Lou Reed and Laurie Anderson
laurie anderson, “Statue of Liberty”
from: statue of liberty, 2001
Lou reed, “dirty boulevard,”
from: new york, 1989
It turns out that there are a lot of married musical couples working in a myriad of festive directions. It occurs to me to populate our pages here with them intermittently. Some make music together. Others don’t. Their creative impulses sleep with one another. And their dreams are enjoined. Who knows? Both Laurie and Lou’s songs included here might be about the same thing but I’ll leave that up to you to decide. Also, both employ the Talk-Sing technique in which, within a single piece that artist employs their speaking and singing voice. It seems such a captivating and humane experience to have someone singing to you also talk through certain portions of a song. Each technique strengthens the other and the overall impact makes the work climb.
“Moon rises and sets
In the real world
Islands and hurricanes
Wind blows in from jersey
It floats across the pave
Into the open ocean
It’s a good day
To run away
Freedom is a scary thing
Not many people really want it
Me I keep my distance
I’m always near
That’s just my way
Cool water
That’s just another speckle on horizon
Just another speckle in the sea
Cool water
Cool wind
Statue of liberty
Stands in the harbor
Holding her torch
Hello goodbye
To all the men and women
Who pass through her port
Into the open ocean
Just another speckle on horizon
Just another speckle in the sea
Cool water
Cool wind
Freedom is a scary thing
Not many people really want it ”
“Pedro lives out of the Wilshire Hotel
he looks out a window without glass
The walls are made of cardboard, newspapers on his feet
his father beats him ‘cause he’s too tired to beg
He’s got 9 brothers and sisters
they’re brought up on their knees
it’s hard to run when a coat hanger beats you on the thighs
Pedro dreams of being older and killing the old man
but that’s a slim chance he’s going to the boulevard
He’s going to end up, on the dirty boulevard
he’s going out, to the dirty boulevard
He’s going down, to the dirty boulevard
This room cost 2,000 dollars a month
you can believe it man it’s true
somewhere a landlord’s laughing till he wets his pants
No one here dreams of being a doctor or a lawyer or anything
they dream of dealing on the dirty boulevard
Give me your hungry, your tired your poor I’ll piss on ‘em
that’s what the Statue of Bigotry says
Your poor huddled masses, let’s club ‘em to death
and get it over with and just dump ‘em on the boulevard
Get to end up, on the dirty boulevard
going out, to the dirty boulevard
He’s going down, on the dirty boulevard
going out
Outside it’s a bright night
there’s an opera at Lincoln Center
movie stars arrive by limousine
The klieg lights shoot up over the skyline of Manhattan
but the lights are out on the Mean Streets
A small kid stands by the Lincoln Tunnel
he’s selling plastic roses for a buck
The traffic’s backed up to 39th street
the TV whores are calling the cops out for a suck
And back at the Wilshire, Pedro sits there dreaming
he’s found a book on magic in a garbage can
He looks at the pictures and stares at the cracked ceiling
”At the count of 3” he says, “I hope I can disappear”
And fly fly away, from this dirty boulevard
I want to fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly-fly-fly-fly, from dirty boulevard
I want to fly away
I want to fly
Fly, fly away
I want to fly
Fly-fly away (Fly a-)
fly-fly-fly (-way, ooohhh...)
Fly-fly away (I want to fly-fly away)
fly away (I want to fly, wow-woh, no, fly away)”
