With the sad passing of the great American musician Lou Reed earlier this week, famous friends and fans alike were moved to express what the iconic singer songwriter meant to them.
Now, Reed’s wife Laurie Anderson has composed her own very personal and very touching tribute to her late husband.
Writing in the obituary section of local paper The East Hampton Star, Anderson, who is an experimental musician herself, talks about how the former member of The Velvet Underground returned home from hospital in his final days, practising Tai Chi and being “dazzled by the by the beauty and power and softness of nature”.
Here is the beautiful text in full, with Anderson creating the very poignant image of a man at peace.
To our neighbors:
What a beautiful fall! Everything shimmering and golden and all that incredible soft light. Water surrounding us.
Lou and I have spent a lot of time here in the past few years, and even though we’re city people this is our spiritual home.
Last week I promised Lou to get him out of the hospital and come home to Springs. And we made it!
Lou was a tai chi master and spent his last days here being happy and dazzled by the beauty and power and softness of nature. He died on Sunday morning looking at the trees and doing the famous 21 form of tai chi with just his musician hands moving through the air.
Lou was a prince and a fighter and I know his songs of the pain and beauty in the world will fill many people with the incredible joy he felt for life. Long live the beauty that comes down and through and onto all of us.
— Laurie Anderson
his loving wife and eternal friend
And here’s the man himself doing what he did best:
What a tune. RIP Lou Reed.
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