Wednesday 2 November 2011

rock minuet by lou reed narrated by julian schnabel

Paralysed by hatred
and a piss ugly soul
if he murdered his father,
he thought he'd become whole
While listening at night to an old radio
where they danced to the rock minuet.

In the gay bars
in the back of the bar
he consummated hatred
on a cold sawdust floor
While the jukebox played backbeats,
he sniffed coke off a jar
while they danced to a rock minuet.

School was a waste,
he was meant for the street
but school was the only way,
the army could be beat
Two whores sucked his nipples
'til he came on their feet
as they danced to the rock minuet.

He dreamt that his father
was sunk to his knees
his leather belt tied so tight
that it was hard to breathe
And the studs from his jacket
were as cold as a breeze
as he danced to a rock minuet.

He pictured the bedroom
where he heard the first cry
his mother on all fours,
ah, with his father behind
And her yell hurt so much,
he had wished he'd gone blind
and rocked to a rock minuet.

In the back of the warehouse
were a couple of guys
they had tied someone up
and sewn up their eyes
And he got so excited
he came on his thighs
when they danced to the rock minuet.

On Avenue B,
someone cruised him one night
he took him in an alley
and then pulled a knife
And thought of his father,
as he cut his windpipe
and finally
danced to the rock minuet.

In the curse of the alley,
the thrill of the street
on the bitter cold docks
where the outlaws all meet
In euphoria drug
in euphoria heat
you could dance to the rock minuet.

In the thrill of the needle and anonymous sex
you could dance to the rock minuet



Lou Reed is not just a great songwriter, his songs are often poetry themselves. Rock Minuet is from his (often overlooked) Ecstasy album from 2000, and Julian Schnabel , the artist who also did the film 'The Diving Bell and The Butterfly') does a good narration of it while appearing with Lou on the Spectacle - Elvis Costello with... show (but l can't find it on You Tube, so you'll have to take my word for it).

toodle pip

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