pop songs mostly written by Byrne alone. After Little Creatures, the band released True Stories (1986), an album containing songs from Byrne's film True Stories. Notable songs from the album include one of the group's biggest hits, "Wild Wild Life", and "Radio Head", a song from which the English rock band Radiohead took their name. Two years later, Talking Heads released their final album, Naked. The album marked a return to the experimentation and styles of their Eno albums, most notably Remain in Light. After Naked, the band went on a hiatus; formally announcing their breakup three years later in 1991. Their final release was the song "Sax and Violins", released on the soundtrack of Until the End of the World that same year.
Since their breakup, 12 previously unreleased songs have been officially released. The compilation album Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites (1992) included five and the box set Once in a Lifetime (2003) included one, "In Asking Land", an outtake from the Naked sessions. The 2005 reissue of Talking Heads: 77 included the previously unreleased "I Feel It in My Heart", and the 2006 reissues of Fear of Music and Remain in Light included unfinished outtakes from those albums' sessions.

## Songs

Key :
| † | Indicates single release |
| ‡ | Indicates song solely written by David Byrne |
Name of song, writer(s), original release, and year of release :
| Song | Writer(s) | Original release | Year |
| "Air" | David Byrne ‡ | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "And She Was" † | David Byrne ‡ | Little Creatures | 1985 |
| "Animals" | David Byrne ‡ | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "Artists Only" | David Byrne Wayne Zieve | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |
| "The Big Country" | David Byrne ‡ | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |
| "Big Daddy" | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "Bill" | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "Blind" † | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "The Book I Read" | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "Born Under Punches (The Heat Goes On)" | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light | 1980 |
| "Burning Down the House" † | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues | 1983 |
| "Cities" † | David Byrne ‡ | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "City of Dreams" | David Byrne ‡ | True Stories | 1986 |
| "A Clean Break (Let's Work)" (live) | David Byrne ‡ | The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads | 1982 |
| "Cool Water" | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "Creatures of Love" | David Byrne ‡ | Little Creatures | 1985 |
| "Crosseyed and Painless" † | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light | 1980 |
| "Dancing for Money" | David Byrne ‡ | Fear of Music (CD reissue) | 2006 |
| "The Democratic Circus" | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "Don't Worry About the Government" | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "Double Groove" | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light (CD reissue) | 2006 |
| "Dream Operator" | David Byrne ‡ | True Stories | 1986 |
| "Drugs" | David Byrne Brian Eno | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "Electric Guitar" | David Byrne ‡ | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "The Facts of Life" | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "Fela's Riff" | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light (CD reissue) | 2006 |
| "First Week/Last Week... Carefree" | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "Found a Job" | David Byrne ‡ | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |
| "Gangster of Love" | Talking Heads | Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites | 1992 |
| "Girlfriend Is Better" † | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues | 1983 |
| "The Girls Want to Be with the Girls" | David Byrne ‡ | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |
| "Give Me Back My Name" | Talking Heads | Little Creatures | 1985 |
| "The Good Thing" | David Byrne ‡ | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |
| "The Great Curve" | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light | 1980 |
| "Happy Day" | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "Heaven" | David Byrne Jerry Harrison | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "Hey Now" | David Byrne ‡ | True Stories | 1986 |
| "Houses in Motion" † | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light | 1980 |
| "I Feel It in My Heart" | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 (reissue) | 2005 |
| "I Get Wild/Wild Gravity" | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues | 1983 |
| "I Want to Live" (demo) | David Byrne ‡ | Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites | 1992 |
| "I Wish You Wouldn't Say That" † | David Byrne ‡ | Non-album single B-side to "Psycho Killer" | 1977 |
| "I Zimbra" † | David Byrne Brian Eno Hugo Ball | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "I'm Not in Love" | David Byrne ‡ | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |
| "In Asking Land" | Talking Heads | Once in a Lifetime (box set) | 2003 |
| "The Lady Don't Mind" | Talking Heads | Little Creatures | 1985 |
| "Life During Wartime" † | Talking Heads | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "Lifetime Piling Up" | Talking Heads | Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites | 1992 |
| "Listening Wind" | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light | 1980 |
| "Love for Sale" | David Byrne ‡ | True Stories | 1986 |
| "Love → Building on Fire" † | David Byrne ‡ | Non-album single | 1977 |
| "Making Flippy Floppy" | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues | 1983 |
| "Memories Can't Wait" | David Byrne Jerry Harrison | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "Mind" | David Byrne ‡ | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "Mommy Daddy You and I" | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "Moon Rocks" | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues | 1983 |
| "Mr. Jones" | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "New Feeling" † | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "No Compassion" | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "(Nothing But) Flowers" † | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "Once in a Lifetime" † | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light | 1980 |
| "The Overload" | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light | 1980 |
| "Papa Legba" | David Byrne ‡ | True Stories | 1986 |
| "Paper" | David Byrne ‡ | Fear of Music | 1979 |
| "People Like Us" | David Byrne ‡ | True Stories | 1986 |
| "Perfect World" | David Byrne Chris Frantz | Little Creatures | 1985 |
| "Popsicle" | Talking Heads | Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites | 1992 |
| "Psycho Killer" † | David Byrne Chris Frantz Tina Weymouth | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "Pull Up the Roots" | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues | 1983 |
| "Pulled Up" † | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "Puzzlin' Evidence" | David Byrne ‡ | True Stories | 1986 |
| "Radio Head" | David Byrne ‡ | True Stories | 1986 |
| "Right Start" | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light (CD reissue) | 2006 |
| "Road to Nowhere" † | David Byrne ‡ | Little Creatures | 1985 |
| "Ruby Dear" | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "Sax and Violins" † | Talking Heads | Until the End of the World: Music from the Motion Picture Soundtrack | 1991 |
| "Seen and Not Seen" | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light | 1980 |
| "Slippery People" | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues | 1983 |
| "Stay Hungry" | David Byrne Chris Frantz | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |
| "Stay Up Late" | David Byrne ‡ | Little Creatures | 1985 |
| "Sugar on My Tongue" (demo) | David Byrne ‡ | Sand in the Vaseline: Popular Favorites | 1992 |
| "Swamp" | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues | 1983 |
| "Take Me to the River" † (Al Green cover) | Al Green Mabon "Teenie" Hodges | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |
| "Television Man" | David Byrne ‡ | Little Creatures | 1985 |
| "Tentative Decisions" | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "Thank You for Sending Me an Angel" | David Byrne ‡ | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |
| "This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)" † | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues | 1983 |
| "Totally Nude" | Talking Heads | Naked | 1988 |
| "Two Note Swivel" | Talking Heads | Speaking in Tongues (CD reissue) | 2006 |
| "Uh-Oh, Love Comes to Town" † | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "Unison" | Talking Heads Brian Eno | Remain in Light (CD reissue) | 2006 |
| "Walk It Down" | David Byrne ‡ | Little Creatures | 1985 |
| "Warning Sign" | David Byrne Chris Frantz | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |
| "What a Day That Was" (live) | David Byrne ‡ | Stop Making Sense | 1984 |
| "Who Is It?" | David Byrne ‡ | Talking Heads: 77 | 1977 |
| "Wild Wild Life" † | David Byrne ‡ | True Stories | 1986 |
| "With Our Love" | David Byrne ‡ | More Songs About Buildings and Food | 1978 |