Nothing at All is a song about a past relationship, presumably of romantic nature, that has since broken down. David Byrne revisits this past relationship in his quirky, yet sincere tone, offering, bargaining and finally asking whether it was, in fact, “Nothing at All”.
Compare also to I Wish which...
Lord knows we've become scientific
It's nothing special at all
Sometimes everything gets big and nothing is small
We can live here every day
We can be here whenever we play
And the knife is near at hand
I cut myself to see who I am
Reach inside, but I still can't touch
The policeman inside
Baby Jesus, Holy Moses!
He can stop on a dime
I guess there's just too many supposes
For me to put out that fire
Skin so soft, feels so light
Guess I'll stay home tonight
From the Rockies to the Rio Grande
Big shadow falls across the land
Had some money, but it's not enough
To keep me in line
We made love in a shower of stars
I had a vision in my backyard
I saw a car drive across the sky
Behind the wheel, look there, it's you and I
Looks like we're gonna get outta ourselves tonight
Looks like
What do you suppose?
Was it nothing at all?
What do you suppose?
Was it nothing at all?
Those good times, good times we had
Were they nothing at all?
Did I sleep a little too late?
Or am I awake?
Shake your body till the fear is gone
Like it was nothing at all
It's so easy, so easy, so easy
Hey, it's nothing at all
So easy, so easy, so easy
Hey, it's nothing at all
Nothing At All was written by David Byrne.
Nothing At All was produced by Arto Lindsay & Susan Rogers & David Byrne.
David Byrne released Nothing At All on Tue May 24 1994.