Making Flippy Floppy Lyrics

Everybody, get in line

Nothing can come between us
Nothin gets you down
Nothing strikes your fancy
Nothing turns you on
Somebody is waiting in the hallway
Somebody is falling down the stairs
Set someone free, break someone's heart
Stand up, help us out

Everything is divided
Nothing is complete
Everything looks impressive
Do not be deceived

You don't have to wait for more instructions
No one makes a monkey out of me

We lie on our backs, feet in the air
Rest and relaxation, rocket to my brain

Snap into position
Bounce till you ache
You step out of line and
And you end up in jail

Bring me a doctor
I have a hole in my head

But they are just people
And I'm not afraid

Doctor, Doctor
We have nothing in our pockets
We continue
But we have nothing left to offer
Faces pressed against the window
Hey, they are just my friends
Check this out, don't be so slick
Break our backs, it goes like this

We are born without eyesight
We are born without sin
And our mama protects us
From the cold and the rain
We're in no hurry
Sugar and spice
We sing in the darkness
And we open our eyes (open up)

Oh, I can't believe it
And people are strange

Our president's crazy
Did you hear what he said?

Business and pleasure
Lie right to your face
Divide it in sections
And then give it away
There are no big secrets
Don't believe what you read
We have great big bodies
We got great big heads

Run-a-run-a-run it all together
Check it out, still don't make no sense
Makin' flippy floppy, tryin' to do my best
Lock the door, we kill the beast
Kill it

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About

Genius Annotation

Despite some of the seemingly frivolous turns of phrase in this song and throughout Speaking in Tongues, the wariness of the frightening world that we have come to expect Talking Heads to report on has not been forgotten. “Making Flippy Floppy”, like the later “The Facts of Life” from Naked, paints human interaction, stripped of all its nuance, as being basically programmed from birth.

The song suggests, to use an oxymoron, that we are naturally mechanical.

Credits
Produced By
Guitar, Keyboards, Backing Vocals
Bass, Keyboards
Recorded At
Blank Tape Studios, New York City, New York; Sigma Sound Studios, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Compass Point Studios, Nassau, New Providence, the Bahamas
Release Date
June 1, 1983
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