Mach 20 Songtext
von Laurie Anderson

Ladies and gentlemen, what you are observing here are magnified
Examples or facsimiles of human sperm. Generation after generation
Of these tiny creatures have sacrificed themselves in a persistent
Often futile attempt to transport the basic male genetic code. But
Where is this information coming from? They have no eyes, no ears
Yet some of them already know that they will be bald. Some of them
Know that they will have small, crooked teeth. Over half of them will
End up as women. Four hundred million living creatures, all knowing
Precisely the same thing. Carbon copies of each other in a kamikaze
Race against the clock. Now some of you may be surprised to learn


That if a sperm were the size of a salmon, it would be swimming
Its seven-inch journey at 500 miles per hour. If a sperm were
The size of a whale, however, it would be traveling at 15,000
Miles per hour, or Mach 20. Now imagine, if you will, 400 million
Blind and desperate sperm whales departing from the Pacific
Coast of North America, swimming at 15,000 miles per hour, and
Arriving in Japanese coastal waters in just under 45 minutes
How would they be received? Would they realize that they were
Carrying information, a message? Would there be room for so many
Millions? Would they know that they have been sent for a purpose?