LAURIE ANDERSON - STRANGE ANGELS

Strange Angels

They say that heaven is like TV
A perfect little world
that doesn't really need you
And everything there
is made of light
And the days keep going by
Here they come Here they come
Here they come.

Well it was one of those days larger than life
When your friends came to dinner
and they stayed the night
And then they cleaned out the refrigerator -
They ate everything in sight
And then they stayed up in the living room
And they cried all night

Strange angels - singing just for me
Old stories - they're haunting me
This is nothing
like I thought it would be.

Well I was out in my four door
with the top down.
And I looked up and there they were:
Millions of tiny teardrops
just sort of hanging there
And I didn't know whether to laugh or cry
And I said to myself:
What next big sky?

Strange angels - singing just for me
Their spare change falls on top of me
Rain falling Falling all over me
All over me
Strange angels - singing just for me
Old Stories - they're haunting me
Big changes are coming
Here they come
Here they come.

Monkey's Paw

Well I stopped in at the Body Shop
Said to the guy:
I want stereo FM installed in my teeth
And take this mole off my back
and put it on my cheek.
And uh...while I'm here, why don't you give me
some of those high-heeled feet?
And he said: Listen there's no guarantee
Nature's got rules and Nature's got laws
but listen look out for the monkey's paw
And I said: Whaaat? He said:

The gift of life it's a twist of fate
It's a roll of the die
It's a free lunch A free ride
But Nature's got rules and Nature's got laws
And if you cross her look out!
It's the monkey's paw
It's sayin: Haw haw!
It's saying Gimme five!
It's sayin: Bye bye!

I know a man he lost his head
He said: The way I feel I'd be better off dead.
He said: I got everything I ever wanted
Now I can't give it up
It's a trap, just my luck!

The gift of life it's a leap of faith
It's a roll of the die
It's a free lunch A free ride
The gift of life it's a shot in the dark
It's the call of the wild
It's the big wheel The big ride
But Nature's got rules and Nature's got laws
And if you cross her look out!
It's the monkey's paw
You better Stop!
Look around!
Listen!

You- could- be- an- oca- rina- salesman-
going- from- door- to- door.
Or- would- you- like- to- swing- on- a- star-
and- carry- moon- beams- home?
Or- next- time- around- you- could- be-
a- small- bug-
Or- would- you- like- to- be- a- fish?

The gift of life it's a twist of fate
It's a roll of the die
it's a free lunch A free ride
The gift of life it's a shot in the dark
It's the call of the wild
It's the big wheel The big ride
But Nature's got rules and Nature's got laws
And if you cross her look out!
It's the monkey's paw
It's singin': Gimme Five!
It's singin': Bye Bye!

Coolsville

Coolsville Coolsville
Coolsville Coolsville
So perfect So nice

Hey little darlin,
I'm comin your way little darlin
And I'll be there Just as soon as I'm
all straightened out
Yeah just as soon as I'm
perfect.

Chorus:
Some things are just pictures
They're scenes before your eyes
And don't look now I'm right behind you
Coolsville

Coolsville
So perfect So nice
So nice!

And down by the ocean
under the boardwalk
You were so handsome we didn't talk
You're my ideal I'm gonna find you
I'm goin to Coolsville
So perfect So ideal

This train This city This train

(chorus)

She said:
Oh Jesus, why are you always
in the arms of somebody else?
He said:
Oh man! I don't need anybody's help
I'm gonna get there on my own.

This train This city This train This city
This train

Ramon

Last night I saw a host of angels
And they were all singing different songs
And it sounded like a lot of lawnmowers
Mowing down my lawn
And up above kerjillion of stars
spangled all over the sky
And they were spirals turning
Turning in the deep blue night.

And suddenly for no reason
The way that angels leave the grund
They left in a kind of vortex
Travelling at the speed of sound.

And just as I started to leave
Just as I turned to go
I saw a man who'd fallen
He was lying on his back in the snow

Some people walk on water
Some people walk on broken glass
Some just walk round and round
in their dreams
Some just keep falling down.

