Phish.net

Though they handled it fine, the only mildly weak spot in Phish's fantastic 10/31/96 Remain in Light set is their performance of this song. It's a good performance, but frankly the song isn't as attuned to their powers as the rest of the album's tracks. Yes, 'Once in a Lifetime' is a 'classic' song, an anthem (if you will) of the post-punk generation or some damn thing. Yes, everybody remembers the video with David Byrne doing dances that to this day can only be characterized as... Byrne-ish. Yes, people who don't know anything about Talking Heads often know this song by heart.

It is, however, probably the most conventional song on the disc, and, despite its genius, lies somewhere slightly outside of the electronic earth-scape inhabited by the rest of the album. With this in mind, Phish's version naturally didn't quite gel like the rest of the songs. More accurately, it's about as good a performance Phish could pull off of a song that no one could really 'do' anything more with anyway. And since they stick relatively closely to the original version, fans definitely look to the rest of the performance for Phish's shining moments. 

Amusingly, this song is a classic radio and concert sing-along, despite having little or no distinguishable tune or melody. David Byrne's singing on the album track is like the anxious ramblings of a man destroyed by (or at least seriously disillusioned with) the society he seeks to understand. Interestingly, Byrne has commented that he often wouldn't need to sing the lyrics to this one at Talking Heads shows because the crowd would be singing along so loudly. All in all, though Phish's one-time version of this track was strong, one need only look to the tune's chorus for the most concise evaluation one could ask for

(Byrne/Eno/Frantz/Harrison/Weymouth)
© Universal MGB Limited, Universal Music Careers, Bleu Disque Music Co Inc

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful wife
And 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

And you may ask yourself, "How do I work this?"
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 from 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 the 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 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, into the 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

Same as it ever was, 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
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was
Same as it ever was, same as it ever was (I couldn't get no rest)
Same as it ever was, hey let's all twist our thumbs
Here comes the twister

Letting the days go by (same as it ever was, same as it ever was)
Letting the days go by (same as it ever was, same as it ever was)
Once in a lifetime, let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by, water flowing underground