A collaboration between Lou Reed and Metallica.

The conception of th… Read Full Bio ↴A collaboration between Lou Reed and Metallica.

The conception of the collaboration project began in 2009 when both Metallica and Lou Reed performed at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame's 25th Anniversary Concert. After that performance, the two entities began "kicking around the idea of making a record together," but didn't start working together until two years later. In February 2011, Metallica guitarist Kirk Hammett announced that in May 2011 the group would start working on something that's "not 100 percent a Metallica record. It's a recording project, let's put it that way." The secret project was publicly revealed to be a collaboration with Lou Reed once the recording of the album had been completed in June 2011.

The collaboration was originally intended to be Metallica re-recording various previously unreleased tracks Reed had written over the years. Among these unreleased demos was a collection of songs composed for a play called Lulu—a theatrical production of two plays originally written by the German playwright Frank Wedekind. Reed shared the demos of these songs with the members of Metallica to help bring the "piece to the next level,"and the group provided "significant arrangement contributions" to the material.[8] David Fricke of Rolling Stone heard at least two of the songs from the project in June 2011—"Pumping Blood" and "Mistress Dread"—and described their sound as a "raging union of [Reed's] 1973 noir classic, Berlin, and Metallica's '86 crusher, Master of Puppets."

Pumping Blood
Lou Reed & Metallica Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Pumping your blood
Pumping blood
Pumping your blood
Pumping blood
Pumping blood
Pumping blood
Pumping blood
Pumping blood

If I pump out blood in the sunshine
Oil on the wheel
That is blasted and busted away
A nail or a little piece of glass
A little piece of glass
A little piece of glass
Swarming like bees over the air
Off the pump off the thing
The blood that I'm pumping away

Off the pump
Off the thing
The blood that I'm pumping away
Off the pump
Off the thing
The blood that I'm pumping away
If I pump blood in the sunshine
And you wear a leather box with azaleas
And I pump more blood
And it seeps through my skin
Will you adore the river
The stream, the trickle
The tributary of my heart
As I pump more blood
And it seeps through my skin
Will you adore the river
The stream, the trickle
The tributary of my heart

If I'm pumping blood
Like a common state worker
If I waggle my ass like a dark prostitute
Would you think less of me
And my coagulating heart
Waggle my ass like a dark prostitute
Coagulating heart
Pumping blood
Come on James!

Would you top me off
Would you top me off as I deepen a curtsy
While you yell out, "mercy"
We grow apart
Would you rip and cut me
Use a knife on me

Be shocked at the boldness
The coldness of this little heart
Tied up in leather
Would you take the measure
Of the blood that I pump
In the manic confusion of love

Supreme violation
Supreme violation
"Oh, ah, ah, ah Jack I beseech you"
"Oh Jack I beseech you"
Supreme violation
Blood in the foyer
The bathroom
The tea room
The kitchen, with her knives splayed
I will swallow your sharpest cutter
Like a colored man's dick
Blood spurting from me
"Oh Jack, Jack I beseech"
"Jack, I beseech you, I beseech"
In the end it was an ordinary heart
"Oh Jack I beseech you"
As I scream out my pain
In the end it was an ordinary heart
In the end, in the end, in the end
It was an ordinary heart
"Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack I beseech you"
Supreme violation oh
"Jack, Jack, Jack I beseech you"
I call out your name

Blood in the foyer, the bathroom,
The tea room, the kitchen
And knives splayed
I swallow your sharpest cutter
Like a colored man's dick
Blood spurting from me
Blood spurting from me
"Oh Jack"
"Oh Jack, I beseech ya"
In the end it was an ordinary heart

In the end it was an ordinary heart
Pumping blood

Overall Meaning

The song "Pumping Blood" by Lou Reed and Metallica can be interpreted in a variety of ways, but a common theme appears to be the intense emotions and sensations experienced in a sexual encounter. The repeated lyrics of "pumping blood" suggest a physical intensity and drive, while the mention of "oil on the wheel" and "nail or a little piece of glass" alludes to danger or risk involved. The mention of "waggling my ass like a dark prostitute" and "swallowing your sharpest cutter like a colored man's dick" further emphasizes the intense, taboo nature of the encounter. The pleas of "Oh Jack, I beseech ya" and "mercy" suggest a power dynamic or even potential violence involved in the sexual encounter.

Overall, the lyrics of "Pumping Blood" seem to portray a passionate and potentially dangerous sexual encounter, with themes of power dynamics, risk, taboo desires, and intense emotions.

