Song · Talking Heads
“Don't Worry About the Government” by Talking Heads
From the album Talking Heads: 77 (1977)
“Don't Worry About the Government” by Talking Heads appears on 4 radio countdowns from 4 stations between 2001 and 2025. It was first released in 1977 on the album Talking Heads: 77. Its best result is #194 on the KALX 300 Most Played New Songs in 2025. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #441 alternative song of 2025 and #6,958 alternative song of all time.
"Don't Worry About the Government" turned up on Talking Heads: 77, the debut album Sire Records released on September 16, 1977, and it's David Byrne's baby all the way: he wrote it alone and sings it himself. The band cut the record in April 1977 at Sundragon Studios in New York, with Tony Bongiovi and Lance Quinn producing alongside them and Ed Stasium engineering.
Getting there took some doing. Labels had been sniffing around since the band's trio days in 1975: Mark Spector caught them at CBGB and invited them to make a demo for Columbia, and a three-song session for Beserkley's Mathew Kaufman in Great Neck, Long Island, left the band convinced they had to get a whole lot better before setting foot in a studio again. Talking Heads: 77 is what came of the wait.
Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz.
RockLists rankings
Alternative & Modern Rock
Indie & Adult Alternative
All Rock Formats
Year-end countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2025 | 194 | KALX 90.7 San Francisco Bay Area | KALX 300 Most Played New Songs in 2025 | 300 |
All-time and decade countdowns
| Year | # | Station | Countdown | of |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2001 | 1906 | WFPK | WFPK 2001 Greatest Songs of All Time | 2000 |
| 2003 | 1793 | Fred (XM 44) | Fred XM Top 2044 Songs of All-Time (July 2003) | 2044 |
| 2022 | 652 | 90.9 The Bridge | 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '70s | 908 |
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