They say that in 1842 on a plantation in Alabama The slaves unearthed a huge skeleton, the bones of a giant whale, a leviathan, from the time when all the world was covered with water from the Andes to the Himalayas and even Alabama was deep down under. And the slaves looked at the huge bones and they said:
These must be the bones of a fallen angel These must be the bones of a fallen angel
Out on the ocean, out of the water We look for signs of him He looks like a giant snow hill, a fountain Then he disappears. He's a speck on the horizon
We see him only in parts The flash of a tail, his beating heart. He's in Pieces And Parts.
It's easier for a camel to slide through the eye of a needle Than to find a whale who hides at the bottom of the ocean It's easier to sail around the world in a coffee cup [ Pieces And Parts lyrics from http://www.lyricsyoulove.com/l/laurie_anderson/pieces_and_parts/ ] Than to see a whale when he comes rising up
We see him only in parts A fountain, fins, a speck on the horizon Giant teeth, an open mouth Look out, look out, look out, look out
So hit an elephant with a dart and he just reaches around and pulls it out with his trunk But hit a whale in the hear and the whole ocean turns red, It turns red.
We see him only in parts The flash of a tail, his beating heart He's in pieces and parts
So get hit in your head And there may be a few things you can't recall at all But you get hit in your heart And you're in pieces and parts Pieces and parts.