Songs About Home Part I: This Must Be The Place

With Thanksgiving approaching, I’ve been thinking about songs about home—what home means, why it matters, and why so many people have tried to put that feeling into music. I have no idea how long this little series will last, or when the next installment will appear. But here is my first “Songs About Home” blog post.

“This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” by David Byrne, Chris Frantz, Tina Weymouth and Jerry Harrison AKA Talking Heads

There are probably more poetic definitions of home than “Home is where I want to be.” But I’m not sure there are many that have more emotional impact.

When it comes to “home” and “real estate,” we often get the emphasis wrong. We talk about square footage, interest rates and comparable sales. We talk about kitchens, views, parking and resale value. 

All those things matter, yet they’re not why we care about “real estate.” We mainly care because – for most of us – our real estate is our home.

Talking Heads released “This Must Be the Place (Naive Melody)” in 1983, on the album Speaking in Tongues. David Byrne has described it as an unusually direct love song for him—which perhaps explains why it feels so tender and odd at the same time. (Tender because it’s a love song. Odd because David Byrne is pretty odd.)

It isn’t a grand, dramatic declaration of love. It’s a simple collection of small recognitions: I’m here. You’re here. I feel safe. I belong. This must be the place.

The homes we love are seldom the biggest and fanciest. They’re hardly ever objectively fabulous. Instead, they’re quirky. The kitchen is dated. The stairs creak. There’s a room nobody quite knows what to do with. 

But the light fills a particular window just in time for your morning coffee. Or friends have repeatedly squeezed in around the table in the teensy dining nook. Or that doorway still bears the pencil marks where you measured your child’s growth from toddler to twenty-something.

I think it’s a good idea to check on the value of your home every now and then, just so you’re up to speed. (I can help with that; just ask.) But – more often, you should ask yourself “How well is this place letting me live my life?

Maybe there’s a room you’ve been saving for a “someday” purpose? It could become the painting studio, music room, reading room, or guest room you’d actually use. Or maybe the formal dining room would serve you better with a large beat-up table at its center, where people can write, work, eat, make things and hang around.

If you’re looking for your next place to call home, try not to look only at the checklist of features and room count. Pay attention to how a place makes you feel. Can you imagine an ordinary Tuesday there? Where would you drink your morning smoothie? Where would your dog sleep? Where would everybody end up talking after dinner?

Resale potential, value for the money, and condition all matter. But so does belonging. Sooner or later, the best thing you can say about a piece of real estate may have nothing to do with real estate: This must be the place.

(This video of a performance of the song is worth a gander!)