Now that I can release my tension
Let me make clear my best intentions
Girls ask, can I define decision?
Boys ask, can I describe their function?

Oh, the boys wanna talk
Would like to talk about those problems
And the girls say they're concerned
That they are
Concerned with decisiveness
And it's a hard logic to follow
And the girls get lost
And the boys say they're concerned
That they are
Concerned with decisiveness

(I wanna talk) I wanna talk as much as I want
(I'm gonna give) I'm gonna give the problem to you
(I wanna talk) I wanna talk as much as I want
(I'm gonna give) I'm gonna give the problem to you

Decide, decide, make up your mind
Decide, decide, I told you what to say
Confuse, confuse, describe what I found
Confuse, confuse, I told you what to say

Oh, the girls still want to talk
Would like to talk about those problems
And the boys say they're concerned
That they are
Concerned with decisiveness
And it's a hard logic, I know
And the girls get lost
And the boys say they're concerned
That they are
Concerned with decisiveness

(I wanna talk) I wanna talk as much as I want
(I'm gonna give) I'm gonna give the problem to you
(I wanna talk) I wanna talk as much as I want
(I'm gonna give) I'm gonna give the problem to you

Decide, decide, make up your mind
Decide, decide, I told you what to say
Confuse, confuse, describe what I found
Confuse, confuse, I told you what to say


Lyrics submitted by weezerific:cutlery, edited by StarLord

Tentative Decisions Lyrics as written by David Byrne

Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Tentative Decisions song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

8 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    Song Meaning

    The "I" in the song is anthropomorphized "sex"

    "Girls ask and I Define decision Boys ask and I Describe their function"

    Girls become defined by their decision to have or not have sex. For example, they're either defined as sluts or they're prudes depending on their decision. ...While boys, however, are expected to have sex..it's pretty much their function.

    "Oh the boys Want to talk Like to to talk about those problems And the girls Say they're concerned That they are Concerned with decisiveness"

    If guys are expected to have sex, girls worry that they guys will judge them based on their decision. "Are they going to think I'm a prude if I decide not to, or are they going to think i'm a slut if I decide to do it?"

    "And it's a Hard Logic I know"

    Basically this whole system, where society pressures boys to have sex and defines girls by their decisions to go or not to go along with it, doesn't make a lot of sense. It's hard logic to follow and just confuses guys and girls.

    "I want to talk I want to talk as much as I want I'm gonna give I'm gonna give the problem to you"

    All this pressure to have sex, as a result of everything in society that talks about it, sets up problems for both boys and girls.

    "Decide, decide Make up your mind Decide, decide I told you what to say Confuse, confuse Describe what I found Confuse, confuse I told you what to say"

    This is where that anthropomorphized "sex" is whispering in the boys' and girls' ears, telling them to decide and make up their mind, but it's actually confusing them further.

    Song makes more sense when you get the lyrics right. Absolutely love it; Talking Heads are genius.

    StarLordon January 18, 2015   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Cajun Girl
Little Feat
Overall about difficult moments of disappointment and vulnerability. Having hope and longing, while remaining optimistic for the future. Encourages the belief that with each new morning there is a chance for things to improve. The chorus offers a glimmer of optimism and a chance at a resolution and redemption in the future. Captures the rollercoaster of emotions of feeling lost while loving someone who is not there for you, feeling let down and abandoned while waiting for a lover. Lost with no direction, "Now I'm up in the air with the rain in my hair, Nowhere to go, I can go anywhere" The bridge shows signs of longing and a plea for companionship. The Lyrics express a desire for authentic connection and the importance of Loving someone just as they are. "Just in passing, I'm not asking. That you be anyone but you”
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
Blue
Ed Sheeran
“Blue” is a song about a love that is persisting in the discomfort of the person experiencing the emotion. Ed Sheeran reflects on love lost, and although he wishes his former partner find happiness, he cannot but admit his feelings are still very much there. He expresses the realization that he might never find another on this stringed instrumental by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Punchline
Ed Sheeran
Ed Sheeran sings about missing his former partner and learning important life lessons in the process on “Punchline.” This track tells a story of battling to get rid of emotions for a former lover, whom he now realized might not have loved him the same way. He’s now caught between accepting that fact and learning life lessons from it and going back to beg her for another chance.