Lou Reed, Anthology of Memorable Lyrics (Late 20th century – Early 21st century)

Lou Reed, 1942–2013. (First, a short bio.)

Lou Reed was one of the preeminent figures in rock’n’roll from the 1960s to the 2010s.   

His career started in high school, when his interest in rock’n’roll and rhythm and blues led him to form several bands. At Syracuse University, he studied under the poet Delmore Schwartz, who had a profound and lasting influence on Reed. 

After graduating in 1964, Lou moved to New York City (and never left). He got a job with Pickwick Records, penning simple pop tunes that would be marketed to capitalize on whatever was popular at that moment. One of the bands formed by the company included the classically trained Welsh musician John Cale. 

Velvet Underground

Reed and Cale soon formed the Velvet Underground. In mid-60s NYC, the band had little success; only a few notable “failures” – owing to their unique style, their artistic integrity, and their desire to create and play their own type of music. Fortunately, Andy Warhol heard the band, and invited them to join his Exploding Plastic Inevitable multimedia shows. 

In 1967, Warhol financed the recording of the Velvets first album. The album attracted little notice at the time, but within the next 5–10 years, it had a major influence on many punk-era bands in local scenes throughout the US, Canada, the UK, and beyond. It is now recognized as one of the greatest, most influential albums in rock’n’roll.

Lou left the Velvets in 1970. Over the course of his long solo career, Lou worked with David Bowie, Robert Quine, Richard Barone, Metallica and many more. While working in rock’n’roll, he continued to create music that was far beyond the traditional limits of the genre. (Listen to the albums Berlin or Metal Machine Music for evidence.) And a few of his albums and songs were hailed as masterpieces; among others, the song Perfect Day and the album Street Hassle.

Rock'n'Roll Poet

While Lou is viewed primarily as a rock’n’roll singer / songwriter / guitarist, his real strength was in writing lyrics. (In university, he had studied journalism and creative writing.) And while he is known for writing about the dark and unpleasant side of life, a perusal of his lyrics below show that he also saw the light and the beauty of life. He captured both the light and the dark, skillfully and brilliantly, in his lyrics.    

Reed was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame twice; in 1996 as a member of the Velvet Underground, and in 2014 as a solo artist.    

Lou Reed passed away on October 27, 2013, at his home in New York.   

(Note: I had listened to Lou since the mid 1970s, and, understandably, thought of him as a great rock’n’roll artist. After his death, I started to compile the following selection of some of his great lyrics. It soon became clear that Lou Reed was not only a superbly gifted singer / songwriter, he was also a master wordsmith and a true poet. Of the highest order.) 

 

Lou's song "Perfect Day," sung by about 25 great singers... [Lou’s song “Perfect Day,” sung by about 25 great singers](

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(Images sourced from Google Images)