"Statue Of Liberty" is a song written by Andy Partridge. It appeared on the 1977 album White Music. It was banned from BBC Radio for the mentioning of sailing beneath the titular statue's skirt.
A promo video was shot with the band preforming in front of a cardboard cutout of the Statue Of Liberty.
XTC performed this song along with "Radios in Motion" on the British T.V. show The Old Grey Whistle Test in 1977.
A live version appeared on the 1998 Transistor Blast box set.
Single tracklisting[]
- A-side: "Statue of Liberty (edit)"
- B-side: "Hang on to the Night"
Quotes[]
Colin: “Barry (Andrews) was still with us then, and the keyboards were a dominant part of the sound.” Andy: “Yeah, that cheap fairground organ - I was well into that. Barry had a ludicrously idiosyncratic style.” Dave: “It was banned by the BBC for the lyrics: ‘In my fantasy I sail beneath your skirt’.”
Andy: “One Sunday afternoon my girlfriend was doing some ironing and kept on lifting her iron into the air to get the lead untangled, she reminded me of the Statue of Liberty. Rainy days make your mind wander and. . . I even saw the Statue herself in 1978, it was bright green with oxidization. A certain radio station banned it [the song] for its ‘risqué’ line ‘I sailed beneath your skirt’, whilst they played ‘Walk on the Wild Side’ in which Lou Reed's characters are busy shaving their legs, changing their sex and giving each other head.”
Lyrics[]
The first time I saw you standing in the water
You must have been all of a thousand feet tall
Nearly naked - unashamed like Herod's daughter
Your love was so big
It made New York look small
You've been the subject of so many dreams
Since I climbed your torso
Oh!
My Statue of Liberty
Boo Boo
Impaled on your hair
What do you do
Do Do Do to me
Boo Boo
I leaned right over to kiss your stoney book
A little jealous of the ships with whom you flirt
A billion lovers with their cameras
Snap to look
And in my fantasy I sail
Beneath your skirt
You've been the subject of so many dreams
Since I climbed your torso
Oh!
My Statue of Liberty
Boo Boo
Impaled on your hair
What do you do
Do Do Do to me
Boo Boo
Pump me!
You've been the subject of so many dreams
Since I climbed your torso
Oh!
My Statue of Liberty
Boo Boo
Impaled on your hair
What do you do
Do Do Do to me
Boo Boo
Liberty
Liberty
Liberty
Videos[]
Promo[]
The promo video of "Statue of Liberty." Uploaded by YouTube user "tocadiscohumano."
Old Grey Whistle Test[]
Performing "Statue of Liberty" live on British music show The Old Grey Whistle Test. Uploaded by YouTube user "campfreddie."