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Beginning French (live) Lyrics by Laurie Anderson

Live in New York

2002

Y'know lately, I've been doing a lot of concerts in French. Now, unfortunately, I don't speak French. I memorize it. I mean, my mouth is moving but I don't really understand what I'm saying
It's like sitting at the breakfast table, and it's early in the morning and, and you're not just quite awake. And you're just sitting there staring at the – eating cereal and staring at the writing on the cereal box. And, not reading it exactly, just more or less looking at the words. And suddenly, for some reason, you snap to attention, and you realize that what you're reading is what you're eating... But by then it's much too late
Now, after doing these concerts in French, I usually had the temporary illusion that I could actually speak French, but as soon as I walked out on the street, and people asked me simple directions, I realized I couldn't speak a single word. So, as a result of this inadequacy, I found that the people I had the most rapport with there were the babies. And one of the things I noticed about these babies was that they were apparently being used as some kind of traffic testers. Their mothers would be pushing them along in their strollers and they would come to a busy street with lots of parked cars and the mother can't see what the traffic is like because of all the parked cars. And so she just sort of edges the stroller out into the street and cranes her head out afterwards. And the most striking thing about this is the expression on these babies' faces as they sit there in the middle of traffic, stranded, banging those little gavels they've all got and they can't even speak English
Do you know what I mean?
Credits
Laurie Anderson

Laurie Anderson

About “Beginning French (live)” by Laurie Anderson

Read the complete lyrics to "Beginning French (live)" by Laurie Anderson from the album "Live in New York" in 2002. On Lyrks you can follow along with the full text, explore the artist's discography, and discover related songs. The track is often categorized under Pop.

"Beginning French (live)" is performed by Laurie Anderson. from the album "Live in New York" in 2002 This page provides the full lyric text for fans who want to sing along, study the songwriting, or compare versions across releases. Lyrks organizes lyrics by artist and song slug so you can bookmark and share a stable URL. Music lyrics help listeners connect with emotion, narrative, and rhythm in a track. Whether you are learning English, researching a favorite chorus, or preparing for karaoke, having accurate line breaks and section labels (verse, chorus, bridge) makes the experience easier. We link to the official artist profile on Lyrks where available, including biography snippets, top songs, and chart placements when we have that data. If you enjoy "Beginning French (live)", explore more songs by Laurie Anderson using the links below. Chart and trending pages on Lyrks highlight what listeners are searching for this week. For copyright or correction requests, see our DMCA and contact pages.

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Frequently asked questions

"Beginning French (live)" is credited to Laurie Anderson. Songwriting credits may include additional writers listed on the release; check the credits section on this page for linked collaborators.

"Beginning French (live)" appears on "Live in New York" in 2002.

Visit the Laurie Anderson artist page at /artist/laurie-anderson for biography, popular tracks, and links to more lyric pages.