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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Slip Away
Laurie Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
A little dust in my eye
Well I'm not the type to cry
It's four a.m.
I'm standing by the bed where you lie
Sleeping the sleep of the newborn
I put [my] finger to your lips.
Warm air.
You lift your hand and open it.
Then you slipped away.
You slipped away.
Oh death, that creep, that crooked jerk
He comes, he comes walking.
He comes sneaking
Down that long irreversible hallway
Grabs you in your sleep
I walk outside to the parking lot.
Bright coins of water on the sidewalk.
Big white building where your body lies
Stands in the middle of the fields.
Icy air.
And after all the shocks the way the heart unlocks
And ooo we slip away.
We slip away.
I'm thinking about the way that lost things always come back
Looking like something else
A fishing pole, a shoe, an old shirt, a lucky day
Oh then they slip away into the remains of the day
Oh they slip away.
They slip away.
I'm thinking how you taught me how to win
And how to loose
And how to fight the crippling blues that I was born with
Bad dreams and nightmares
Oh they slip away.
Oh they slip away into the remains of the day.
I know that sometime I'll stop looking for you.
Stop seeing your face every day
Bad dreams and nightmares and big bad wolves
Oh they slip away into the remains of the day
Oh they slip away into the remains of the day
They slip away
You told me you had no idea how to die but I saw
The way the light left your eyes
And after all the shocks the way the heart unlocks
And oh then you slipped away.
You slipped away.
The lyrics of Laurie Anderson's song Slip Away are about the experience of losing someone to death. The opening lines indicate that the singer has some dust in their eyes and they are not the type of person to cry. The stanza then shifts to the image of the singer standing beside a loved one's bed in the early hours of the morning. The loved one is sleeping peacefully, and the singer touches their lips as they whisper softly. However, the next stanza turns abruptly as the singer reveals that the loved one has passed away, "then you slipped away."
The following lines explore the theme of death more explicitly. In talking about death as "that creep, that crooked jerk," Laurie Anderson personifies death as a malevolent force that sneaks up on you when you are not looking. She describes how death comes "walking" down the irreversible hallway to take you away in your sleep. The song then shifts to imagery of the physical world outside, where bright coins of water glisten on the sidewalk and the big white building where the loved one's body lies stands in the midst of empty fields. The last verses of the song return to the theme of things slipping away and disappearing, such as lost objects and bad dreams. The singer acknowledges that someday they will stop looking for the loved one, and the bad dreams and nightmares will slip away into the remains of the day.
Line by Line Meaning
What's this?
Laurie Anderson starts the song with a question, indicating that something has caught her attention
A little dust in my eye
Laurie Anderson dismisses her tears as nothing more than a speck of dust in her eye
Well I'm not the type to cry
Laurie Anderson asserts that she is not someone who cries easily
It's four a.m.
Laurie Anderson describes the early hour, setting the scene for the rest of the song
I'm standing by the bed where you lie
Laurie Anderson is at the side of a person, presumably someone close to her, who is lying in bed
Sleeping the sleep of the newborn
Laurie Anderson compares the person's peaceful sleep to that of a newborn baby
I put [my] finger to your lips.
Laurie Anderson pauses in contemplation, touching the person's lips softly
Warm air.
Laurie Anderson feels the warmth of the person's breath on her finger
Five a.m.
Another hour has passed since the last time marker, indicating the passage of time
You lift your hand and open it.
The person moves in their sleep, perhaps reaching out or stretching
Then you slipped away.
The person passes away in their sleep, slipping away peacefully
You slipped away.
The repetition of this line emphasizes the person's departure
Oh death, that creep, that crooked jerk
Laurie Anderson personifies death, describing it with contempt
He comes, he comes walking.
Laurie Anderson describes death's approach as inevitable and relentless
He comes sneaking
Laurie Anderson further emphasizes death's stealthy approach
Down that long irreversible hallway
Laurie Anderson uses a metaphor to describe the path towards death as one that cannot be undone
Grabs you in your sleep
Laurie Anderson describes death as something that can come suddenly, even in one's sleep
I walk outside to the parking lot.
Laurie Anderson steps outside of the building, leaving the room where the person had passed away
Bright coins of water on the sidewalk.
Laurie Anderson observes that it is raining outside
Big white building where your body lies
Laurie Anderson sees the building where the person's body is being kept
Stands in the middle of the fields.
Laurie Anderson contrasts the building's urban location with the surrounding countryside
Icy air.
Laurie Anderson notes the chill in the air, perhaps reflecting the coldness of death
And after all the shocks the way the heart unlocks
Laurie Anderson reflects on the process of coming to terms with loss and grief
And ooo we slip away.
Laurie Anderson expresses the futility of clinging to life, as everyone slips away eventually
I'm thinking about the way that lost things always come back
Laurie Anderson ponders the cyclical nature of life and death
Looking like something else
Laurie Anderson notes that the return of lost things may not be recognizable at first
A fishing pole, a shoe, an old shirt, a lucky day
Laurie Anderson gives examples of seemingly random items that may represent something lost or forgotten
Oh then they slip away into the remains of the day
Laurie Anderson suggests that even these lost things are ultimately transient
Oh they slip away.
The repetition of this line underscores the fleeting nature of all things
I'm thinking how you taught me how to win
Laurie Anderson remembers the lessons she learned from the person who passed away
And how to loose
Laurie Anderson reflects on the importance of accepting defeat and loss as part of life
And how to fight the crippling blues that I was born with
"The person who passed away helped Laurie Anderson deal with her own mental struggles
Bad dreams and nightmares
Laurie Anderson acknowledges the haunting memories that continue to affect her
Oh they slip away.
The repetition of this line suggests that Laurie Anderson is slowly coming to terms with these feelings
Oh they slip away into the remains of the day.
The idea that these feelings are part of the "remains of the day" may suggest that they are becoming less prominent over time
I know that sometime I'll stop looking for you.
Laurie Anderson accepts that, eventually, she will move on from the person's loss
Stop seeing your face every day
Laurie Anderson accepts that the memories of the person who passed away will fade with time
Bad dreams and nightmares and big bad wolves
Laurie Anderson lists some of the fears and anxieties that she associates with grief
Oh they slip away into the remains of the day
The idea that these emotions are becoming less prominent repeats, suggesting that Laurie Anderson is slowly healing
Oh they slip away into the remains of the day
The repetition of this line emphasizes that time heals all wounds
They slip away
Laurie Anderson's repetition of this lines underscores the universal nature of loss, indicating that everyone eventually slips away
You told me you had no idea how to die but I saw
Laurie Anderson recalls a conversation where the person who passed away expressed ignorance about the process of dying
The way the light left your eyes
Laurie Anderson describes the moment of the person's death as something that she witnessed
And after all the shocks the way the heart unlocks
The final repetition of this line reflects the song's central theme: the process of coming to terms with loss and grief.
And oh then you slipped away.
Laurie Anderson repeats the final line, bringing the song to a close and underscoring the universality and inevitability of death.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: MICHAEL JAMES ANDERSON, MICHAEL OMARTIAN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind