In 2004, Rolling Stone ranked it #448 on their list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time. In 2006, Pitchfork Media ranked it #77 on their list of the 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s. In 2007 Mental Floss magazine listed it as one of ten songs that changed the world.
"Heroin" was among a three-song set to be re-recorded at T.T.G. Studios, Hollywood before being included on the final release of The Velvet Underground and Nico (along with "I'm Waiting for the Man" and "Venus in Furs"). This recording of the song would be the album's second longest at 7 minutes and 12 seconds, being eclipsed only by "European Son" by about thirty seconds.
"Heroin" begins slowly with Lou Reed's quiet, melodic guitar and hypnotic drum patterns by Maureen Tucker, soon joined by John Cale's droning electric viola and Sterling Morrison's steady rhythm guitar. The tempo increases gradually, mimicking the high the narrator receives from the drug, until a frantic crescendo is reached, punctuated by Cale's shrieking viola and the more punctuated guitar strumming of Reed and Morrison. Tucker's drumming becomes hurried and louder. The song then slows to the original tempo, and repeats the same pattern before ending.
The song is based on a D and a G major chords. Like "Sister Ray", it features no bass guitar. Rolling Stone magazine said "It doesn't take much to make a great song," since the song only featured three chords.
Lou Reed later performed "Heroin" live in his glam rock style, featuring the guitarists Steve Hunter and Dick Wagner. The resulting eleven minute track is included on his live album Rock 'n' Roll Animal, released in 1974.
The song has been covered by several artists, including Mazzy Star, Human Drama, Iggy Pop, Echo & the Bunnymen, Billy Idol and Third Eye Blind
In an interview on the Jonathan Richman DVD, Take Me To The Plaza, he recounts trading a record by The Fugs for The Velvet Underground and Nico after hearing this song for the first time.
Denis Johnson's short story collection Jesus' Son, and the film based on it took its title from the lyrics of this song.
Brian Bell and Patrick Wilson from Weezer covered the song.
The song is featured in the 1991 Oliver Stone movie, The Doors
According to Mick Jagger, the Beggar's Banquet track "Stray Cat Blues" by The Rolling Stones was inspired by "Heroin", Jagger going as far as to say that the whole sound of "Stray Cat Blues" was lifted from "Heroin". The intro's of both songs bear a distinct resemblance.
In Irvine Welsh's novel Trainspotting, the central character Mark Renton describes the playing of 'Heroin' during heroin ingestion as against the junky's "golden rule".
Heroin
The Velvet Underground Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
But I'm gonna try for the kingdom if I can
'Cause it makes me feel like I'm a man
When I put a spike into my vein
Then I tell you things aren't quite the same
When I'm rushing on my run
And I feel just like Jesus' son
And I guess that I just don't knowAnd I guess that I just don't know
I have made the big decision
I'm gonna try to nullify my life
'Cause when the blood begins to flow
When it shoots up the dropper's neck
When I'm closing in on death
And you can't help me, not you guys
Or all you sweet girls with all your sweet talk
You can all go take a walk
And I guess I just don't know
And I guess that I just don't know
I wish that I was born a thousand years ago
I wish that I'd sailed the darkened seas
On a great big clipper ship
Going from this land here to that
On a sailor's suit and cap
Away from the big city
Where a man cannot be free
Of all the evils of this town
And of himself and those around
Oh, and I guess that I just don't know
Oh, and I guess that I just don't know
Heroin, be the death of me
Heroin, it's my wife and it's my life, ha-ha
Because a mainer to my vein
Leads to a center in my head
And then I'm better off than dead
Because when the smack begins to flow
I really don't care anymore
About all the Jim-Jims in this town
And all the politicians making crazy sounds
And everybody putting everybody else down
And all the dead bodies piled up in mounds
'Cause when the smack begins to flow
Then I really don't care anymore
Ah, when that heroin is in my blood
And the blood is in my head
Man thank God that I'm as good as dead
And thank your God that I'm not aware
And thank God that I just don't care
And I guess that I just don't know
Oh, and I guess that I just don't know
The Velvet Underground's song Heroin is a harrowing account of the singer's addiction to the drug. The song's opening lines express the singer's confusion about where he is headed, but his desire to try for a kingdom shows a sense of ambition that may be driven by drug use. He admits that the drug use makes him feel like a man, but as he continues to use it, he increasingly feels disconnected from reality.
