"Don't Let's Start" is a song by the

alternative rock Alternative rock (also known as alternative music, alt-rock or simply alternative) is a category of rock music that evolved from the independent music underground of the 1970s. Alternative rock acts achieved mainstream success in the 1990s w ...

band

They Might Be Giants They Might Be Giants, often abbreviated as TMBG, is an American alternative rock and Children's music, children's band formed in 1982 by John Flansburgh and John Linnell. During TMBG's early years, Flansburgh and Linnell frequently performed as ...

, from their 1986 eponymous debut album. It was the first single released from the album, released as a

maxi-single A maxi single, maxi-single, or maxi CD (sometimes abbreviated to MCD or CDM) is a music single release with more than the usual two tracks of an A-side song and a B-side song. Maxi singles are often mistaken for extended plays (EPs), especial ...

. The single peaked at number 94 on the Australian

ARIA In music, an aria (, ; : , ; ''arias'' in common usage; diminutive form: arietta, ; : ariette; in English simply air (music), air) is a self-contained piece for one voice, with or without instrument (music), instrumental or orchestral accompan ...

singles chart in 1988. It was re-released by Elektra in 1990 after the success of the band's third album, ''

Flood A flood is an overflow of water (list of non-water floods, or rarely other fluids) that submerges land that is usually dry. In the sense of "flowing water", the word may also be applied to the inflow of the tide. Floods are of significant con ...

''.

Lyrical content

The lyrics of "Don't Let's Start" include a number of dark, pointed statements, such as "everybody dies frustrated and sad, and that is beautiful."

John Linnell John Sidney Linnell ( ; born June 12, 1959) is an American musician and multi-instrumentalist, and is one half of the Brooklyn-based alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, with John Flansburgh, which was formed in 1982. In addition to sing ...

has repeatedly insisted that some of the song's lyrical twists, though pondered extensively by fans, were constructed to complement the melody and were not necessarily meaningful. Asked about the origin of the song's obscure lyrics, Linnell replied "where did it come from? I made it up."

Music video

music video A music video is a video that integrates a song or an album with imagery that is produced for promotion (marketing), promotional or musical artistic purposes. Modern music videos are primarily made and used as a music marketing device intended to ...

was produced for the song, and it found some success at that time on

MTV MTV (an initialism of Music Television) is an American cable television television channel, channel and the flagship property of the MTV Entertainment Group sub-division of the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Launched on ...

. It was included on MTV's 1999 list of the "100 Greatest Music Videos Ever Made" at #89. The video was directed by

Adam Bernstein Adam Bernstein (born May 7, 1960) is an American film director, music video director and television director. For his work on the television show '' Fargo'' in 2014, he received a nomination for the Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Directin ...

and was filmed inside the

New York State Pavilion The New York State Pavilion is a pavilion at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, New York. Constructed for the 1964 New York World's Fair, it was designed by the architects Philip Johnson and Richard Foster, with Lev Zet ...

Flushing Meadows Park Flushing may refer to: Places Netherlands * Flushing, Netherlands, an English name for the city of Vlissingen, Netherlands United Kingdom * Flushing, Cornwall, a village in Cornwall, England * The Flushing, a building in Suffolk, Englan ...

, the site of the

1964 New York World's Fair The 1964 New York World's Fair (also known as the 1964–1965 New York World's Fair) was an world's fair, international exposition at Flushing Meadows–Corona Park in Queens, New York City, United States. The fair included exhibitions, activ ...

. The band is featured wearing tall hats which, according to John Flansburgh on Tumblr, consist of "a large piece of semi-rigid cardstock (cut in a little arc) covered with a light bolt of red velvet fabric from a fabric store." The video also features large cardboard cutouts of the face of

William Allen White William Allen White (February 10, 1868 – January 29, 1944) was an American newspaper editor, politician, author, and leader of the Progressive movement. Between 1896 and his death, White became a spokesman for Middle America (United States), ...

. His face also appears on the "Don't Let's Start" CD single, and it has frequently been used in other contexts associated with They Might Be Giants.

Track listing

; Maxi-single # "Don't Let's Start" (single mix) – 2:35 # "We're The Replacements" – 1:55 # "When It Rains It Snows" – 1:36 # "The Famous Polka" – 1:32 ; 1990 maxi-single re-release # "Don't Let's Start" (single mix) – 2:35 # "Your Racist Friend" (remix) – 3:50 # "She's an Angel" – 2:37 # "Absolutely Bill's Mood" – 2:38 ; 1990 single re-release # "Don't Let's Start" (single mix) – 2:35 # "Letterbox" – 1:25 # "Sapphire Bullets of Pure Love" – 1:36

Personnel

John Flansburgh John Conant Flansburgh (born May 6, 1960) is an American musician. He is half of the long-standing Brooklyn, New York–based alternative rock duo They Might Be Giants with John Linnell, for which he writes, sings, and plays rhythm guitar. Earl ...

– electric guitar, bass guitar *

– lead vocals, keyboards

Chart performance

Other versions

*The song was covered by the band

Common Rotation Common Rotation is an American indie folk rock band consisting of Eric Kufs (vocals, guitar), Adam Busch (vocals, saxophone, harmonica, glockenspiel), and Jordan Katz (vocals, trumpet, banjo). The three are childhood friends from New York City ...

on their 2003 album ''The Big Fear''. *

Jimmy Eat World Jimmy Eat World is an American Rock music, rock band formed in Mesa, Arizona, in 1993. The band is composed of lead vocalist and lead guitarist Jim Adkins, rhythm guitarist and backing vocalist Tom Linton, bassist Rick Burch, and drummer Zach ...

quotes the song in "

A Praise Chorus "A Praise Chorus" is a song by American rock band Jimmy Eat World. It was released in 2002 as the fourth single released from the band's fourth album '' Bleed American'', later retitled ''Jimmy Eat World'' in the wake of the September 11 attack ...

" on their 2001 album ''

Bleed American ''Bleed American'' is the fourth studio album by the American rock band Jimmy Eat World, released on July 24, 2001, by DreamWorks Records. The album was re-released as ''Jimmy Eat World'' following the September 11 attacks; that name remaine ...

''. The part is sung by guest vocalist

Davey von Bohlen Davey von Bohlen (born August 11, 1975) is an Americans, American musician and songwriter. He is best known for serving as lead vocalist and guitarist of the emo band The Promise Ring and also as guitarist and backing vocalist in short-lived cul ...

the Promise Ring The Promise Ring was an American rock band from Milwaukee, Wisconsin, that is recognized as part of the second wave of emo. Among various other EPs and singles, the band released four studio albums during their initial run: '' 30° Every ...

References

External links

* "Don't Let's Start" (releases) at This Might Be A Wiki *"

Don't Let's Start "Don't Let's Start" is a song by the alternative rock band They Might Be Giants, from their 1986 eponymous debut album. It was the first single released from the album, released as a maxi-single. The single peaked at number 94 on the Australian A ...

" (song) at This Might Be A Wiki {{authority control 1986 songs 1987 debut singles Songs written by John Flansburgh Songs written by John Linnell They Might Be Giants songs Restless Records singles