Once in a Lifetime (Talking Heads song)

"Once in a Lifetime" is a song by the American rock band Talking Heads, produced and cowritten by Brian Eno. It was released in January 1981 by Sire Records as the first single from Talking Heads' fourth album, Remain in Light (1980).

Eno and Talking Heads developed "Once in a Lifetime" through jams, inspired by Afrobeat musicians such as Fela Kuti. David Byrne's vocals were inspired by preachers delivering sermons, with lyrics about existential crisis and the unconscious. In the music video, directed by Byrne and Toni Basil, Byrne dances erratically over footage of religious rituals.

"Once in a Lifetime" was certified platinum in the UK in 2023. In 1986, a live version taken from the 1984 concert film Stop Making Sense entered the US Billboard Hot 100. NPR named "Once in a Lifetime" one of the 100 most important American musical works of the 20th century, and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame named it one of the "500 Songs that Shaped Rock and Roll". Rolling Stone placed it at number 28 on its 2021 list of "The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time", and named its music video the 81st-best. In 2026, CBS included it in its list of the 250 essential American songs of the past 250 years.