Christine Johnston performing "The Dream Before" at a Women In Voice event at the Sitting Duck Cafe in Brisbane, Australia, in 1994.
The Dream Before
Inspired by Walter Benjamin (1892 - 1940)
Lyrics by Laurie Anderson
Performed by Christine Johnston
Click to play "The Dream Before" sung by the amazing Christine Johnston (3' 07")
History is an angel being blown backwards into the future
He said: History is a pile of debris
And the angel wants to go back and fix things
To repair the things that have been broken
But there is a storm blowing from Paradise
And the storm keeps blowing the angel backwards into the future
And this storm, this storm is called Progress.
This recording of The Dream Before was produced by Debra Beattie (camera work by Brian Doyle).
The entire 24 minutes set, of which this song is a part, can be viewed by clicking on the next thumbnail to the right.