Laura Phillips Anderson was born June 5, 1947, in Glen Ellyn, Illinois, United States. She attended Mills College in California, and eventually graduated from Barnard College magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa, studying art history. In 1972, she obtained an MFA in sculpture from Columbia University.
She performed in New York through the 1970s. Two early pieces, "New York Social Life" and "Time to Go," were included in the 1977 compilation New Music for Electronic and Recorded Media, along with works by Pauline Oliveros and others.
She became more widely known in 1982 with the single "O Superman," originally released in a limited quantity by One Ten Records; a sudden influx of orders from the U.K. (prompted by British DJ John Peel playing the record) led to Anderson signing with the Warner Brothers label, which re-released the single. "O Superman" reached number two on the national pop charts in Britain.
"O Superman" was part of a larger stage work entitled United States and was included on her following album, Big Science. Her more recent stage work includes a multimedia presentation inspired by Moby Dick. She starred in and directed the 1986 concert film, Home of the Brave, and also composed the soundtracks for the Spalding Gray films Swimming to Cambodia and Monster in a Box. All of Anderson's albums from the 1980s sold very well despite being labeled "avant garde". Her varied career has even included voice-acting in the animated film The Rugrats Movie. In 1994 she created a CD-ROM entitled Puppet Motel.
She wrote a supplemental article on the cultural character of New York City for the Encyclopædia Britannica and in the late 1980s hosted the PBS series, Alive from Off Center, for which she produced the short film, What You Mean We?.
One of the central themes in Anderson's work is exploring the effects of technology on human interrelationships and communication.
Anderson has collaborated with William Burroughs, Mitchell Froom, Arto Lindsay, Peter Gabriel, Perry Hoberman, David Sylvian, Jean Michel Jarre, Hector Zazou, Nona Hendryx, David Van Tieghem, and husband Lou Reed. She also worked with comedian Andy Kaufman in the late 1970s (with a romantic involvement hinted at in some of her spoken word performances about him).
Anderson, who rarely revisits older work (though themes and lyrics occasionally reappear) went on tour performing a selection of her best-known musical pieces in 2001. One of these performances was recorded in New York City only a week after the September 11, 2001 attacks, and included a performance of "O Superman". This concert was released in early 2002 as the double CD, Live in New York, which remains her most recent album release.
In 2003, Anderson became NASA's first and so far only artist-in-residence, which inspired her most recent performance piece, The End of the Moon.
Rumors emerged of a possible new album release in the fall of 2004, but this turned out to be false as Anderson seems too busy mounting a succession of themed shows, as well as composing a piece for Expo 2005 in Japan.
In February 2010, Laurie Anderson premiered a new theatrical work, entitled Delusion, at the Vancouver 2010 Olympic Games. This piece was commissioned by the Vancouver 2010 Cultural Olympiad and the Barbican Centre, London.
In May/June 2010, Anderson curated the Vivid Sydney festival in Sydney, Australia together with Lou Reed
In late June 2010, with the production assistance of husband Lou Reed, as well as Roma Baran. Laurie Anderson released her first full length studio album in near a decade with that of: "Homeland" on Nonesuch Records. Receiving much critical acclaim, "Homeland" has been lauded by many as Anderson's crowning auditory achievement. A conglomerated assimilation of her many persona's, characters and decades work exploring and experimenting in a multitude of artistic mediums.
Also featured on the "Homeland" album are a number of famed collaborators, including John Zorn (saxophone on tracks 8 & 11), Kieran Hebden of "Four Tet" fame (keyboards on track 5), Antony Hegarty (vocals on track 4), Husband Lou Reed himself on some guitar, and Tuvan throat singers. At 66 minutes, it is also Anderson's longest studio album.
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Beautiful Pea Green Boat
Laurie Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I'm a branch that broke off
What will become of me?
Dear Mom, I'm lying here in this queen-sized bed.
I'm thinking back
To all the stories you read to me.
About those little animals who went to sea
But I can't remember now
What happened then?
Dear Mom, how does it end?
The owl and the pussycat went to sea
In a beautiful pea green boat.
They took some honey and lots of money
Wrapped in a five pound note.
The owl looked up to the stars above
And sang to a small guitar.
O lovely pussy! Pussy my love!
What a wonderful pussy you are.
Let us be married
Too long we've tarried
But what shall we do for a ring?
What shall we do for a ring?
Hey! Hey!
They sailed away for a year and a day
To the land where the bong tree grows
And there in a wood a piggy wig stood
A ring at the end of his nose
A ring at the end of his nose.
And hand in hand at the edge of the sand
They danced by the light of the
By the light of the, by the light of the moon.
And hand in hand at the edge of the sand
They danced by the light of the
By the light of the, by the light of the moon.
The moon, the moon.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
The opening lines of Laurie Anderson's "Beautiful Pea Green Boat" create a sense of uncertainty and fear in the listener. The singer, lying in the shade of their family tree, questions their own path in life: "I'm a branch that broke off / What will become of me?" The sense of isolation and detachment is emphasised by the use of first person pronouns ("I'm", "me"), creating a very personal, introspective feeling in the listener. The singer then turns to thoughts of their mother and childhood memories, asking her for guidance and a reminder of the ending of a storybook they once shared ("Dear Mom, how does it end?"). This shows a deep sense of a need for emotional security that often comes from our earliest experiences in life.
Line by Line Meaning
I'm lying in the shade of my family tree
I am resting in the shadow of my ancestral background
I'm a branch that broke off
I have detached myself from my roots
What will become of me?
What fate awaits me as I navigate my own path?
Dear Mom, I'm lying here in this queen-sized bed.
Mother, I am currently reclining on this comfortable and spacious bed.
I'm thinking back
I am reminiscing.
To all the stories you read to me.
I am recalling the tales you have shared with me.
About those little animals who went to sea
The stories about those small creatures who voyaged across the ocean.
In their beautiful pea green boat.
Aboard their stunning aquamarine ship.
But I can't remember now.
However, I am now unable to recollect.
What happened then?
What was the conclusion of their journey?
Dear Mom, how does it end?
Mother, please remind me of how the story concludes.
The owl and the pussycat went to sea
The avian and the feline embarked on a seafaring expedition
In a beautiful pea green boat.
Their vessel was a remarkable shade of green.
They took some honey and lots of money
They brought along some sweet syrup and ample finances.
Wrapped in a five pound note.
Contain within a five-pound bill.
The owl looked up to the stars above
The bird gazed toward the heavens
And sang to a small guitar.
As it serenaded with a tiny musical instrument.
O lovely pussy! Pussy my love!
Oh, charming feline! My cherished companion!
What a wonderful pussy you are.
You are an exceptional creature, indeed.
Let us be married
We ought to make our union official.
Too long we've tarried
We have delayed this for too long.
But what shall we do for a ring?
However, we do not possess a token of our love.
What shall we do for a ring?
How shall we acquire such a symbol?
Hey! Hey!
An expression of excitement.
They sailed away for a year and a day
They departed on their journey and were gone for a significant length of time.
To the land where the bong tree grows
To the region where the evergreen shrubs known as bong trees flourish.
And there in a wood a piggy wig stood
And there within a forest was a wiggly piglet.
A ring at the end of his nose
With a jewellery item placed around its snout.
And hand in hand at the edge of the sand
And with their hands entwined, standing on the beach.
They danced by the light of the
They twirled in the glow of the
By the light of the, by the light of the moon.
Radiance emanating from the moon itself.
The moon, the moon.
The celestial body responsible for illuminating the night sky.
Hey! Hey! Hey! Hey!
A joyous exclamation.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: LAURIE ANDERSON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind