Black Angel's Death Song
The Velvet Underground
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The myriad choices of his fate Set themselves out upon a plate For him to choose What had he to lose Not a ghost bloodied country All covered with sleep Where the black angel did weep Not an old city street in the east Gone to choose And wandering's brother Walked on through the night With his hair in his face On a long splintered cut from the knife of G.T. The rally man's patter ran on through the dawn Until we said so long To his skull-shrill yell Shining brightly red-rimmed and Red-lined with the time Infused with the choice of the mind On ice skates scraping chunks From the bells Cut mouth bleeding razor's Forgetting the pain Antiseptic remains cool goodbye So you fly To the cozy brown snow of the east Gone to choose, choose again Sacrificials remains make it hard to forget Where you come from The stools of your eyes Serve to realize fame, choose again And roverman's refrain of the sacrilege recluse For the loss of a horse Went the bowels and a tail of a rat Come again, choose to go And if epiphany's terror reduced you to shame Have your head bobbed and weaved Choose a side to be on If the stone glances off Split didactics in two Leave the colors of the mouse trails Don't scream, try between If you choose, if you choose, try to lose For the loss of remain come and start Start the game I che che che che I Che che che ka tak koh Choose to choose Choose to choose, choose to go
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Written by: Lou A. Reed, John Davies Cale
Lyrics © GARNANT MUSIC, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
13 facts about this song
Music Origins"Black Angel's Death Song" is a song written by Lou Reed and John Cale, members of the band The Velvet Underground, not Nico, although she was part of the band for a while.
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Album DebutThe track is a part of the band's debut album "The Velvet Underground & Nico," released in 1967.
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ConceptualizationBoth Reed and Cale composed this song before Velvet Underground was formed.
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Artistic InceptionThe song's title was inspired by a short story written by the black comedian Lord Buckley, titled "Black Cross".
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Producer DisputeThe band's then-producer, Andy Warhol, and the main engineer, Tom Wilson, were initially at odds about including this song on the album. Warhol wanted it there, but Wilson did not, leading to tensions.
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InspirationThe song's lyrics are inspired by expressionist writings, which is very much present in its syntax and imagery.
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CompositionThe song features Cale's screeching electric viola, a perfect example of the discordant way he liked to play the instrument.
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Band ConflictAllegedly, it was the band's insistence on playing "Black Angel's Death Song" that led to them being fired from their residency at a New York venue called Café Bizarre.
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Avant-Garde StyleThe song is known for its avant-garde style, described as existentialist and inaccessible or difficult for many.
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Cult StatusThe Velvet Underground & Nico, including "Black Angel's Death Song", didn't achieve commercial success at first, but has since gained a cult following and is considered a significant influence on many punk and post-punk bands.
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DiscontinuationThe Velvet Underground stopped performing "Black Angel's Death Song" live after the departure of John Cale in 1968.
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Infrequent PerformancesLou Reed rarely performed the song during his solo career. It was played occasionally in the late '70s and not at all in the years after.
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LegacyDespite originally being one of the less popular tracks on the album, the song has since been praised for its exemplification of The Velvet Underground's unique sound and artistic vision.
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Citation
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"Black Angel's Death Song Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 14 May 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric/24336249/The+Velvet+Underground/Black+Angel%27s+Death+Song>.
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