So when you see a man who's broken
Pick him up and carry him
And when you see a woman who's broken
Put her all into your arms
Cause we don't know where we come from
We don't know what we are.
(x2)

And you? You're no one
And you? You're falling
And you? You're travelling
Travelling at the speed of light.
(x2)

Baby Doll

I don't know about your brain-
but mine is really bossy
I come home from a day on the golf course
and I find all these messages
scribbled on wrinkled up scraps of paper
And they say thing like:
Why don't you get a real job?
Or: You and what army?
Or: Get a horse.
And then I hear this voice
comin from the back of my head Uh huh
(Whoa-ho) Yep! It's my brain again
And when my brain talks to me, he says:

Refrain 1:
Take me out to the ballgame
Take me out to the park
Take me to the movies
Cause I love to sit in the dark

Take me to Tahiti
Cause I love to be hot
And take me out on the town tonight
Cause I know the new hot spot. He says:

Chorus:
Babydoll! Ooo oo oo Babydoll Ooo He says:
Babydoll! I love it when you come when I call
Babydoll! You don't have to talk I know it all
Babydoll! Ooo oo oo Babydoll Ooo

Well I'm sitting around trying to write a letter
I'm wracking my brains trying to think
of another word for horse
I ask my brain for some assistance.
And he says: Huh...Let's see...How about cow?
That's close. He says:

(refrain 1)
Take me to your leader
And I say: Do you mean George?
And he says: I just want to meet him
And I say:
Come on I mean I don't even know George!
And he says:

(chorus)

Babydoll! Babydoll! Ooo oo oo (x3)

Beautiful Red Dress

Well I was down at the Zig Zag
That's the Zig Zag Bar & Grill
And everybody was talking at once
and it was getting real shrill.
And I've been around the block
But I don't care I'm on a roll - I'm on a wild ride
Cause the moon is full and look out baby -
I'm at high tide.

I've got a beautiful red dress
And you'd look really good
standing beside it..
I've got some beautiful new red shoes
and they look so fine
I've got a hundred and five fever
and it's high tide.

Well just the other day I won the lottery
I mean lots of money
I got so excited I ran into my place and i said:
HEY! Is anybody home?
Nobody answered but I guess that's not too weird
Since I live alone.

I've got a beautiful red dress
And you'd look really good
standing beside it..
Girls?
We can take it And if we can't
we're gonna fake it
We're gonna save ourselves
We're gonna make it And if we don't
we're gonna take it
We're gonna save ourselves
Save ourselves

Well they say women shouldn't be
the president
Cause we go crazy from time to time
Well push my button baby here I come
Yeah look out baby
I'm at high tide

I've got a beatiful red dress
and you'd look really good
standing beside it..
I've got a little jug of red sangria wine
and we could take little sips
from time to time
I've got some bright red drop dead lips
I've got a little red card
and mechanical hips
I've got a hundred and five fever!!!

OK! OK! Hold it!
I just want to say something.
You know, for every dollar a man makes
a woman makes 63 cents.
Now, fifty years ago that was 62 cents.
So, with that kind of luck, it'll be the year 3,888
before we make a buck. But hey, girls?

We can take it And if we can't
we're gonna fake it
We're gonna save ourselves
save ourselves
(Yeah tell it to the judge)
We're gonna make it And if we don't
we're gonna take it
We're gonna save ourselves
save ourselves
We've got a fever of a hundred and five
and look baby
It's high tide.

Well I could just go on and on and on...
But tonight
I've got a headache

The Day the Devil

The day the devil comes to getcha
you know him by the way he smiles
The day the devil comes to getcha
He's a rusty truck with only twenty miles
He's got bad brakes he's got loose teeth
He's a long way from home

The day the devil comes to getcha
he's got a smile like a scar
He knows the way to your house
He's got the keys to your car
And when he sells you his sportcoat
You say: Funny! That's my size
Attention shoppers!
Everybody please rise

Give me back my innocence
Get me a brand new suit
Give me back my innocence
Oh Lord! Cut me down to size

Well you can hide under the porch
And you can hide behind the couch
But the day the devil comes to getcha
He's right on time
Here he comes

Well I'm sick of hearin bout your problems
Yeah girlie your breakin my heart
I'm the original party animal
Hey! Hey! Babaloo
So don't come bangin your Bibles
Cause you've been laughin
all the way to the bank
And don't give me those crocodile tears
Cause you've been doing it for years
I'm everywhere! Sign right here
Mr. Jones

The day the devil comes to getcha
He's a long way from home
And you know he's gonna getcha
Cause you're stuck in the middle
Everybody please rise

Give me back my innocence
Get me a brand new suit
Give me back my innocence
Oh Lord! Cut me down to size

Give me back my innocence
Get me a new Cadillac
Cause when I get on up to heave Lord
You can have it all back
Cause in heaven, you get it all back
In heaven it all comes back
Cause in heaven, you get it all back
In heaven
Cause in heaven....
In heaven....

