Lou Reed

[fox69]

"The City In The Sea / Shadow"

"The City In The Sea / Shadow"


Death has reared himself a throne

In a strange city
Alone

Death has reared himself a throne
In a strange city
Alone
Their shrines and palaces are not like ours
They do not tremble and rot
Eaten with time

Death has reared himself a throne

Lifted by forgotten winds
Resignedly beneath the sky
The melancholy waters lie
A crown of stars

In a strange city
Alone

A heaven God does not condemn
But the everlasting shadow
Makes mockery of it all

No holy rays come down
Lights from the lurid deep sea
Stream up the turrets silently
Up thrones, up arbors
Of sculpted ivy and stone flowers
Up domes, up spires
Kingly halls all are melancholy shrines
The columns, frieze and entablature
Chokingly shockingly intertwined
The mast the viol and the vine
Twisted

There amid no earthly moans
Hell rises from a thousand thrones
Does reverence to death
And death does give his undivided time

There are open temples
And graves on a level with the waves
Death looms and looks
Huge
Gigantic
There is a ripple
Now a wave
Towers thrown aside
Sinking in the dull tide
The waves glowing redder
The very hours losing their breath

All the cunning stars
Watching fitfully over night after night of
Matchless ........ sleep
Matched only with the whole of dream .......
The tell-tale beating of the heart
The ......... breath
The desire, the pose
One poses upon the precipice
To fall to run to dive to tumble to fall down
Down into the spiral down and then
One sees one's own death
One sees one committing murder or atrocious violent acts
And then across the shadow
Not of man or God
But the shadow resting upon the brazen doorway

There were seven of us there
Who saw the shadow as it came out from among the draperies
But we did not dare behold it
We looked down into the depths of the mirror of ebony
And the apparition spoke
"I am a shadow
And I dwell in the catacombs
Which border
The country of illusion
Hard by the dim plains of wishing"

And then did we start shuddering
Starting from our seats
Trembling
For the tones in the voice of the shadow
Were not the tones of any one man
But of a multitude of beings
And varying in their cadences
From syllable to syllable
Fell duskily upon our ears in the well
Remembered and familiar accents
Of a thousand departed friends

 

[fox69]

"The Conqueror Worm"

"The Conqueror Worm"


[Young Poe:]
Lo! 't is a gala night
A mystic throng bedecked
Sit in a theater to see
A play of hopes and fears
While the orchestra breathes fitfully
The music of the spheres
Mimes, mutter and mumble low
Mere puppets they, who come and go
Disguised as gods
They shift the scenery to and fro
Inevitably trapped by invisible Wo
This motley drama
to be sure
Will not be forgotten
A phantom chased for evermore
Never seized by the crowd
Through they circle
Returning to the same spot
Circle and return to the selfsame spot
Always to the selfsame spot
With much of madness and more of sin
And horror and mimic rout
The soul of the plot
Out
out are the lights
out all
And over each dying form
The curtain a funeral pall
Comes with the rush of a storm
The angels haggard and wan
Unveiling and uprising affirm
That the play is the tragedy "Man"
And its hero the Conqueror Worm

 

[fox69]

"The Day John Kennedy Died"

"The Day John Kennedy Died"


I dreamed I was the president of these United States
I dreamed I replaced ignorance, stupidity and hate
I dreamed the perfect union and a perfect law, undenied
And most of all I dreamed I forgot the day John Kennedy died

I dreamed that I could do the job that others hadn't done
I dreamed that I was uncorrupt and fair to everyone
I dreamed I wasn't gross or base, a criminal on the take
And most of all I dreamed I forgot the day John Kennedy died

Oh, the day John Kennedy died
Oh, the day John Kennedy died

I remember where I was that day, I was upstate in a bar
The team from the university was playing football on TV
Then the screen went dead and the announcer said,
"There's been a tragedy
There's are unconfirmed reports the president's been shot
and he may be dead or dying."

Talking stopped, someone shouted, "What!?"
I ran out to the street
People were gathered everywhere saying,
did you hear what they said on TV
And then a guy in a Porsche with his radio hit his horn
and told us the news
He said, "The president's dead, he was shot twice in the head
in Dallas, and they don't know by whom."

I dreamed I was the president of these United States
I dreamed I was young and smart and it was not a waste
I dreamed that there was a point to life and to the human race
I dreamed that I could somehow comprehend that someone
shot him in the face

Oh, the day John Kennedy died
Oh, the day John Kennedy died
Oh, the day John Kennedy died
Oh, the day John Kennedy died

 

[fox69]

"The Fall Of The House Of Usher"

"The Fall Of The House Of Usher"


[Edgar:]
And then I had a vision

[Roderick Usher:]
Ah Edgar
Ah Edgar, my dear friend Edgar

[Edgar:]
It's been a long time, Roderick
I've ridden many miles
It's been a dull and soundless day for autumn
The leaves have lost their autumn glow
and the clouds seem oppressive with their drifting finery

[Roderick Usher:]
I know, my friend
Though I own so much of this land I find
the country insufferable
I deal only in half pleasures

[Edgar:]
Speaking of half pleasures
would you care for a tincture of opium?

