From The Blue Mask (1982) by Lou Reed

My House (Reed) - 5:21

The image of the poet's in the breeze
Canadian geese are flying above the trees
A mist is hanging gently on the lake
My house is very beautiful at night

My friend and teacher occupies a spare room
He's dead - at peace at last the Wandering Jew
Other friends has put stones on his grave
He was the first great man that I had ever met

Sylvia and I got out our Ouija Board
To dial a spirit - across the room it soared
We were happy and amazes at what we saw
Blazing stood the proud and regal name Delmore

Delmore, I missed all your funny ways
I missed your jokes and the brilliant things you said
My Dedalus to your Bloom
Was such a perfect wit
And to find you in my house
Makes things perfect

I really got a lucky life
My writhing, my motorcycle and my wife
And to top it all off a spirit of pure poetry
Is living in this stone and wood house with me

The image of the poet's in the breeze
Canadian geese are flying above the trees
A mist is hanging gently on the lake
Our house is very beautiful at night

Our house is very beautiful at night
Our house is very beautiful at night
Our house is very beautiful at night

Women (Reed) - 4:55

I love women, I think they are great
They're a solace to the world in a terrible state
They're a blessing to the eyes, a balm to soul
What a nightmare to have no women in the world

I love women ...
We all love women

I used to look at women in the magazines
I know that it was sexist, but I was on the sly
I couldn't keep my hands off women
And I won't till I die

I love women ...
We all love women

A woman's love can lift you up, and women can inspire
I feel like buying flowers and hiring a celestial choir
A choir of castratis to serenade my love
They'd sing a little Bach for us and then we'd make love

I love women
I love women
We all love women
We love women

Underneath the Bottle (Reed) - 2:27

Oooohh whee, look at me, looking for some sympathy
It's the same old story, of a man and his search for glory
And he found it, underneath the bottle

Things are never good, things go from bad to weird
Hey gimme another Scotch with my beer
I'm sad to say, I feel the same today, as I always do
Gimme a drink to relax me

Oooohh whee, liquor set free, I can't do no work
The shake's inside me
Ah shucks, I got the lousiest luck, I'm sick of this
Underneath the bottle

Seven days make a week, on two of them I sleep
I can't remember what the heck I was doing
I got bruise on my leg from I can't remember when
I fell down some stairs
I was lyin' underneath the bottle

Oooohh whee, son of a B.
You get so down, you can't get any lower
So long world, you play too rough
And it's getting me all mixed up
I lost my pride and it's hiddin'
There, underneath the bottle

The Gun (Reed) - 3:37

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
Says that he'll blow your brains out
Don't 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 you mess with me, 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 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

The Blue Mask (Reed) - 5:00

They tied his arms behind his back, to teach him how to swim
They put blood in his coffee and milk in his gin
They stood over the soldier, in the midst of the squalor
There was war in his body and it caused his brain to holler

Make the sacrifice, mutilate my face
If you need someone to kill
I'm a man without a will
Wash the razor in the rain, let me luxuriate in pain
Please don't set me free
Death means a lot to me

The pain was lean and it made him scream
He knew he was alive
He put a pin through the nipples on his chest
He thought he was a saint
I've made love to my mother, killed my father and brother
What am I to do
When a sin goes too far, it's like a runaway car
And cannot be controlled
Spit upon his face and scream: There is no Oedipus today
This is no play you're thinking you are in
What will you say
Take the blue mask down from my face
And look me in the eye
I get a thrill from punishment, I've always been that way
I loathe and despise repentance
You are permanently stained
Your weakness and indifference and indiscretion in the streets
Dirty's what you are and clean is what you're not
You deserve to be soundly beat

Make the sacrifice, take it all the way
There is no ' won't ' high enough
To stop this desperate day
Don't take death away, cut the finger at the joint
Cut the stallion at his mount
And stuff it in his mouth

Average Guy (Reed) - 3:10

I ain't no Christian or no born again saint
I ain't no cowboy or Marxist D.A.
I ain't no criminal or Reverend Cripple from the right
I am just your average guy, trying to do what's right

I'm just your average guy, an average guy
I am just an average guy, I'm just your average guy

Average guy, I'm just your average guy
I'm average looking and I'm average inside
I'm an average lover and I live in an average place
You wouldn't know me if you met me face to face

I'm just your average guy, average guy
Average guy, I'm just an average guy

I worry about money and taxes and such
I worry that my liver's big and it hurts to the touch
I worry about my health and bowels
And the crime waves in the street
I'm really just your average guy
Trying to stand on his own two feet

I'm just your average guy, I'm just your average guy
I'm just your average guy, average guy

Average looks, average taste, average height
An average waist, average in everything I do
My temperature is 98.2

I'm just your average guy, an average guy, average guy
I'm just an average guy, average guy
I'm just your average guy ..., average

Heroine (Reed) - 3:00

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 ...

Waves of Fear (Reed) - 4:10

Waves of fear, attack in the night
Waves if revulsion, a sickening sight
My heart's nearly bursting, my chest's choking tight
Waves of fear, waves of fear

Waves of fear, squat on the floor
Looking for some pill, the liquor is gone
Blood trips from my nose, I can barely breathe
Waves of fear, I too scared to leave
Waves of fear, waves of fear, waves of fear, waves of fear,

I'm too afraid to use the phone
I'm too afraid to put the light on
I'm so afraid I've lost control
I'm suffocating without a word

Crazy with sweat, spittle on my jaw
What's that funny noise, what's that on the floor

Waves of fear, pulsing with death
I curse my tremors, I jump at my own step
I cringe at my terror, I hate my own smell
I know where I must be, I must be in hell
Waves of fear, waves of fear, waves of fear, waves of fear

The Day John Kennedy Died (Reed) - 4:05

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 ...

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 want 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 born 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 ...

Heavenly Arms (Reed) - 4:45

Heavenly arms reach out to hold me
Heavenly arms entice you to dance
In a world of ill will, the dancers are still
Heavenly arms reach out to me

Heavenly arms, soft as a love song
Heavenly arms bring a kiss to your ear
In a world that seems mad, all the dancers seem sad
Heavenly arms reach out to me

Sylvia, Sylvia, Sylvia, Sylvia,

Heavenly arms come to my rescue
Only a woman can love a man
In a world full of hate, love should never wait
Heavenly arms reach out to me

Heavenly arms, strong as a sunset
Heavenly arms, pure as the rain
Lovers stand warned of the worlds impending storm
Heavenly arms reach out to me

Sylvia, Sylvia, Sylvia, Sylvia