The album is the pair's first collaboration since 1972, and is dedicated to the memory of Andy Warhol, their mentor, who had died unexpectedly in 1987. Drella was a nickname for Warhol, a portmanteau of Dracula and Cinderella, used by Warhol's crowd.
Songs for Drella offers a kind of vie romancée of Warhol, focusing on his interpersonal relations. The songs fall roughly into three categories: Warhol's (semi-fictitious) first-person perspective, third-person narratives chronicling events and affairs, and first-person feelings towards and commentaries on Warhol by Reed and Cale themselves.
The pair had been playing the songs live in 1989 as a song cycle before committing them to tape. By the end of recording Cale vowed never to work with Reed again due to personal differences; nevertheless, Songs for Drella would prove to be the overture to a full-blown Velvet Underground reunion: a one-off performance of "Heroin" in 1990, and a tour in 1993.
Although the album was conceived as an indivisible whole, a single was released off it, "Nobody But You".
Images
Lou Reed & John Cale Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Images repeated from a painting
Images taken from a painting
From a photo worth re-seeing
I love images worth repeating, project them upon the ceiling
Multiply them with silk screening
See them with a different feeling
Images images images images
Some say images have no feeling, I think there's a deeper meaning
Mechanical precision or so it's seeming
Instigates a cooler feeling
I love multiplicity of screenings
Things born anew display new meanings
I think images are worth repeating and repeating and repeating
I'm no urban idiot savant spewing paint without any order
I'm no sphinx, no mystery enigma
What I paint is very ordinary
I don't think I'm old or modern, I don't think I think
I'm thinking
It doesn't matter what I am thinking
It's the images that are worth repeating
Images images images images
If you're looking for a deeper meaning, I'm as deep as this high ceiling
If you think technique is meaning, you might find me very simple
You might think the images boring
Cars and cans and chairs and flowers
You might find me personally boring
Hammer, sickle, Mao Tse Tung, Mao Tse Tung -
I think that it bears repeating the images upon the ceiling
I love images worth repeating and repeating and repeating
Images images images images
The lyrics to Lou Reed and John Cale's "Images" delve into the idea of the power and value of images, particularly in the form of repetition. Reed and Cale express their fondness for images that are worth repeating, which could be taken from paintings or photographs. The repetition of these images could be done through silk screening or projection onto a ceiling, allowing for a different feeling or meaning to emerge.
Despite the mechanical precision of some images, Reed and Cale argue that there is a deeper meaning that can be evoked through repetition. Multiplicity of screenings can give things a new meaning or context, and they believe that images are worth repeating and repeating. The lyrics also touch on the idea that the artist behind the images doesn't necessarily matter, as it's the images themselves that are valuable.
The refrain of "images images images images" serves as a reminder of the importance of these repeating images, and the lyrics suggest that even seemingly mundane images like "cars and cans and chairs and flowers" are worth repeating. They even mention Mao Zedong, highlighting the potential political or social significance of certain images.
Overall, the song champions the power of images and the value of repetition in unlocking deeper meanings.
Line by Line Meaning
I think images are worth repeating
Repetitive images have value
Images repeated from a painting
Paintings can be the source of repeating images
Images taken from a painting
Images can be extracted from a piece of art
From a photo worth re-seeing
Revisiting a photo is worthwhile
I love images worth repeating, project them upon the ceiling
I appreciate recurring imageries and want to display them on the ceiling
Multiply them with silk screening
Adding silk-screening can increase an image's copies
See them with a different feeling
Different perspectives can give images different meanings
Some say images have no feeling, I think there's a deeper meaning
Although some believe images lack emotion, I see a hidden significance
Mechanical precision or so it's seeming
Images may seem mechanically precise
Instigates a cooler feeling
They can evoke a colder sensation
I love multiplicity of screenings
I appreciate the diversity of image replication techniques
Things born anew display new meanings
Rebirth of images can bring fresh implications
I'm no urban idiot savant spewing paint without any order
I am not a chaotic artist with no sense of structure
I'm no sphinx, no mystery enigma
I am not a hidden or unknowable figure
What I paint is very ordinary
My art is not extraordinary
I don't think I'm old or modern, I don't think I think
I don't associate myself with a particular artistic time period, and I do not overthink art
It doesn't matter what I am thinking
My thoughts are irrelevant to the value of the images
It's the images that are worth repeating
The repeating images are valuable, not my thoughts
If you're looking for a deeper meaning, I'm as deep as this high ceiling
If you search for deeper implications, I am not profound
If you think technique is meaning, you might find me very simple
If you believe that a technique has the meaning, my art is elementary
You might think the images boring
The images might seem dull
Cars and cans and chairs and flowers
Subjects can be ordinary objects such as vehicles, cans, chairs, and flowers
You might find me personally boring
My art may lack excitement to some individuals
Hammer, sickle, Mao Tse Tung, Mao Tse Tung -
Symbols such as a hammer and sickle or Mao Tse Tung's face can also appear in the images
I think that it bears repeating the images upon the ceiling
I believe that it is worthwhile to put the images on the ceiling
I love images worth repeating and repeating and repeating
I adore images that can be repeated and replicated
Images images images images
Images are the focus
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC, Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JOHN DAVIES CALE, LOU A. REED
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Martin Ellis
Amazing performance - aggressive sounding, no holds barred poetry to music
Lorenzo Rocca
two greatest artists at their best
andy dalgleish
A beautiful elegy to the VU's mentor, Andy Warhol. This captures the original Velvet Underground sound, whilst paying respect to Drella. I love it.
alchimiarock
Masterpiece!
Mario Ponte
« ..pouco importa o que penso, é preciso é reproduzir imagens...»
majamaja3333
aah love john's viola. great!!
lexo30
It's funny how Lou Reed impersonating Andy Warhol, when translated into French, reads like Susan Sontag's book "On Photography".
spershall
Goddamn this rules!
Mark H.
"I ain't no urban idiot savant spewing paint without any order."
Take that Pollock
allen sucks
shredding