[Roderick Usher:]
Nothing would please me more than to smoke
with an old friend

I've experienced the hideous dropping of the veil
the bitter lapse into common life
unredeemed dreariness of thought
I have an iciness, a sickening of the heart

[Edgar:]
It's true you don't look well, Roderick
but I am your friend
no matter the occasion or position of the stars
I'm glad you wrote me
but I must admit to concern

[Roderick Usher:]
I cannot contain my heart
Edgar, I look to you for solace
for relief from myself
What I have is constitutional
a family evil, a nervous affection that must surely pass
But I do have this morbid acuteness of senses
I can eat only the most insipid food
clothes only of the lightest texture
The odor of flowers I find oppressive
My eyes cannot bear even the faintest light

[Madeline Usher:]
[moaning]

[Roderick Usher:]
Did you hear that?

[Edgar:]
I hear
I am listening, go on

[Roderick Usher:]
I shall perish
I will perish in this deplorable folly
I dread the future
Not the events, the results
The most trivial event
causes the greatest agitation of the soul
I do not fear danger except in its absolute effect terror
I find I must inevitably abandon life and reason together
in my struggles with the demon fear

Perhaps you'll think me superstitious
but the physique of this place
it hovers about me like a great body
some diseased outer shell
some decaying finite skin encasing my morale

[Edgar:]
You mentioned your sister was ill

[Roderick Usher:]
My beloved sister, my sole companion
has had a long continuing illness
whose inevitable conclusion seems forsworn
This will leave me the last of the ancient race of Ushers

[Madeline Usher:]
[moaning]

[Edgar:]
She looks so much like you

[Roderick Usher:]
I love her in a nameless way
more than I love myself
Her demise will leave me hopelessly
confined to memories and realities of a future
so barren as to be stultifying

[Madeline Usher:]
[moaning]

[Edgar:]
Oh, what of physicians?

[Roderick Usher:]
Ah, they are baffled
Until today she refused bed rest
wanting to be present in your honor
but finally she succumbed to the prostrating power of the destroyer
You will probably see her no more

[Edgar:]
Sound and music take us to the twin curves of experience
Like brother and sister intertwined
they relieve themselves of bodily contact
and dance in a pagan revelry

[Roderick Usher:]
I have soiled myself with my designs
I am ashamed of my brain
The enemy is me
and the executioner terror
Music is a reflection of our inner self
unfiltered agony touches the wayward string
The wayward brain confuses itself
with the self-perceived future
and turns inward with loathing and terror
Either by design or thought
we are doomed to know our own end
I've written a lyric

[Edgar:]
May I hear it?

[Roderick Usher:]
It is called "The Haunted Palace"

In the greenest of our valleys,
By good angels tenanted,
Once a fair and stately palace --
Snow-white palace -- reared its head.

Banners yellow, glorious, golden,
On its roof did float and flow;
(This -- all this -- was in the olden time long ago)
And every gentle air that dallied,
Along the rampart plumed and pallid,
A winged odor went away.

All wanderers in that happy valley
Through two luminous windows saw
Spirits moving musically
The sovereign of the realm serene,
A troop of echoes whose sweet duty
Was but to sing
In voices of surpassing beauty,
The wit and wisdom of their king.

But evil things in robes of sorrow,
Assailed the monarch's high estate!
And round about his home the glory,
Is but a dim-remembered story.

Vast forms that move fantastically
To a discordant melody;
While, like a ghastly river,
A hideous throng rush out forever,
And laugh -- but smile no more.

Nevermore.

[Edgar:]
It's cold in here

[Roderick Usher:]
I tell you minerals are sentient things
The gradual yet certain condensation of an atmosphere
of their own about the waters and the walls proves this
Thus the silent yet importunate and terrible influence
which for centuries has molded my family
And now me

[Madeline Usher:]
[screaming]

[Roderick Usher:]
Excuse me

[Madeline Usher:]
[vomiting]

[Roderick Usher:]
She is gone
Out, sad light
Roderick has no life

I shall preserve her corpse for a fortnight

[Edgar:]
But Roderick..

