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Lou Reed : The Blue Mask
1982

  1. My House
  2. Women
  3. Underneath The Bottle
  4. The Gun
  5. The Blue Mask

  6. Average Guy
  7. The Heroine
  8. Waves Of Fear
  9. The Day John Kennedy Died
  10. Heavenly Arms

My House

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G
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x8
C
Am
The image of the poet's in the breeze
Dm
G
Canadian geese are flying above the trees
C
Am
A mist is hanging gently on the lake
Dm
G
My house is very beautiful at night My friend and teacher occupies a spare room He's dead, at peace at last, the wandering Jew Other friends had put stones on his grave He was the first great man that I had ever met Sylvia and I got out our Ouija Board To dial a spirit, across the room it soared We were happy and amazed at what we saw Blazing stood the proud and regal name Delmore Delmore, I missed all your funny ways I missed your jokes and the brilliant things you said My Daedalus to your Bloom, was such a perfect wit And to find you in my house makes things perfect I've really got a lucky life My writing, my motorcycle and my wife And to top it all off a spirit of pure poetry Is living in this stone and wood house with me The image of the poet's in the breeze Canadian geese are flying above the trees A mist is hanging gently on the lake Our house is very beautiful at night
G
Our house is very beautiful at night Our house is very beautiful at night Our house is very beautiful at night

Women

G
G
D
I love women, I think they're great
G
G
D
They're a solace to the world in a terrible state
G
G
D
They're a blessing to the eyes, a balm to the soul
G
What a nightmare to have no women in the world
G
Em
D
I love women I love women I love women We all love women I used to look at women in the magazines I know that it was sexist, but I was in my teens I was very bitter, all my sex was on the sly I couldn't keep my hands off women, and I won't till I die I love women Oh, I love women We love women We all love women A woman's love can lift you up, and women can inspire I feel like buying flowers and hiring a celestial choir A choir of castratis to serenade my love They'd sing a little Bach for us and then we'd make love I love women I love women We all love women We love women |
G
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G
D
| ...

Underneath The Bottle

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A
G
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D
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G
D
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D
A
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A
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A
G
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D
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G
D
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G
A
D
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D
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A
G
D
G
Ooh-ooh-wee, look at me
D
A
Lookin' for some sympathy
A
G
D
G
It's the same old story of man and his search for glory
D
G
And he found it there underneath the bottle Things are never good, things go from bad to weird Hey gimme another scotch with my beer I'm sad to say I feel the same today as I always do Gimme a drink to relax me Ooh-wee, liquor set me free I can't do no work, the shakes inside me Ah shucks, I got the lousiest luck, I'm sick of this Underneath the bottle Seven days make a week, on two of them I sleep I can't remember what the heck I was doin' I got bruises on my leg from I can't remember when I fell down some stairs, I was lyin' underneath the bottle Ooh-wee, son of a B You get so down, you can't get any lower So long world, you play too rough, and it's getting me all mixed up I lost my pride and it's hidin' there underneath the bottle

The Gun

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D
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G
| ...
D
G7
The man has a gun, he knows how to use it Nine millimeter Browning, let's see what he can do He'll point it at your mouth, says that he'll blow your brains out Don't you mess with me, carrying a gun Carrying a gun, carrying a gun Don't you mess with me, carrying a gun Carrying a gun, carrying a gun Don't mess with me, mmm, carrying a gun Get over there, move slowly I'll put a hole in your face if you even breathe a word Tell the lady to lie down, I want, ah, you to be sure to see this I wouldn't want you to miss a second, watch your wife Carrying a gun, shooting with a gun Dirty animal Carrying a gun, carrying a gun Watch you face, carrying a gun Carrying a gun, carrying a gun The animal dies with fear in his eyes, with a gun Don't touch him, don't touch him Stay away from him, he's got a gun
D

The Blue Mask

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D
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G
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x3
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D
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x16
D
G
D
They tied his arms behind his back to teach him how to swim
D
G
D
They put blood in his coffee and milk in his gin
D
G
D
They stood over the soldier in the midst of the squalor
D
G
D
There was war in his body and it caused his brain to holler
G
D
Make the sacrifice Mutilate my face If you need someone to kill I'm a man without a will Wash the razor in the rain Let me luxuriate in pain Please don't set me free Death means a lot to me The pain was lean and it made him scream, he knew he was alive They put a pin through the nipples on his chest, he thought he was a saint I've made love to my mother, killed my father and brother, what am I to do? When a sin goes too far, it's like a runaway car, it cannot be controlled Spit upon his face and scream, there's no Oedipus today This is no play you're thinking you are in, what will you say? Take the blue mask down from my face and look me in the eye I get a thrill from punishment, I've always been that way I loathe and despise repentance, you are permanently stained Your weakness buys indifference and indiscretion in the streets Dirty's what you are and clean is what you're not, you deserve to be soundly beat Make the sacrifice Take it all the way There's no "won't" high enough To stop this desperate day Don't take death away Cut the finger at the joint Cut the stallion at his mount And stuff it in his mouth