The singer's reference to feeling like "Jesus' son" when he is "rushing on his run" suggests that the high he experiences is almost godlike in its intensity. Yet, the singer knows that he is on a dangerous path and that he is risking his life. He describes his decision to "nullify" his life by using heroin, and even as he approaches death, he paradoxically feels more "alive" than ever.
The final verse of the song demonstrates a longing for a simpler life, free from the corruption and evil that accompany city life. Heroin represents an escape from this reality, allowing him to be "better off than dead". The final lines of the song are almost resigned, with the singer expressing his lack of awareness and care.
Overall, the song offers a powerful and sobering account of drug addiction, with incisive lyrics that capture both the highs and lows of the experience.
Line by Line Meaning
I don't know just where I'm going
But I'm gonna try for the kingdom, if I can
'Cause it makes me feel like I'm a man
When I put a spike into my vein
And I tell you things aren't quite the same
Despite not knowing where he's headed, the singer is determined to pursue his addictive habits regardless of the consequences because it makes him feel powerful, even though it's quickly becoming apparent that this temporary solution creates more problems.
When I'm rushing on my run
And I feel just like Jesus' son
And I guess that I just don't know
And I guess that I just don't know
The rush of adrenaline and sense of divine superiority brought about by heroin creates a false sense of confidence that blinds the singer to the reality of his situation and what he's doing to himself.
I have made big decision
I'm gonna try to nullify my life
'Cause when the blood begins to flow
When it shoots up the dropper's neck
When I'm closing in on death
The singer has made a life-altering decision to throw it all away in the name of satiating his addiction to heroin, which he views as a means to escape, even if it ultimately leads to his own demise.
You can't help me now, you guys
And all you sweet girls with all your sweet talk
You can all go take a walk
And I guess I just don't know
And I guess that I just don't know
The artist has distanced himself from those who care about him and who could potentially help him escape from the downward spiral created by drugs, instead opting to push them away because he's too far gone and unable to accept help.
I wish that I was born a thousand years ago
I wish that I'd sailed the darkened seas
On a great big clipper ship
Going from this land here to that
On a sailor's suit and cap
The artist wants to escape his current reality associated with the problems brought on by heroin in search of a simpler life unpolluted by the evils of drugs, a desire fueled by a romanticized image of the past where he imagines he would have been better suited.
Away from the big city
Where a man cannot be free
Of all the evils of this town
And of himself and those around
Oh, and I guess that I just don't know
Oh, and I guess that I just don't know
For the singer, the city is a symbol of the corrupt, messy society he's trying to escape. He recognizes that addiction is as much a problem with him as it is with those around him, but he's too lost in his addiction to do anything about it.
Heroin, be the death of me
Heroin, it's my wife and it's my life
Because a mainline into my vein
Leads to a center in my head
And then I'm better off than dead
The singer recognizes the all-encompassing death grip that addiction has on him, likening heroin to a partner in marriage while acknowledging that the drug offers moments of controlled escape from reality and simultaneously enhances his numbness.
Because when the smack begins to flow
I really don't care anymore
About all the Jim-Jims in this town
And all the politicians making crazy sounds
And everybody putting everybody else down
And all the dead bodies piled up in mounds
When high on heroin, the artist is completely indifferent to everything happening around him, from political leaders to societal issues to the very real problems of death and decay that actively surround him.
'Cause when the smack begins to flow
And I really don't care anymore
Ah, when that heroin is in my blood
And that blood is in my head
Then thank God that I'm as good as dead
And thank your God that I'm not aware
And thank God that I just don't care
And I guess I just don't know
The artist is resigned to the consequences that come with addiction and has effectively given up on those who care about him. He's unable to see the damage he's doing to himself and those around him, preferring instead to simply drift away into oblivion.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind