Black Angel's Death Song
The Velvet Underground (feat. Nico) Lyrics
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Set themselves out upon a plate
For him to choose
What had he to lose
Not a ghost bloodied country
All covered with sleep
Where the black angel did weep
Gone to choose
And wandering's brother
Walked on through the night
With his hair in his face
On a long splintered cut from the knife of G.T.
The rally man's patter ran on through the dawn
Until we said so long
To his skull-shrill yell
Shining brightly red-rimmed and
Red-lined with the time
Infused with the choice of the mind
On ice skates scraping chunks
From the bells
Cut mouth bleeding razor's
Forgetting the pain
Antiseptic remains cool goodbye
So you fly
To the cozy brown snow of the east
Gone to choose, choose again
Sacrificials remains make it hard to forget
Where you come from
The stools of your eyes
Serve to realize fame, choose again
And roverman's refrain of the sacrilege recluse
For the loss of a horse
Went the bowels and a tail of a rat
Come again, choose to go
And if epiphany's terror reduced you to shame
Have your head bobbed and weaved
Choose a side to be on
If the stone glances off
Split didactics in two
Leave the colors of the mouse trails
Don't scream, try between
If you choose, if you choose, try to lose
For the loss of remain come and start
Start the game I che che che che I
Che che che ka tak koh
Choose to choose
Choose to choose, choose to go
The lyrics to The Velvet Underground's "Black Angel's Death Song" are quite abstract and open to interpretation. It can be interpreted as a commentary on the concept of free will and fate, with the singer being presented with various choices throughout the song, some of which have consequences. He is faced with the decision to leave his old life behind and either embrace or reject the possibility of something new. The line "The myriad choices of his fate/Set themselves out upon a plate" suggests that his fate is predetermined but he has the power to choose his own path.
The song also touches upon themes of sacrifice and loss, and highlights the consequences of our choices. The lines "Sacrificials remains make it hard to forget/Where you come from" suggest that we cannot escape the consequences of our past choices. The mention of the loss of a horse and the tail of a rat also alludes to the idea of making sacrifices in order to move forward.
Line by Line Meaning
The myriad choices of his fate
There are countless options for this person's future
Set themselves out upon a plate
All of these options are displayed clearly for him to see
For him to choose
He has the power to pick whichever option he wants
What had he to lose
He has nothing to lose by making a choice
Not a ghost bloodied country
This is not a land of violence and strife
All covered with sleep
This is not a place where people are active or awake
Where the black angel did weep
This is not a place of sadness or sorrow
Not an old city street in the east
This is not a crowded, bustling street in the eastern part of a city
Gone to choose
The person has left in order to make a decision
And wandering's brother
This person's companion who is also wandering
Walked on through the night
They continued to move forward, even in darkness
With his hair in his face
His hair is blowing in the wind and obstructing his vision
On a long splintered cut from the knife of G.T.
He is carrying a painful wound inflicted by someone named G.T.
The rally man's patter ran on through the dawn
A speaker's meaningless words continued for hours and into the morning
Until we said so long
We finally left the singer
To his skull-shrill yell
To his high-pitched, annoying voice
Shining brightly red-rimmed and
Glowing with a red border,
Red-lined with the time
Marked with the passage of time
Infused with the choice of the mind
Filled with the decision made in the person's mind
On ice skates scraping chunks
Sliding on ice and creating fragments
From the bells
From the sound of the bells ringing in the background
Cut mouth bleeding razor's
His mouth is slit and bleeding
Forgetting the pain
He is trying to ignore the agony he feels
Antiseptic remains cool goodbye
The antiseptic applied feels cold and is meant to numb pain
So you fly
You choose to leave and move on
To the cozy brown snow of the east
You go to a warm, familiar place in the east
Sacrificials remains make it hard to forget
Sacrificial remains are difficult to put out of one's mind
Where you come from
Your past is something that you can never fully forget
The stools of your eyes
The posture of your eyes
Serve to realize fame, choose again
Your actions can either make you famous or cause you to try again
And roverman's refrain of the sacrilege recluse
The roverman repeatedly sings about someone who is both disrespectful and isolated
For the loss of a horse
Because of the loss of the horse, the situation has become worse
Went the bowels and a tail of a rat
All that was left was the insides of a rat
Come again, choose to go
Try again and make a decision to move forward
And if epiphany's terror reduced you to shame
If suddenly realizing the truth made you feel embarrassed,
Have your head bobbed and weaved
Move your head quickly to avoid further embarrassment
Choose a side to be on
Decide which group you want to align yourself with
If the stone glances off
If the rock bounces off of you
Split didactics in two
Divide the different philosophies into two categories
Leave the colors of the mouse trails
Leave evidence of your actions
Don't scream, try between
Don't panic, try to find a middle ground
If you choose, if you choose, try to lose
If you do decide to make a decision, accept that sometimes you will choose the wrong option
For the loss of remain come and start
In order to move forward from your mistakes, you must begin again
Start the game I che che che che I
Begin this journey, whatever it may be
Che che che ka tak koh
A meaningless phrase, possibly meant to symbolize the sound of starting an engine
Choose to choose
Decide to make decisions
Choose to choose, choose to go
Make the decision to make decisions and move forward in life
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: JOHN CALE, LOU REED
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind