Artists
Musicians featured in this piece are:
Bernard Fowler – lead vocals
Philip Glass Ensemble – performance
Michael Riesman – conductor
Strings, brass, and woodwinds: Sanford Allen, Carol Pool, Linda Quan, Elliot Rosoff, Richard Sortomme, Marti Sweet (violins); Paul Doktor, Jill Jaffe, Sol Greitzer (violas); Frederick Zlotkin (cello); John Beal (bass); Wilmer Wise, Stephen Burns, Philip Ruecktenwald (trumpets); James Pugh (trombone); Alan Raph (bass trombone)
Music by Philip Glass, lyrics by Paul Simon. Produced by Kurt Munkacsi, recorded at The Living Room, New York, and The Complex, Los Angeles, 1985–86. Released as the opening track on Songs from Liquid Days (CBS Records, 1986).
“Changing Opinion” opens Songs from Liquid Days, an album where Philip Glass set music to lyrics written by four different songwriters — Paul Simon, David Byrne, Suzanne Vega, and Laurie Anderson — after Glass and producer Kurt Munkacsi spent a lengthy process “casting” the right vocalist for each piece.
Philip Glass – Changing Opinion Lyrics
Gradually
We became aware
Of a hum in the room
An electrical hum in the room
It went mmmmmm
We followed it from
Corner to corner
We pressed our ears
Against the walls
We crossed diagonals
And put our hands on the floor
It went mmmmmm
Sometimes it was
A murmur
Sometimes it was
A pulse
Sometimes it seemed
To disappear
But then with a quarter-turn
Of the head
It would roll around the sofa
A nimbus humming cloud
Mmmmmm
Maybe it’s the hum
Of a calm refrigerator
Cooling on the big night
Mmmmmm
Cooling on the big night
Maybe it’s the hum
Of our parents’ voices
Long ago in a soft light
Mmmmmm
Long ago in a dimmed light
Mmmmmm
Maybe it’s the hum
Of changing opinion
Or a foreign language
In prayer
Mmmmmm
Or a foreign language
In prayer
Maybe it’s the mantra
Of the walls and wiring
Deep breathing
In soft air
Mmmmmm
Deep breathing
In soft air
Mmmmmm
To listen to other songs from the Teleskop 14 program and the full program, click here.