[Roderick Usher:]
I shall place it in a vault facing the lake
I do not wish to answer to the medical men
nor place her in the exposed burial plot of my family
We shall inter her at the proper date
when I am more fully of a right mind
Her malady was unusual
Please do not question me on this

[Edgar:]
I cannot question you

[Roderick Usher:]
Then help me now

[Madeline Usher:]
[moaning]

[Edgar:]
One would think you twins

[Roderick Usher:]
We are
We have always been sympathetic to each other
Have you seen this?
It is her

[Edgar:]
It is a whirlwind
You should not
You must not behold this

Roderick, these appearances which bewilder you are mere electrical phenomena not uncommon
Or perhaps they have their rank origins in the marshy gases of the lake
Please, let's close this casement and I will read and you will listen
Aand together we will pass this terrible night together

What's that?
What is that?
Don't you hear that?

[Roderick Usher:]
Not hear it?
Yes, I hear it and have heard it many minutes have I heard it?
Oh, pity me miserable wretch
I dared not
Oh no
I dared not speak
We have put her living in the tomb
I have heard feeble movements in the coffin
I thought I heard
I dared not speak
Oh God
I have heard footsteps
Do you not hear them?
Attention
Do I not distinguish that heavy and horrible beating of her heart?
Madman
Madman
I tell you she now stands without the door

[Madeline Usher:]
[moaning and screaming]

 

[fox69]

"The Gun"

"The Gun"


The man has a gun
he knows how to use it
Nine millimeter Browning
let's see what he can do
He'll point at your mouth
say that he'll blow your brains out
Don't you mess with me
carrying a gun
Carrying a gun
carrying a gun
Don't you mess with me
carrying a gun
Carrying a gun
carrying a gun
Don't mess with me
ooohhh, carrying a gun
Get over there
move slowly
I'll put a hole in your face
if you even breathe a word
Tell the lady to lie down
I want, ah, you to be sure to see this
I wouldn't want you to miss a second
watch your wife
Carrying a gun
shooting with a gun
Dirty animal

Carrying a gun
carrying a gun
Watch you face
carrying a gun
Carrying a gun
carrying a gun
The animal dies with fear in his eyes
with a gun
Don't touch him, don't touch him
stay away from him, he's got a gun

 

[fox69]

"The Heroine"

"The Heroine"


The heroine stood up on the deck
The ship was out of control
The bow was being ripped to shreds
Men were fighting down below
The sea had pummeled the boat for so long
That they knew nothing but fear

And the baby's in the box, he thinks the door is locked
The sea is in a state, the baby learns to wait
For the heroine, ooohh for the heroine
Locked in his defense, he waits for the heroine

The mast is cracking as he waves are slapping
Sailors roll across the deck
And when they thought none was looking
They would cut a weaker man's neck
While the heroine dressed in a virgin white dress
Tried to steer the mighty ship
But the raging storm wouldn't hear of it
They were in for a long trip

Baby's in the box, he thinks the door is locked
He finds it hard to breathe, drawing in the sea
And where's the heroine to fire off the gun
To calm the raging seas and let herself be seized by the

Baby in the box, he thinks the door is locked
The woman has the keys
But there is no moment she can seize
Here's to the heroine, who transcends all the men
Who are locked inside the box
Will the lady let them out
Ooohh the heroine, ooohh the heroine
Strapped to the mast, the pale ascendant heroine...

 

[fox69]

"The Kids"

"The Kids"


They're taking her children away
Because they said she was not a good mother
They're taking her children away
Because she was making it with sisters and brothers
And everyone else, all of the others
Like cheap officers who would stand there and flirt in front of me

They're taking her children away
Because they said she was not a good mother
They're taking her children away
Because of the things that they heard she had done
The black Air Force sergeant was not the first one
And all of the drugs she took, every one, every one

And I am the Water Boy, the real game's not over here
But my heart is overflowin' anyway
I'm just a tired man, no words to say
But since she lost her daughter
It's her eyes that fill with water
And I am much happier this way

They're taking her children away
Because they said she was not a good mother
They're taking her children away
Because number on was the girl friend from Paris
The things that they did - ah - they didn't have to ask us
And then the Welshman from India, who came here to stay

They're taking her children away
Because they said she was not a good mother
They're taking her children away
Because of the things she did in the streets
In the alleys and bars, no she couldn't be beat
That miserable rotten slut couldn't turn anyone away

I am the Water Boy, the real game's not over here
But my heart is overflowin' anyway
I'm just a tired man, no words to say
But since she lost her daughter
It's her eyes that fill with water
And I am much happier this way

 

[fox69]

"The Last Shot"

"The Last Shot"


Last shot sure killed me
pour another drink
Let's drink to the last shot
and the blood on the dishes in the sink
Blood inside the coffee cup
blood on the table top

But when you quit, you quit, but you always wish
that you knew it was your last shot
When you quit, you quit, but you always wish
that you knew it was your last shot

