David Byrne Social Studies Lyrics

Social Studies Lyrics

I thought that if I ate the food of the area I was visiting

That I might assimilate the point of view of the people there

As if the point of view was somehow in the food

So, I would make no choices myself regarding what food I ate



I would simply follow the examples of those around me

I would study menus very carefully

Making note of important differences and similarities

When shopping at the supermarket



I felt a great desire to walk off with someone else's groceries

So I could study them at length and study their effects on me

As though if I ate their groceries

I would become that person until I finished their groceries



And we might find ourselves going to the same places

Running into one another at the movies or in a shopping mall

Reading the same books, watching the same TV programs

Wearing the same clothes, traveling to the same places

And taking the same pictures, getting sick at the same time



And getting well again simultaneously

Finding ourselves attracted to the same people

Working at the same job and making the same amount of money

Living identical lives as long as the groceries lasted