Musician Brian Eno famously said that despite The Velvet Underground & Nico (VU&N) only selling 30,000 copies upon its release, "everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band." Andy Warhol produced VU&N, and gave The Velvet Underground full creative control. That complete control lead to a wildly revolutionary album. Lou Reed and John Cale served as the primary songwriters, and together they crafted a world of seedy street deals, sexual deviancy, and rampant drug abuse. Reed wrote every lyric, but Cale is responsible for the dark, discordant atmosphere that dominates most of VU&N. Before analyzing VU&N, I wondered if the lyrics were as dark as the album's soundscape, and what themes tied it all together. I found six themes in The Velvet Underground & Nico: Decline, Urbanism, Violence, Religion, Darkness, and Drugs. Below, you'll find the album tracklist, my analysis, and the data I gathered to write the analysis. Tracklist: Decline: 9/11 songs (Sunday Morning, I’m Waiting for the Man, Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs, Run Run Run, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Heroin, There She Goes Again, I’ll Be Your Mirror) New York City is sinking into the sewers, everyone is sick, and the world is wasting away. At least, that's what Lou Reed thinks in VU&N. The 60s were a tumultuous time in American history, and Reed had a front-row seat to the upheaval. In VU&N, he depicts a world on fire. Urbanism: 8/11 songs (Sunday Morning, I’m Waiting for the Man, Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs, Run Run Run, Heroin, There She Goes Again, The Black Angel’s Death Song) New York City is Reed's most prominent muse in VU&N. It serves as the backdrop of almost every song. In "I'm Waiting for the Man," you can almost hear the city's chaotic pressure behind Reed's relentless guitar chords. In "Run Run Run," Reed creates a tragically vivid cast of characters that fall victim to the dangers of urban life. Violence: 8/11 songs (I’m Waiting for the Man, Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs, Run Run Run, Heroin, There She Goes Again, The Black Angel’s Death Song, European Son) In Reed's world, violence is necessary. It's the only reasonable outcome in a system that takes naive dreamers, crushes them, and converts them into drug-dependent nihilists. Most of the violence depicted in VU&N is self-harm. "Venus in Furs" showcases a depressed masochist desperate for human intimacy. "Heroin" depicts a drug addict taking pleasure by stabbing himself with needles. Reed shows that while the outside world is dangerous, it's what's on the inside that hurts us the most. Religion: 8/11 songs (Sunday Morning, Venus in Furs, Run Run Run, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Heroin, I’ll Be Your Mirror, The Black Angel’s Death Song, European Son) Reed uses Christian imagery to make men more than themselves. In "Heroin" the character uses heroin so he can feel "like Jesus' son." In the same song, he also uses so he can "make it to the kingdom." For the characters in Reed's world, grasping for some greater existence is all they have. Darkness: 6/11 songs (I’m Waiting for the Man, Venus in Furs, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Heroin, I’ll Be Your Mirror, The Black Angel’s Death Song) This theme should come as no surprise. Reed is much more concerned with the shadows around every corner than he is the light. John Cale's often disturbing musical arrangements only add to Reed's brutal depictions of urban life. Even in the deceptively sunny opener, "Sunday Morning," the narrator warns to never let your guard down, because there will always be someone to remind you of the darkness. Drugs: 5/11 songs (I’m Waiting for the Man, Run Run Run, Heroin, There She Goes Again, The Black Angel’s Death Song) Drugs drive the action of VU&N. They're a constant problem that can't be fixed; a perpetual thorn in society's side. They cause the decline, violence, and darkness that's depicted on the rest of the album. They're the album's antagonist, yet also the main character. Most Thematic Song: "Heroin" contains all six themes. Least Thematic Song: "European Son" contains only two themes. Final Thoughts: VU&N turned out how I thought it would. While I never picked up on the religious imagery before, I knew the album would be a gritty, unforgiving look at 1960s New York City. I'm still amazed by how lyrically bold it is for an album that came out in 1967. Heroin use and sadomasochism had never been so bluntly depicted in music, and Lou Reed's insistence on writing it ensured The Velvet Underground and Nico was bravely ahead of its time. Raw Data: Decline: 9/11 songs (Sunday Morning, I’m Waiting for the Man, Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs, Run Run Run, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Heroin, There She Goes Again, I’ll Be Your Mirror)
Urbanism: 8/11 songs (Sunday Morning, I’m Waiting for the Man, Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs, Run Run Run, Heroin, There She Goes Again, The Black Angel’s Death Song)
Violence: 8/11 songs (I’m Waiting for the Man, Femme Fatale, Venus in Furs, Run Run Run, Heroin, There She Goes Again, The Black Angel’s Death Song, European Son)
Religion: 8/11 songs (Sunday Morning, Venus in Furs, Run Run Run, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Heroin, I’ll Be Your Mirror, The Black Angel’s Death Song, European Son)
Darkness: 6/11 songs (I’m Waiting for the Man, Venus in Furs, All Tomorrow’s Parties, Heroin, I’ll Be Your Mirror, The Black Angel’s Death Song)
Drugs: 5/11 songs (I’m Waiting for the Man, Run Run Run, Heroin, There She Goes Again, The Black Angel’s Death Song)
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