I shot blood at the fly on the wall
my heart almost stopped hardly there at all
I broke the mirror with my fall, with my -
- Fall-fall-fall
fall-fall-fall

Gimme a double, give yourself one two
gimme a short beer, one for you too
And a toast to everything that doesn't move
that doesn't move

But when you quit, you quit, but you always wish
that you knew it was your last shot
When you quit, you quit, but you always wish
that you knew it was your last shot

Whiskey, bourbon, vodka and scotch
I don't care what it is you've got
I just want to know that it's my last shot
My last shot

I remember when I quit pretty good
see this here, this is where I chipped my tooth
Shot of vein in my neck and I coughed up a Quaalude
On my last shot
my last shot

Here's a toast to all that's good
and here's a toast to hate
And here's a toast to toasting and I'm not boasting
When I say I'm getting straight
when I say I'm getting straight

But when you quit, you quit, but you always wish
that you knew it was your last shot
When you quit, you quit, but you always wish
that you knew it was your last shot

 

[fox69]

"The Original Wrapper"

"The Original Wrapper"


I was sittin' home on the West End
watchin' cable TV with a female friend
we were watchin' the news, the world's in a mess
the poor and the hungry, a world in distress

Herpes, AIDS, the Middle East at full throttle
better check that sausage, before you put it in the waffle
and while you're at it, check what's in the batter
make sure that candy's in the Original Wrapper

Hey, pitcher, better check that batter
make sure that candy's in the Original Wrapper

Reagan says abortion's murder
while he's looking at Cardinal O'Connor
look at Jerry Falwell Louis Farrakhan
both talk religion and the brotherhood of man
They both sound like they belong in Teheran

watch out, they're goin' full throttle
better check that sausage, before you stick it in the waffle
and while you're at it better check, what's in the batter
make sure that candy's in the Original Wrapper

Hey, pitcher, better check that batter
make sure that candy's in the Original Wrapper

White against white, Black against Jew
it seems like it's 1942
the baby sits in front of MTV
watching violent fantasies
While Dad guzzles beer with his favorite sport
only to find his heroes are all coked up
classic, original, the same old story
the politics of hate in a new surrounding

Hate if it's good and hate if it's bad
and if this all don't make you mad
I'll keep yours and I'll keep mine
nothing sacred and nothing divine

Father, bless me, we're at full throttle
better check that sausage, before you put it in the waffle
and while you're at it better check that batter
make sure the candy's in the Original Wrapper

Hey, pitcher, better check that batter
make sure that candy's in the Original Wrapper, hey, hey

I was born in the United States
and I grew up hard but I grew up straight
I saw a lack of morals and a lack of concern
a feeling that there's nowhere to turn

Yippies, Hippies and upwardly mobile Yuppies
don't treat me like I'm some dumb lackey
'cause the murderer lives while the victims die
I'd much rather see it an eye for an eye

A heart for a heart, a brain for a brain
and if this all makes you feel a little insane
kick up your heels, turn the music up loud
pick up your guitar and look out at the crowd, and say, -

"Don't mean to come on sanctimonious
but life's got me nervous and little pugnacious
Lugubrious so I give a salutation
and rock on out to beat really stupid
Ohh, poop, ah, doo and how do you do
hip hop gonna bop till I drop"

watch out world, comin' at you full throttle
better check that sausage, before you put it in the waffle
and while you're at it better check that batter
make sure the candy's in the Original Wrapper

Hey, hey, pitcher, better check that batter
make sure the candy's in the Original Wrapper
hey, pitcher, better check that batter
make sure the candy's in the Original Wrapper, hey, hey, hey

 

[fox69]

"The Power Of Positive Drinking"

"The Power Of Positive Drinking"


Some like wine and some like hops
but what I really love is my scotch
It's the power, the power of positive drinking

Some people ruin their drinks with ice
and then they, they ask you for advice
They tell you, I've never told anyone else before

They say, Candy is dandy but liquor makes quipsters
and I don't like mixers, or sippers or sob sisters
You know, you have to be real careful where you sit down
in a bar these days

And then some people drink to unleash their libidos
and other people drink to prop up their egos
It's my burdon, man, people say
I have the kind of face you can trust

The pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive drinking
The pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive
The pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive
the pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive
the pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive drinking

Some people say, alcohol makes you less lucid
and think that's true if you're kind of stupid
I'm not that kind that get's himself burned twice

And some say liquor kills the cells in your head
and for that matter so does getting out of bed
When I exit, I'll go out gracefully, shot in my hand

The pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive drinking
The pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive
The pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive
the pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive
the pow-pow-pow-pow-power of positive drinking