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Between Thought and Expression: Selected Lyrics of Lou Reed
Book by Reed, Lou
192 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1991
4 people are currently reading
284 people want to read
About the author
Lou Reed
123 books84 followersLou Reed was an influential American rock singer-songwriter and guitarist. He first came to prominence as the guitarist and principal singer-songwriter of The Velvet Underground (1965-1973). The band gained little mainstream attention during their career, but in hindsight became one of the most influential of their era. As the Velvets’ principal songwriter, Reed wrote about subjects of personal experience that rarely had been examined in rock and roll, including bondage and S&M ("Venus in Furs"), transvestites ("Sister Ray" and "Candy Says"), drug culture ("Heroin" and "I'm Waiting for the Man"), and transsexuals undergoing surgery ("Lady Godiva's Operation"). As a guitarist, he was a pioneer in the use of distortion, high volume feedback, and nonstandard tunings.
Reed began a long and eclectic solo career in 1971. He had a hit the following year with "Walk on the Wild Side", though for more than a decade Reed seemed to willfully evade the mainstream commercial success its chart status offered him. One of rock's most volatile personalities, Reed's work as a solo artist has frustrated critics wishing for a return of The Velvet Underground. The most notable example is 1975's infamous double LP of recorded feedback loops, Metal Machine Music, upon which Reed later commented, "no one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive." By the late 1980s, however, Reed had won wide recognition as an elder statesman of rock.
Reed began a long and eclectic solo career in 1971. He had a hit the following year with "Walk on the Wild Side", though for more than a decade Reed seemed to willfully evade the mainstream commercial success its chart status offered him. One of rock's most volatile personalities, Reed's work as a solo artist has frustrated critics wishing for a return of The Velvet Underground. The most notable example is 1975's infamous double LP of recorded feedback loops, Metal Machine Music, upon which Reed later commented, "no one is supposed to be able to do a thing like that and survive." By the late 1980s, however, Reed had won wide recognition as an elder statesman of rock.
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Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews
February 21, 2019
Great of course, but you should get the records first, they sometimes have the words printed in the booklet or on the inner sleeve, so you can save yourself some money. 'The Ostrich', for one, is not included, so subtract a star right there (no 'You're Driving Me Insane' or other Pickwick Years stuff either - I think this might've been marketed through the quaity papers). Nice profile pic of Lou (as you can see, above) on the jacket, looking very much 'The Frankenstein Of Rock' (I mean that as a compliment). Weird that the '70s rock press went for 'The Phantom of Rock' as Lou's mid decade epithet - he was always kind of a Mad Scientist, with potions and experiments, and he he took the metaphor a step further with the Take-No-Prisoners Metal Machine Music ('It's Alive!!!'), when corporate largesse made presented the opportunity. Punk Magazine then made it all Legal with the cover cartoon of a Plug-in Lou with neck bolts and insect eyeglasses (pre-Punk was all rumours, intimations, pregnant pauses and unanswerable questions, 'Punk' was stating the obvious very vehemently). No wonder he seemed so square in the 80s - the dude had lived several lifetimes in ten years. (Correct me if I'm wrong - Metal Machine Music is the peak moment as far as rock as a consumer durable is concerned. Pre-oil crisis release, surely? (two (count 'em!) two discs! It shoulda been reissued as 'The Golden Hour of Lou Reed' or in the '2 Originals Of ...' series and sold in motorway service stations. (Though you'd need it on cassette, from the 'Music For Motorways' bin)) Total confidence - tax write off? No one would care if it was on an indie label - no new record every three years and world tour business plan. U2, Coldplay, REM, Radiohead ARE entropy, tunes you can whistle or no). Yes, Virginia, the Metal Machine Music 'lyrics' are included! What a hoot!
June 6, 2022
I love Velvet Underground/Lou Reed, which is the only reason I finished reading this. It’s not that these poems/lyrics are bad; it’s just that they don’t feel complete. Fly Into The Sun is probably my favorite of Lou Reed’s songs. It works as a poem, but still, without the music, it just doesn’t have the same magic.
The interviews at the end are worth checking out the whole book.
The interviews at the end are worth checking out the whole book.
April 10, 2024
Even without the music, Lou's lyrics are worth the read. From the Velvets through Magic & Loss, these are some of my favorite songs of all time. Two interviews, one with Vaclav Havel and one with Hubert Selby Jr., round out the book.
January 29, 2023
"I'll be your mirror, when you think that the night has seen your mind, that inside you're twisted and unkind".
March 11, 2008
Reed's songwriting can be a little uneven sometimes, but at his best he's one of the great American songwriters in rock -- probably one of the few whose songs work well in print, away from the music, because of his background/fascination in poetry and literature. The candid comments beneath many of the songs are illuminating too, as are the two interviews (with Vaclav Havel and Hubert Selby) at the end of the book.
April 1, 2017
This is a fantastic glimpse into the creative mind of Lou Reed.
