On The Way To Jerusalem Lyrics

Laurie Anderson On The Way To Jerusalem

There was a devout nun in the XVth century who decided to make a pilgrimage to Jerusalem; and she belonged to an order that wore bags over their heads. And the mother superior told the nun that if she walked through the countryside with a bag on her head, she would scare people. But the nun insisted, so the mother superior allowed to her to walk around and around the cloister, every day for three years until she covered the equivalent distance to the Holy City. At the end of her journey the nun was so exhausted that she collapsed. A doctor was called. After examining her he announced that she was too weak to make the return trip. The nun died shortly after.