Venus In Furs
The Velvet Underground The Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
Whiplash girl child in the dark
Comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart
Downy sins of streetlight fancies
Chase the costumes she shall wear
Ermine furs adorn the imperious
Severin, Severin awaits you there
I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
A thousand dreams that would awake me
Different colors made of tears
Kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather
Shiny leather in the dark
Tongue of thongs, the belt that does await you
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart
Severin, Severin, speak so slightly
Severin, down on your bended knee
Taste the whip, in love not given lightly
Taste the whip, now plead for me
I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
A thousand dreams that would awake me
Different colors made of tears
Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
Whiplash girl child in the dark




Severin, your servant comes in bells, please don't forsake him
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart

Overall Meaning

The Velvet Underground's "Venus in Furs" is a song that depicts a sadomasochistic relationship between a dominant mistress and her submissive lover. The lyrics are sexually charged and evoke themes of power, submission, and desire. The song's opening line, "Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather," sets the tone for a dark and erotic journey through the mind of the submissive character, Severin.


The first stanza introduces the characters - the dominant mistress and the submissive Severin. Severin is described as a "whiplash girl child" who is eager to please his mistress. The line "Comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him" suggests that Severin is at the mercy of his mistress and seeks her attention and affection. The mistress, on the other hand, is depicted as powerful and commanding. She is told to "strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart," which implies that pain is necessary for Severin's pleasure and satisfaction.


The song's chorus repeats the sentiment that Severin is tired and weary, but dreaming of a life filled with different colors, "made of tears." The final stanza calls for Severin to submit to his mistress and "taste the whip" before pleading for her love. The last line, "Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart," completes the cycle of domination and submission.


Line by Line Meaning

Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
The song starts by describing the dominant character's outfit.


Whiplash girl child in the dark
The submissive character, a young girl, is introduced as someone who enjoys pain and humiliation.


Comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him
The submissive character is asking to be taken and not left alone.


Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart
The submissive character wants to be punished by the dominant character in order to heal his emotional pain.


Downy sins of streetlight fancies
The lyrics describe the submissive character's temptations.


Chase the costumes she shall wear
The submissive character enjoys dressing up in different costumes to be humiliated in front of the dominant.


Ermine furs adorn the imperious
The dominant character is portrayed as someone who enjoys luxurious things and has power over the submissive.


Severin, Severin awaits you there
The submissive character, Severin, is awaiting the dominant character's attention.


I am tired, I am weary
Severin is emotionally and mentally drained.


A thousand dreams that would awake me
Severin wants to be awakened from his current emotional state, but only through submission and punishment.


Different colors made of tears
Severin is crying different colored tears, suggesting that he is in emotional turmoil.


Kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather
Severin wants to express his submission by kissing the dominant character's leather boots.


Tongue of thongs, the belt that does await you
The submissive character is requesting or anticipating punishment from the dominant.


Severin, Severin, speak so slightly
The dominant character is calling for Severin to speak softly and respectfully.


Severin, down on your bended knee
The dominant is demanding Severin to kneel before him in submission.


Taste the whip, in love not given lightly
The submissive character wants to experience pain from the whip as a sign of love and affection from the dominant character.


Taste the whip, now plead for me
The dominant character is instructing Severin to beg for punishment.


Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
This line is repeated to convey the dominant character's outfit throughout the song.


Whiplash girl child in the dark
This line is repeated to describe the submissive character's desire for pain and humiliation.


Severin, your servant comes in bells, please don't forsake him
This line is repeated to emphasize Severin's submission to the dominant character.


Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart
This line is also repeated to reinforce Severin's desire to be punished in order to heal his emotional pain.




Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: LOU REED

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
To comment on or correct specific content, highlight it

Genre not found
Artist not found
Album not found
Song not found
Most interesting comment from YouTube:

@kenamolina4243

Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
Whiplash girl child in the dark
Comes in bells, your servant, don't forsake him
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart
… Downy sins of streetlight fancies
Chase the costumes she shall wear
Ermine furs adorn the imperious
Severin, Severin awaits you there
… I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
A thousand dreams that would awake me
Different colors made of tears
… Kiss the boot of shiny, shiny leather
Shiny leather in the dark
Tongue of thongs, the belt that does await you
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart
… Severin, Severin, speak so slightly
Severin, down on your bended knee
Taste the whip, in love not given lightly
Taste the whip, now bleed for me
… I am tired, I am weary
I could sleep for a thousand years
A thousand dreams that would awake me
Different colors made of tears
… Shiny, shiny, shiny boots of leather
Whiplash girl child in the dark
Severin, your servant comes in bells, please don't forsake him
Strike, dear mistress, and cure his heart



All comments from YouTube:

@kebomusic

“everyone who bought one of those 30,000 copies started a band”. Brian Eno

@torkeln

Or became a heroin addict

@qetoun

@torkeln or both...

@mrcode9393

@qetoun Preferably both for sure.

@salmon4869

One became a Czech leader

@weareallbeingwatched4602

@nugget nuggies by starting a band. Was a Zappa fan mostly though.

16 More Replies...

@bokehintheussr5033

For those who don’t know, this song is inspired by the Victorian novel of the same name by Leopold Von Sacher-Masoch, a Viennese aristocrat from whom psychoanalysts coined the term “masochism”. The novel is about a pact between his surrogate protagonist and a female friend with whom he enters into an affair involving experimentations with fem-dom after having a dream in which he encounters the powerful goddess Venus and feels strangely attracted to her. It’s way ahead of its time. It’s full of fascinating meditations upon the nature of social and sexual power-dynamics and master-slave dialectics.

@Lead_Soldier474

The Confessions of Jean-Jacques Rousseau is another book written a century before that that talks about femdom. It's actually more scandalous because it's an autobiography where Rousseau talks about how he developed a desire to be spanked by a woman after being spanked by his governess as a child and how his first relationship was with an older woman whom he called "maman"(mommy).

@ongbonga9025

Here was me thinking it's probably just an elaborate metaphor for heroin.

@littlerichie874

I don’t recall reading this in Sunday school.

More Comments

More Versions