There are some definite hits and misses here and they aren't always the songs you expect.
I found the interviews and short stories particularly rewarding.
I would also emphasize the strength of the last five songs. Reed's sense of regret in regards to his ailing relationship with Warhol is quite sentimental and melancholic and nature.
This is good for fans of Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Warhol, Selby Jr and Havel.
There are some definite hits and misses here and they aren't always the songs you expect.
I found the interviews and short stories particularly rewarding.
I would also emphasize the strength of the last five songs. Reed's sense of regret in regards to his ailing relationship with Warhol is quite sentimental and melancholic and nature.
This is good for fans of Velvet Underground, Lou Reed, Warhol, Selby Jr and Havel.
prefer-it-as-podcast
October 5, 2007I have it but havent opened it.
July 23, 2024
"I'm sorry if I doubted your good heart. Things always seem to end before they start."
Lou has haunted me since I was a child and first heard "Holly came from Miami FLA..."
Songs For Drella has also had a semi-recent, but lasting, and large impact on me.
His annotations here are the real standouts. Most pretty brief, and funny in that kinda sad, sour, grumpy New York way he's known for.
The interview with Václav Havel was particularly touching. Will probably be playing some of the albums on repeat for a week or two now.
Lou has haunted me since I was a child and first heard "Holly came from Miami FLA..."
Songs For Drella has also had a semi-recent, but lasting, and large impact on me.
His annotations here are the real standouts. Most pretty brief, and funny in that kinda sad, sour, grumpy New York way he's known for.
The interview with Václav Havel was particularly touching. Will probably be playing some of the albums on repeat for a week or two now.
October 13, 2025
great lyrics and texts
But I just really do not like to read poetry or lyrics, it feels like a chore, it feels flat and like a forced intellectual endeavour.
Not the moving, living, fantastic things they are when read aloud or sung.
But I just really do not like to read poetry or lyrics, it feels like a chore, it feels flat and like a forced intellectual endeavour.
Not the moving, living, fantastic things they are when read aloud or sung.
August 8, 2022
After reading this, it's high time to give another listen to Lou Reed's solo recordings and those of his original "Velvet Underground" as a fair shake.
January 23, 2025
I was thinking of our nights together
All two of them and how you hadn't hurt me
And realizing how good you really were,
Accused you of lapsing taste (in loving me).
And thought, for oh that instant
Of dissolving you like a mint or
Crushing you… Like a ladybug.”
All two of them and how you hadn't hurt me
And realizing how good you really were,
Accused you of lapsing taste (in loving me).
And thought, for oh that instant
Of dissolving you like a mint or
Crushing you… Like a ladybug.”
January 23, 2008
As a fan of the Velvet Underground and Lou Reed's solo albums, this book was great. It is a collection of the lyrics Lou has written, dating back to his VU days, that he feels can stand alone as poems. At the bottom of most of the lyrics Lou writes a short bit about the inspiration or some anecdote about the song. There are stories of the first time he saw some killed in public, how he became an alcoholic to quit heroin, and other memorable stories. After the lyrics, there are some other stories. Lou conducts an interview with Vaclav Havel. Havel asks Reed, "Did you know I am president because of you?" I have re-read this interview a few times over the years. It's a humbling and sobering interview and was worth the price of the book.
November 17, 2013
5 stars for the book
4 per la traduzione, che a volte lascia a desiderare.
The poetry of Lou Reed is simple in words, but deep in the way it reaches you. And when it does it brings you to tears, in the way it's so beautiful yet direct and true.
The recollections of Delmore Schwartz and Warhol get you a glimpse at how humble and plain he could be, even if it's hard to believe.
There's a lot from New York here and perhaps not enough from the Velvets period. But Lou himself curated the selection of lyrics so it's as good as it gets. It's only up to 1990 though: nothing beyond Songs for Drella.
With this book you understand why rock music is a truly American art form and noone can get near its peaks.
4 per la traduzione, che a volte lascia a desiderare.
The poetry of Lou Reed is simple in words, but deep in the way it reaches you. And when it does it brings you to tears, in the way it's so beautiful yet direct and true.
The recollections of Delmore Schwartz and Warhol get you a glimpse at how humble and plain he could be, even if it's hard to believe.
There's a lot from New York here and perhaps not enough from the Velvets period. But Lou himself curated the selection of lyrics so it's as good as it gets. It's only up to 1990 though: nothing beyond Songs for Drella.
With this book you understand why rock music is a truly American art form and noone can get near its peaks.
May 9, 2009
simply, effortlessly so cool. a great inspiration for anyone stuck in the mundane.
June 25, 2008
A simple collection of the lyrics of Lou Reed, solo and with the Velvet Underground.
March 1, 2013
Got it at a Lou Reed book signing. He was one of my few RocknRoll idols growing up. A true poet.
Displaying 1 - 17 of 17 reviews