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.
Sites: Wikipedia
White Lily
Laurie Anderson Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The one-armed man walks into a flower shop
And says: What flower expresses
Days go by
And they just keep going by endlessly
Pulling you Into the future
Days go by
Endlessly
Into the future?
And the florist says: White Lily.
The song "White Lily" by Laurie Anderson is a haunting and enigmatic composition that revolves around the conversation between a one-armed man and a florist. The man is seeking a flower that can express his sense of time passing too quickly, as days go by endlessly and pull him into the future without pause. The florist, in turn, suggests a white lily as the perfect match for this sentiment.
At first glance, the lyrics may appear cryptic and hard to decipher. However, they seem to be referencing a scene from the 1978 film "In a Year with 13 Moons" by the German director Rainer Werner Fassbinder. In the movie, a transgender woman named Elvira visits a flower shop and talks to the florist about her loneliness and longing for meaningful connection. The florist recommends a white lily as a symbol of her hope for a brighter future. Anderson's interpretation of this scene is more abstract and universal, emphasizing the fleeting nature of time and the human quest for transcendence.
One possible interpretation of the song is that it conveys a sense of alienation and dislocation in modern society, where people feel disconnected from their own bodies, emotions, and surroundings. The one-armed man could be seen as a symbol of loss and trauma, while the white lily represents a fragile hope for renewal and beauty. The repetition of the phrase "days go by endlessly" underscores the sense of repetition and routine that can trap us in a sense of security or monotony, but also hints at the possibility of breaking free and embracing change.
Line by Line Meaning
What Fassbinder film is it?
The singer is asking which film by the German filmmaker Rainer Werner Fassbinder is being referred to.
The one-armed man walks into a flower shop
A man missing an arm enters a store that sells flowers.
And says: What flower expresses
The man asks which flower can best convey a particular emotion or sentiment.
Days go by
Time passes and the days continue to move forward.
And they just keep going by endlessly
The days seem to go on without end.
Pulling you Into the future
The days propel the individual forward into the future.
Days go by
Time continues to move forward.
Endlessly
The passage of time seems to have no limit or boundary.
Endlessly pulling you
The continuous motion of time is constantly drawing the individual forward.
Into the future?
The individual is being pulled into the unknown future.
And the florist says: White Lily.
The owner of the flower shop suggests that the white lily is the flower that best expresses the sentiment the man is trying to convey.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA/AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
aramanth
Hypnotic and stellar. 💮
Ikken Hisatsu
That was a fucking beautiful minute, as only Laurie Anderson could do. Amazing.
Arnold S
Oh man, I remember we had to watch this for Contemporary Art History class art school. We were required to watch this and Talking Heads' STOP MAKING SENSE concert films, and write papers on both
Halo Svevo
my favourite part of Home Of The Brave. By the way, the Fassbinder film was "Berlin Alexanderplatz".... ;-)
bgbreakdown
Such a brilliant film!!
MuzikJunkyAES
Sheeyit, I wish this was on DVD!!!! Peace.
L3n0s3
sublime
Kevin Henry
genius.
Serginho Canarin
@birdmadgirl1975 "What Fassbinder is it? The one-armed man walks into a flower shop and says: What flower expresses days go by And they just keep going by endlessly Pulling you into the future. Days go by Endlessly Endlessly pulling you into the future. And the florist says: White Lily".
Patricia Ferrari
what fassbinder film is it?