The Dream Before

(for Walter Benjamin)

Hansel and Gretel are alive and well
And they're living in Berlin
She is a cocktail waitress
He had a part in a Fassbinder film
And they sit around at night now
drinking schnapps and gin
And she says: Hansel, you're really bringing me down
And he says: Gretel, yu can really be a bitch
He says: I've wated my life on our stupid legend
When my one and only love
was the wicked witch.

She said: What is history?
And he said: History is an angel
being blown backwards into the future
He said: History is a pile of debris
And the angel wants to go back and fix things
To repair the things that have been broken
But there is a storm blowing from Paradise
And the storm keeps blowing the angel
backwards into the future
And this storm, this storm
is called
Progress

My Eyes

Sometimes I wish I hadn't gotten that tattoo
Sometimes I wish I'd married you
One hundred fires One hundred days
Sometimes I feel like a stranger
Sometimes I tell lies (Whoa ho)
Sometimes I act like a monkey
Here come the night

Chorus:
And then kerjillions of stars start to shine
And icy comets go whizzing by
And everything's shaking with a strange delight
And here it is: the enormous night

And oo my eyes They're lookin all around
And oo my feet I'm upside down

If I were the president If I were Queen for a day
I'd give the ugly people all the money
I'd re-write the Book of Love I'd make it funny
Wheel of fortune Wheel of fame
Two hundred forty million voices
Two hundred forty million names

And down in the ocean where nobody goes
Some fish are fast Some are slow
Some swim round the world Some hide below
This is the ocean So deep So old.

(chorus)

And oo my eyes They're lookin all around
And oo my feet They've left the ground

So cry me a river that leads to a road
That turns into a highway that goes and goes
And tangles in your memories
So long So old

Hiawatha

By the shores of Gitche Gumee
By the shining Big- Sea- Water
Downward through the evening twilight
In the days that are forgotten
>From the land of sky blue waters

And I said: Hello Operator
Get me Memphis Tennessee
And she said: I know who you're tryin
to call darlin And he's not home
he's been away
But you can hear him on the airwaves
He's howlin at the moon
Yeah this is your country station
And honey this next one's for you

And all along the highways
and under the big western sky
They're singing Ooo oooooo
They're singing Wild Blue.
And way out on the prairie
and up in the high chaparral
They hear a voice it says: Good evening
This is Captain Midnight speaking
And I've got a song for you
Goes somethin like this

Starlight Starbright
We're gonna hang some new star
in the heavens tonight
They're gonna circle by day
They're gonna fly by night
We're goin sky high. Yoo Hooooo hooo
Yeah yoo hooo Ooo Hooooooooo

So good night ladies
And good night gentlemen
Keep those cards and letters coming
And please don't call again.

Geronimo and little Nancy
Marilyn and John F. dancing
Uncle took the message
and it's written on the wall.
These are pictures of the houses
Shining in the midnight moonlight
While the King sings Love Me Tender.

And all along the watchtowers
aand under the big western sky
They're singing Yoo Hooooo
They're singing Wild Blue.
And wau wau up there, bursting in air
Red rockets, bright red glare
>From the land of sky blue waters
Sent by freedom's sons and daughters.
We're singing Ooo Hoooooooo
We're singing Wild Blue.
We're singing Ooo Hoooooooo
Ooo Hooooooooo

And dark behind it rose the forest
Rose the black and gloomy pine trees
Rose the firs with ones upon them
And bright before it beat the water
Beat the clear and sunny water
Beat the shing Big- Sea- Water

Strange Angels

Words and Music by Laurie Anderson

voltar