Laurie Anderson - It Was Up in the Mountains lyrics

It was up in the mountains we had this
Ceremony every year we had it and
Everyone from miles around came in for it
Cousins, aunts, uncles, and
The kids grandmothers
Grandfathers everyone and we set it
Up around this big natural pool
With pine trees and
Palm trees all the trees were there and
We had thousands of those big urns- you know
The kind and everyone would dance and sing
And it lasted for three
Days everyone cooked and
Looked forward to it all the year
Well one year, we were in the middle of it
And I was just a boy at the
Time anyway, it was evening, and suddenly
A whole lot of tigers came in
I don't know where they came
From they rushed in, snarling, and
Knocked over all the urns
And it was really a mess
Well, we spent the whole
Next year rebuilding everything
But in the middle of the ceremony the
Next time the same thing
Happened these tigers rushed
In again and broke everything and then
Went back into the mountains
This must have gone
On four or five years this way -rebuilding
And then the tigers would come and break
Everything we were getting used to it
Finally we had a meeting and
Decided to make these tigers
Part of the ceremony- you know
-to expect them we
Began to put food in the urns
So the tigers would
Have something to eat not
Much at first crackers
Things like that then later we
Put more food until finally
We were saving our food all
Year for the tigers then one year
The tigers didn't come they never came back