Line by Line Meaning

Pumping your blood
The act of circulating blood through one’s body

Pumping blood
The pumping of blood from one's heart

Pumping your blood
The continuation of the act of circulating blood through one’s body

Pumping blood
The continuation of the act of pumping blood from one's heart

If I pump out blood in the sunshine
If I bleed in the open, exposed to the elements

Oil on the wheel
A metaphor for sustaining the function of an object through lubrication

That is blasted and busted away
That is destroyed or ruined

A nail or a little piece of glass
Objects that could cause injury or harm

A little piece of glass
A small fragment of glass, which is sharp and dangerous when broken

Swarming like bees over the air
Objects or particles dispersing in the air

Off the pump off the thing
Stopping the consistent flow of blood

The blood that I'm pumping away
The blood that is being removed from the body

Off the pump
Stopping the consistent flow of blood

Off the thing
Stopping the consistent flow / action of something

The blood that I'm pumping away
The blood that is being removed from the body

If I pump blood in the sunshine
If I bleed in the open, exposed to the elements

And you wear a leather box with azaleas
Imagery of a bizarre and fetishistic act

And I pump more blood
Continuing to bleed intensely

And it seeps through my skin
The bleeding is so severe that it is permeating through the body

Will you adore the river
Will you appreciate or admire the physical manifestation of the bodily fluids being expelled

The stream, the trickle
The continued flow of bodily fluids leaving the body

The tributary of my heart
Refers to the beginning or origin of the blood leaving the body (i.e the heart)

If I'm pumping blood
Continuing to bleed intensely

Like a common state worker
Imagery of a low-class worker constantly sweating and bleeding

If I waggle my ass like a dark prostitute
Imagery of a provocative, sexual act

Would you think less of me
Asking whether the behavior being described would lower their opinion of the singer

And my coagulating heart
Referring to the blood clotting/healing process that a heart undergoes after injury

Waggle my ass like a dark prostitute
Imagery of a provocative, sexual act

Coagulating heart
Referring to the blood clotting/healing process that a heart undergoes after injury

Pumping blood
Reiteration of the act of pumping blood from one's heart

Come on James!
Encouragement to a member of the band, James

Would you top me off
Asking whether they would sacrifice their own blood in order to aid the singer

Would you top me off as I deepen a curtsy
Imagery of bleeding and performing a respectful gesture

While you yell out, "mercy"
Imagery of the person giving aid and affection to the singer

We grow apart
Suggesting a rift between the two people in the scenario

Would you rip and cut me
Asking if they would harm the artist in order to extract blood

Use a knife on me
Asking if they would use a tool to extract the blood

Be shocked at the boldness
Suggesting that the high level of frankness in the scenario is unexpected

The coldness of this little heart
Referring to the artist's own heart as the action takes place

Tied up in leather
Imagery of the artist being constrained in some way

Would you take the measure
Asking if the other person would be willing to take an exact quantity of the artist's blood

Of the blood that I pump
Measuring the exact amount of blood that is being removed from the singer's body

In the manic confusion of love
The scenario could be interpreted as love or affection, but with a very disturbing tone

Supreme violation
Acknowledging the utter wrongness and gravity of the actions being described

"Oh, ah, ah, ah Jack I beseech you"
Potentially sarcastic: as the singer is being harmed, they sarcastically ask for mercy

"Oh Jack I beseech you"
Repeated request for help in the scenario

Supreme violation
Acknowledging the utter wrongness and gravity of the actions being described

Blood in the foyer
Describing the spread of blood throughout various parts of a home, possibly due to the described act

The bathroom
One of the various parts of a home where the blood has spread

The tea room
One of the various parts of a home where the blood has spread

The kitchen, with her knives splayed
A potentially violent and dangerous location in the home

I will swallow your sharpest cutter
An extreme act of devotion, possibly suggesting that the artist is willing to confront danger for the other person

Like a colored man's dick
Potentially racist commentary, with the artist comparing the tool used to cut them to a racialized body part

Blood spurting from me
Imagery of intense and dangerous bleeding

"Oh Jack, Jack I beseech"
Continued request for help in the scenario

"Jack, I beseech you, I beseech"
Furthering the singer's plea for help

In the end it was an ordinary heart
Acknowledging the singer's own mortality and normalcy

"Oh Jack I beseech you"
Final plea for help in the scenario

As I scream out my pain
Suggesting a high level of distress and agony throughout the scenario

In the end it was an ordinary heart
Acknowledging the artist's own mortality and normalcy

In the end, in the end, in the end
Reiteration of the finality of the scenario

"Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack I beseech you"
Final plea for help in the scenario

Supreme violation oh
Final acknowledgement of the gravity of the actions being described

"Jack, Jack, Jack I beseech you"
Final plea for help in the scenario

I call out your name
Suggesting a desire for companionship and help throughout the entire scenario

Blood in the foyer, the bathroom,
Reiteration of the spreading blood throughout a home

The tea room, the kitchen
Further acknowledgement of the spreading blood throughout a home

And knives splayed
Describing the danger present in the location where blood is spreading

I swallow your sharpest cutter
Final act of devotion and danger in the scenario

Like a colored man's dick
Potentially racist commentary, reiteration of shock value in the scenario

Blood spurting from me
Imagery of intense and dangerous bleeding, reiteration of danger present throughout the scenario

"Oh Jack"
Final invocation of the name Jack as the scenario ends

"Oh Jack, I beseech ya"
Final plea for help and companionship

In the end it was an ordinary heart
Final acknowledgement of the singer's own mortality and normalcy

Pumping blood
Continued action of pumping blood from one's heart

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: KIRK HAMMETT, JAMES HETFIELD, LOU REED, ROBERT TRUJILLO, LARS ULRICH

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind

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