O Superman

[Johnno]

A song about the nation-state becoming "mother".

http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/plain/A874758

"She[ Laurie Andersen]originally recorded 'O Superman' for a New York-based indie label, 110 Records. It was as much a poem as a song, half-sung and half-spoken, with minimal conventional musical accompaniment - just some electronic tones and pulses, and splashes of sax and flute. Anderson's voice was distorted through a vocoder, making it androgynous and eerie. The single lasted for over eight minutes.

By all conventional criteria, 'O Superman' was totally uncommercial and radio-unfriendly - but it was weirdly gripping and moving. Its use of electronics seemed to evoke the difficulty of communicating emotionally through technology, and there was some startling wordplay: 'So hold me Mom/ In your long arms/ Your petrochemical arms/ Your military arms...'"

O Superman. O judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad.
O Superman. O judge. O Mom and Dad. Mom and Dad.

Hi. I'm not home right now. But if you want to leave a
message, just start talking at the sound of the tone.

Hello? This is your Mother. Are you there? Are you
coming home?
Hello? Is anybody home? Well, you don't know me,
but I know you.
And I've got a message to give to you.
Here come the planes.
So you better get ready. Ready to go. You can come
as you are, but pay as you go. Pay as you go.

And I said: OK. Who is this really? And the voice said:
This is the hand, the hand that takes. This is the
hand, the hand that takes.
This is the hand, the hand that takes.
Here come the planes.
They're American planes. Made in America.
Smoking or non-smoking?
And the voice said: Neither snow nor rain nor gloom
of night shall stay these couriers from the swift
completion of their appointed rounds.

'Cause when love is gone, there's always justice.
And when justive is gone, there's always force.
And when force is gone, there's always Mom. Hi Mom!

So hold me, Mom, in your long arms. So hold me,
Mom, in your long arms.
In your automatic arms. Your electronic arms.
In your arms.
So hold me, Mom, in your long arms.
Your petrochemical arms. Your military arms.
In your electronic arms.

 

[anart]

I had that album on vinyl and I LOVED IT! =)

 

[Cumulus]

Likewise!

thank you for the lyrics again, Johnno. I swear I can hear her when I read them.

 

[Tigersoap]

Watch it here :

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vzYu88jIDYs&feature=related

When I was a child the voice scared me, I thought it was a robot singing until I saw her on TV (ok we can start arguing that she is a machine...) :D

 

[Peam]

wow, I remember that song. It sounded weired but I liked it.

Nice to finally put a face to the song. (I was never a big follower of music but listened to it if the radio was on.)

Thanks for the youtube link Tigersoap. :)

 

[nwigal]

...I had the live version on vinyl-one of my all time favorites. I remember reading somewhere she's married to Lou Reed!