Page type: artist reference
Canonical path: /was-not-was
Lyric pages live: 26
Artist profile
Was (Not Was)
Was (Not Was) started as a songwriting duo with brothers David and Don Was in Detroit in the late 1970s. They later moved to New York and brought in musicians...
person
Curated by Ethan Walker
LyroVerse team
Start here
The pages that open this catalog up fastest
These picks surface the stronger lyric pages first instead of dropping you into one endless list.
Artist at a glance
The fast read
26 lyric pages live
Reference snapshot
The facts this page is built to carry clearly
Use this page as the public reference for the artist summary, linked lyric pages, and any LyroVerse editor's note on the page. Listener comments remain user-generated context.
Songs in focus
Keep moving through Was (Not Was)
Anything Can Happen
1 visits
arrow_forward
Are You Okay?
1 visits
arrow_forward
Betrayal
1 visits
arrow_forward
Boy's Gone Crazy
1 visits
arrow_forward
Dad I'm In Jail
1 visits
arrow_forward
Elvis' Rolls Royce
1 visits
arrow_forward
I Blew Up The United States
1 visits
arrow_forward
I Feel Better Than James Brown
1 visits
arrow_forward
In K Mart Wardrobe
1 visits
arrow_forward
Just Another Couple Broken Hearts
1 visits
arrow_forward
Knocked down, made small
1 visits
arrow_forward
Man Vs The Empire Brain Building
1 visits
arrow_forward
Maria Novarro
1 visits
arrow_forward
Out Come The Freaks
1 visits
arrow_forward
Professor Night
1 visits
arrow_forward
Prologue
1 visits
arrow_forward
Background notes
Archive material and source history
Was (Not Was) started as a songwriting duo with brothers David and Don Was in Detroit in the late 1970s. They later moved to New York and brought in musicians like Sweet Pea Atkinson and Randy Boderick. Their first album, 'Out of Work,' came out in 1980.
They put out records like 'Born to Laugh at Tornadoes' in 1983 and 'What Up, Dog?' in 1988. Some of their songs, like 'Walk The Dinosaur' and 'Shake Your Head,' had an odd mix of funk and other styles that didn't fit neatly into one category.
Don Was left in 1985 to work as a producer, and Boderick was gone by 1990. David Was kept the name going with different collaborators, releasing 'Boo!' in 1997. The band's activity slowed after that, though David worked on other projects.
Quick answers
What this artist page can answer fast
Where should I start with Was (Not Was) on LyroVerse?
The Start here section opens with Anything Can Happen, Are You Okay?, and Betrayal so you can move through the artist's stronger lyric pages first.
How many lyric pages are live for Was (Not Was)?
LyroVerse currently has 26 visible lyric pages for Was (Not Was).
Artist Community
Open artist hub
Not just lyrics. The conversation around them.
Follow the artist, compare interpretations across songs, and leave corrections that help the catalog stay sharp.
Listener comments
What people are saying
No listener comments on Was (Not Was) yet.
Keep it compact: a lyric you come back to, a live memory, or the part of the catalog you would point someone toward first.
Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.