Laurie Anderson - The End of the World lyrics

Ladies and gentlemen, please
Welcome back to London Laurie Anderson

(O-o-o-oaaaah! O-o-o-oaaaah)

Hi this evening I'll be reading from
A book I just finished
And since a lot of it is about the future
I'm going to start more or less on the
Last page and tell you about my grandmother
Now she was a Southern Baptist holy roller
And she had a very clear idea about the
Future and of how the world would end:
(In fire) In fire (Like in
Revelations) like in Revelations
And when I was ten my grandmother told me the
World would end in a year so I spent
The whole year praying and reading the Bible
And alienating all my friends and
Relatives and finally, the big day came and
Absolutely nothing happened just another day

(O-o-o-oaaaah)

Now my grandmother was a missionary
And she had heard that
The largest religion in the
World was Buddhism so, she decided to go to
Japan to convert Buddhists
(And to inform them about the
End of the world)
And to inform them about the end of the world

And she didn't speak Japanese
So she tried to
Convert them with a combination
Of hand gestures
Sign language and hymns in English
(O-o-o-oaaaah)
The Japanese had absolutely no idea what
She was trying to get at

Now, when she got back to the United States
She was still talking about the end of the
World and I remember the day she died
She was very excited she was like a small
Bird perched on the edge of her bed
Near the window in the hospital
Waiting to die
And she was wearing these pink nightgowns
And combing her hair so she'd
Look pretty for the
Big moment when Christ came to get her
(O-o-o-oaaaah)
And she wasn't afraid but then
Just at the very
Last minute, something happened that
Changed everything because suddenly, at
The very last minute
She panicked after a whole life
Of praying and predicting the
End of the world
She panicked and she panicked
Because she couldn't decide
Whether or not to wear a hat

(O-o-o-oaaaah)

And so when she died, she went
Into the future in a panic
With absolutely no idea of what would be next