And She Was

Overall Interpretation
At its core, "And She Was" is a song about transcendence and the ability of the human mind to escape the mundane. While often interpreted simply as a quirky pop song, it narrates a specific journey of a woman physically and spiritually lifting herself out of her ordinary, industrial surroundings. It celebrates the "sublime coming out of the ridiculous," suggesting that profound spiritual experiences can happen in the most unlikely places, such as a backyard near a factory.

Lyrical Themes
The lyrics juxtapose gritty, terrestrial imagery ("highway breathing," "nearby factory," "rusted cars") with celestial freedom ("moving into the universe," "drifting this way and that"). This contrast highlights the theme of liberation. The line "joining the world of missing persons" implies a permanent departure from societal expectations and norms, framing this disappearance not as a tragedy, but as a triumphant release.

Narrative Arc
The song follows a linear progression of ascent. It starts on the ground ("lying in the grass"), moves to just above the rooftops ("neighbor's house"), and continues upward until she is completely detached from the earth. This physical elevation serves as a metaphor for a psychedelic or spiritual breakthrough, where the subject gains a new, detached perspective on reality.

The narrative begins in a backyard, where a woman is lying in the grass, observing her immediate surroundings—the breathing of a nearby highway and the structure of a local factory. As she concentrates, she ensures she isn't dreaming and begins to physically ascend. She rises slowly, her perspective shifting as she looks down upon the lights of a neighbor's house and the familiar ground she is leaving behind.

As she gains altitude, the mundane details of her life—her dress, the backyard, the earth itself—start to fall away. She drifts effortlessly, moving with the rotation of the world but floating independently above it. The lyrics describe her trajectory as she passes specific landmarks: moving past the schools, over the city layout, and eventually rising above the clouds themselves. She observes the earth from this bird's-eye view, seeing rivers, cars, and the grid of civilization shrinking below her.

Ultimately, her journey is one of total transcendence. She joins the "world of missing persons," leaving her previous existence entirely to drift into the universe. The song concludes with her suspended in this state of joyous, cosmic detachment, floating happily above the moving world, having successfully escaped the gravity of her ordinary life.

Inspiration
David Byrne wrote the song based on a real-life acquaintance from Baltimore. In the liner notes of the Once in a Lifetime compilation, Byrne explained that he knew a "blissed-out hippie-chick" who claimed she used to take LSD and lie in a field next to a Yoo-hoo chocolate soda factory. She described an experience of flying out of her body and hovering over the industrial landscape. Byrne found this image—a spiritual transcendence occurring amidst "heaps of rusted cars and fast food joints"—to be poignant and representative of a new kind of modern religion.

Recording and Production
Released on the 1985 album Little Creatures, the song marked a shift for Talking Heads towards a cleaner, more American pop-rock sound, moving away from the polyrhythmic funk of their earlier Brian Eno-produced work. The track was produced by the band themselves, with engineering and mixing by Eric "E.T." Thorngren. It features a prominent cowbell played by percussionist Steve Scales and is built around a straightforward, major-key guitar riff that reflects the song's optimistic tone.

Rhyme Scheme
The lyrics largely eschew strict rhyme schemes, often favoring slant rhymes or free verse (e.g., "grass" and "dreaming" don't rhyme, but share a rhythm). However, occasional rhymes like "rise" and "eyes" appear to punctuate moments of realization. The lack of a rigid rhyme scheme contributes to the song's feeling of drifting and unpredictability.

Rhythm and Meter
The song is in a standard 4/4 time signature with a tempo of approximately 126 BPM. The rhythm is straight and driving, avoiding the syncopated complexity of earlier Talking Heads tracks. This straightforward "four-on-the-floor" pulse propels the song forward, mimicking the steady, unstoppable ascent of the protagonist. The lyrical rhythm is conversational yet melodic, floating over the beat rather than locking tightly into it.

Musical Techniques
The song is defined by its jangly, clean electric guitar tone and a driving 4/4 rock beat, which gives it a buoyant, airy quality fitting the lyrical theme of flying. A key stylistic device is the song's modulation (key change). While the verses and chorus anchor in E Major, the bridge modulates to F Major ("She was glad about it...") and then G Major, creating a sensation of musical "lifting" that mirrors the protagonist's ascent. The use of a cowbell adds a grounding, earthy texture to the rhythm section, contrasting with the "floating" vocal melody.

Literary Techniques
Byrne employs a detached, observational narrative voice. He describes the surreal event of levitation with a matter-of-fact tone, using simple sensory imagery ("see the lights," "hear the highway"). This technique, known as magic realism, treats the impossible as a normal part of the environment, enhancing the song's dreamlike quality.

Chart Performance and Legacy
"And She Was" was a commercial success, reaching #54 on the US Billboard Hot 100 and #17 on the UK Singles Chart. It helped cement Talking Heads' transition from art-school darlings to mainstream rock staples.

Music Video
The music video, directed by Jim Blashfield, is iconic for its "cut-and-paste" collage animation style. It received heavy rotation on MTV and was nominated for several video awards. This visual style became synonymous with the mid-80s aesthetic.

Media Usage
The song has appeared in various films and TV shows, often to evoke a sense of quirky nostalgia or realization. Notable examples include the films Look Who's Talking (1989), Bewitched (2005), Sky High (2005), and Storks (2016).

Levitation
The central act of levitation serves as a metaphor for dissociation, psychedelic trips, or spiritual enlightenment. It represents the ultimate escape from the gravity of daily responsibilities and the physical world.

The Factory and Highway
These symbols represent the industrial, mechanical, and mundane aspects of modern life. They are the "anchors" the woman is escaping. Describing the highway as "breathing" personifies the infrastructure, suggesting the man-made world has a life of its own that she is choosing to leave behind.

"World of Missing Persons"
This phrase reclaims a typically negative concept (disappearance/abduction) and turns it into a secret society of the enlightened. To be "missing" from the ordinary world is to be present in the cosmos.

"And She Was"
The titular phrase acts as a rhythmic anchor and a narrative bridge. It affirms the reality of the surreal events described. By repeating it, Byrne insists on the truth of the experience—she wasn't just dreaming; she was actually doing these things.

"The world was moving, she was right there with it"
This refrain emphasizes the relationship between the subject and the planet. Initially, she is "with" the rotation, but later she is "floating above it," marking her separation from the physical laws that bind everyone else.