laurie anderson - the end of the world

 

 

 

interview

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* world without end

 

I remember where i came from
There were burning buildings and a fiery red sea
I remember all my lovers
I remember how they held me
World without end remember me.

East. the edge of the world.
West. those who came before me.

When my father died we put him in the ground
When my father died it was like a whole library
Had burned down.
World without end remember me.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

* the puppet motel

 

I live on the highway near the Puppet Motel.
I log in every day. I know the neighborhood well.
Now about the residents of the Puppet Motel
They're more than a little spooky
And most of them are mean. They're runnin' the numbers
They're playin' cops and robbers
Down in their dungeons inside their machines.

Cause they don't know what's really real now
They're havin' fourth dimensional dreams
Their minds are out on bail now
And real is only what it seems.

And all the puppets in this digital jail
They're runnin' around in a frenzy in search of the Holy Grail.
They're havin' virtual sex. They're eatin' virtual food.
No wonder these puppets are always in a lousy mood.

So if you think we live in a modern world
Where everything is clean and swell
Take a walk on the B side of town down by the Puppet Motel.
Take a whiff. Burning plastic.

I drink a cup of coffee I try to revive
My mind's a blank I'm barely alive
My nerves are shot I feel like hell
Guess it's time to check in at the Puppet Motel.

Boot up. Good afternoon. Pause.
Oooo. I really like the way you talk.
Pardon me. Shut down.

* laurie anderson, the end of the world, 1995.

 

 

 

* 세계의 종말

— Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome back to London Laurie Anderson.

신사숙녀 여러분, 런던에 돌아온 로리 앤더슨을 환영합니다.



Ooooaaaah!
Ooooaaaah!


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.

안녕, 오늘 저녁은 방금 내가 막 다 읽은 책을 좀 읽어주려해. 이 책은 미래에 관한 것이라 난 마지막 페이지부터 읽는 게 나을 것 같아. 그리고 우리 할머니에 대해 말을 해줄께.

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.

이제 우리 할머니는 남부 침례교의 열성적인 신도였어. 그리고 우리 할머니는 미래가 어떻게 될지, 그리고 이 세계가 어떻게 종말을 맞게 될지에 대한 명확한 비전을 가지고 있었어.



— In fire.

- 불지옥의


In fire.

- 불지옥의


— Like in Revelations.

묵시록에 나오는 것처럼

Like in Revelations.

묵시록에 나오는 것처럼


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.

그리고 내가 열살이었을 때 우리 할머니는 내게 이 세상이 일년 안에 종말을 맞을 거라고 말하셨어.
나는 그래서 그 일년을 기도하고 성경책을 읽는데 다 보냈고, 나의 친구들과 친척들도 안 만났어.
그리고 드디어 그 날이 왔어. 그런에 전혀 아무 일도 안 생기는 거야. 그냥 또 다른 하루였지.



Ooooaaaah!


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.
이제 우리 할머니는 전도사가 되셨어. 그리고 할머니는 세상에서 가장 큰 종교가 불교라는 걸 들었어. 그래서 할머니는 일본으로 가기로 마음 먹었어, 일본사람들을 전도하려고 말이야.


— And to inform them about the end of the world.
그리고 일본사람들에게 세상의 종말에 대해 알려주려고

And to inform them about the end of the world.
그리고 일본사람들에게 세상의 종말에 대해 알려주려고



And she didn’t speak Japanese. So she tried to convert them with a combination of hand gestures, sign language and hymns, in English.
그런데 할머니는 일본말을 못 했어. 그래서 할머니는 일본사람들을 손짓과 몸짓과 찬송가로 개종시키려고 했어, 영어로 말이지.



Ooooaaaah!


The Japanese had absolutely no idea what she was trying to get at.
And when she got back to the United States she was still talking about the end of the world.
일본사람들은 할머니가 하고 싶은 말이 무슨 말인지 전혀 이해를 못했어.
그 후에 미국으로 돌아왔을 때에도 여전히 할머니는 세상의 종말에 대해 말을 했어.

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.

그리고 난 할머니가 돌아가시던 날을 기억해. 할머니는 완전히 흥분해계셨어.
할머니는 병원 창문 가의 침대에 위태롭게 앉아 있는 한 마리 작은 새 같았어.


죽기를 기다리는 새 말이야.

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.
할머니는 그 때 핑크빛 나이트가운을 입고 머리를 빗고 있었어,
그리스도가 할머니를 데릴러 올 때 예쁘게 보이고 싶어서 말이야.




Ooooaaaah!

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.
그 때도 할머니는 아무 두려움이 없었어. 그런데 갑자기 마지막 순간에 뭔가 중요한 일이 일어나서 모든 게 바뀌었어.

왜냐하면 갑자기, 할머니는 마지막 순간에 패닉에 빠져벼렸던 거야.
일생을 기도하고 세상의 종말을 예언하던 할머니가, 패닉에 빠졌어.
그런데 할머니가 패닉에 빠진 이유가 뭐냐 하면,  모자를 써야 할지 말아야 할지 결정할 수가 없어서였어.



Ooooaaaah!


And so when she died she went into the future in a panic with absolutely no idea of what would be next.
그래서 할머니는 죽을 때 죽은 다음에 어떻게 될지 글자 그대로 전혀 아무런 비전이 없는 채로 그냥 패닉 상태에 빠져서 미래로 가버렸어.