music.wikisort.org - Composition

"Cities" is a single, released in 1980, by the American new wave band Talking Heads. It is the fourth track on the 1979 album Fear of Music.

"Cities"
Artwork for UK single
Single by Talking Heads
from the album Fear of Music
B-side	"Cities (Live version)" "Artists Only"
Released	1980
Genre	New wave, post-punk, funk
Length	4:10
Label	Sire
Songwriter(s)	David Byrne
Producer(s)	Brian Eno, Talking Heads
Talking Heads singles chronology
"I Zimbra" (1980) "Cities" (1980) "Crosseyed and Painless" (1980)
Official audio
"Cities" (2005 Remaster) on YouTube

Song style

"Cities" is a fast-paced bass and keyboard-led song. Tina Weymouth's bass playing in the song is described by AllMusic as both "melodic" and "funky", while David Byrne's guitar is said to be jittery, but clean-sounding. The song fades both in and out with a very aggressive funky rhythm and the fade-out serves as a build-up to the next song on the album, "Life During Wartime".[1]

Lyrics

The song's meaning is simple: it is mainly about a man looking for a city to live in, though lead singer Byrne's surrealistic yet humorous delivery of the song is anything but simple. The lyrics are both deadpan and silly causing a mixed humor in the song. This combination can be seen in lyrics such as "Did I forget to mention, forget to mention Memphis, home of Elvis and the ancient Greeks."[2]

Personnel

Sources:[3][4]

• David Byrne – lead vocals, guitar
• Jerry Harrison – guitar, backing vocals, keyboards
• Tina Weymouth – bass guitar, backing vocals
• Chris Frantz – drums
• Brian Eno – electronic treatments

Other versions

The rock band Phish covered "Cities" on their 1997 album Slip, Stitch and Pass and it has been played frequently at their concerts.[5][6]

Track listing

7" release

1. "Cities" – 4:10
2. "Cities" – (live version)[7]

12" release

1. "Cities" – 4:10
2. "Cities" – (live version)
3. "Artists Only" – 3:36[8]

References

---