Life During Wartime (song)

For the song by Pinhead Gunpowder, see Goodbye Ellston Avenue.
"Life During Wartime"
UK vinyl single
Single by Talking Heads
from the album Fear of Music and The Name of This Band Is Talking Heads
B-side"Electric Guitar" (1979)
Released
  • September 1979
  • 1982 (live)
Genre
Length
  • 3:41
  • 5:52 (live)
LabelSire
Songwriter(s)
Producer(s)
Talking Heads singles chronology
"Take Me to the River"
(1978) 		"Life During Wartime"
(1979) 		"I Zimbra"
(1980)
"Houses in Motion (alternate mix)"
(1981)
"Life During Wartime (Live)"
(1982)
"Burning Down the House"
(1983)
Alternative release
US vinyl single
Official audio
"Life During Wartime" (2005 Remaster) on YouTube

"Life During Wartime" is a song by the American new wave band Talking Heads, released as the first single from their 1979 album Fear of Music.[2] It entered the US Billboard Pop Singles Chart on November 3, 1979, and peaked at number 80, spending a total of five weeks on the chart.[3]

The song is also performed in the 1984 film Stop Making Sense, which depicts a Talking Heads concert. The performance featured in the film prominently features aerobic exercising and jogging by David Byrne and background singers. The Stop Making Sense live version of the track is featured in the film's accompanying soundtrack album. Its official title as a single, "Life During Wartime (This Ain't No Party... This Ain't No Disco... This Ain't No Foolin' Around)", makes it one of the longest-titled singles.[4]

The song is included in The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll.[5]

  1. ^ Janovitz, Bill. "Cities by Talking Heads - Track Info - AllMusic". allmusic. Retrieved 3 January 2023.
  2. ^ Bershaw, Alan Exclusive: Listen to a Talking Heads Concert from 1979 Paste Magazine. December 14, 2015
  3. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1997). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research Inc. p. 603. ISBN 0-89820-122-5.
  4. ^ Whitburn, Joel (1997). Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles. Menomonee Falls, WI: Record Research Inc. p. 869. ISBN 0-89820-122-5.
  5. ^ Experience The Music: One Hit Wonders and The Songs That Shaped Rock and Roll Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum. December 15, 2015