Average Guy

F#
Bm
I ain't no Christian or no born-again saint
F#
G
I ain't no cowboy or a Marxist DA
F#
Bm
I ain't no criminal or Reverend Cripple from the right
F#
G
I am just your average guy, trying to do what's right
A
D
I'm just your average guy
G
An average guy
D
I am just your average guy
G
I'm just an average guy Average guy, I'm just your average guy I'm average looking and I'm average inside I'm an average lover and I live in an average place You wouldn't know me if you met me face to face I'm just your average guy Average guy Average guy I'm just an average guy I worry about money and taxes and such I worry that my liver's big and it hurts to the touch I worry about my health and bowels and the crime waves in the street I'm really just your average guy, trying to stand on his own two feet I'm just your average guy I'm just your average guy I'm just your average guy Average guy Average looks, average taste Average height, an average waist Average in everything I do My temperature is 98.2 I'm just your average guy An average guy Average guy I'm just your average guy

The Heroine

D
Em
The heroine stood up on the deck
G
The ship was out of control
D
Em
The bow was being ripped to shreds
G
Men were fighting down below
D
Em
The sea had pummeled them for so long
G
Bb
That they knew nothing but fear
C
And the baby's in the box
Am
He thinks the door is locked
C
The sea is in a state
Am
G
C
The baby learns to wait for the heroine
F
G
C
Ooh-ooh, for the heroine
F
G
C
Locked in his defense, he waits for the heroine The mast is cracking as the waves are slapping Sailors rolled across the deck And when they thought no one was looking They would cut a weaker man's neck While the heroine dressed in a virgin white dress Tried to steer the mighty ship But the raging storm wouldn't hear of it They were in for a long trip Baby's in the box Thinks the door is locked He finds it hard to breathe Drawing in the sea And where's the heroine to fire off the gun To calm the raging seas And let herself be seized by the... Baby in the box He thinks the door is locked The woman has the keys
Bbdim
But there's no moment she can seize Here's to the heroine Who transcends all the men Who are locked inside the box Will the lady let him out Ooh, the heroine, ooh-ooh, the heroine
Bb
F
C
G
C
Strapped to the mast, the pale ascendant heroine Strapped to the mast, the pale ascendant heroine

Waves Of Fear

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G
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D
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A
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D
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x6
G
D
Waves of fear, attack in the night
A
D
Waves of revulsion, sickening sights
G
D
My heart's nearly bursting, my chest's choking tight
G
Waves of fear, waves of fear
G
D
Waves of fear, squat on the floor
A
D
Looking for some pill, the liquor is gone
G
D
Blood drips from my nose, I can barely breathe
A
D
Waves of fear, I'm too scared to leave
G
D
A
D
Waves of fear, waves of fear
G
D
A
D
Waves of fear, waves of fear
D
I'm too afraid to use the phone I'm too afraid to put the light on I'm so afraid I've lost control I'm suffocating without a word Crazy with sweat, spittle on my jaw What's that funny noise, what's that on the floor Waves of fear, pulsing with death I curse my tremors, I jump at my own step I cringe at my terror, I hate my own smell I know where I must be, I must be in hell Waves of fear, waves of fear Waves of fear, waves of fear |
G
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D
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A
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D
| ...

The Day John Kennedy Died

C
F
C
I dreamed I was the president of these United States
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F
C
I dreamed I replaced ignorance, stupidity and hate
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F
C
I dreamed the perfect union and a perfect law, un-denied
C
F
G
C
Most of all I dreamed I forgot the day John Kennedy died I dreamed that I could do the job that others hadn't done I dreamed that I was uncorrupt and fair to everyone I dreamed I wasn't gross or base, a criminal on the take And most of all I dreamed I forgot the day John Kennedy died
F
G
C
Oh, the day John Kennedy died Oh, the day John Kennedy died I remember where I was that day, I was upstate in a bar The team from the university was playing football on TV Then the screen went dead and the announcer said, "There's been a tragedy There's are unconfirmed reports the president's been shot and he may be dead or dying" Talking stopped, someone shouted, "What?!", I ran out to the street People were gathered everywhere saying, did you hear what they said on TV? And then a guy in a Porsche with his radio hit his horn and told us the news He said "The president's dead he was shot twice in the head in Dallas, and they don't know by whom" I dreamed I was the president of these United States I dreamed that I was young and smart and it was not a waste I dreamed that there was a point to life and to the human race I dreamed that I could somehow comprehend that someone shot him in the face Oh, the day John Kennedy died Oh, the day John Kennedy died Oh, the day John Kennedy died Oh, the day John Kennedy died

Heavenly Arms

G
/f#
C
A
Heavenly arms reach out to hold me
G
/f#
C
A
Heavenly arms entice you to dance
G
C
G
Em
In a world of ill will, the dancers are still
G
Em
C
D
Heavenly arms reach out to me Heavenly arms soft as a love song Heavenly arms bring a kiss to your ear In a world that seems mad, all the dancers seem sad Heavenly arms reach out to me
Bm
G
Bm
G
Sylvia, Sylvia
C
D
G
C
D
G
Sylvia, Sylvia Heavenly arms come to my rescue Only a woman can love a man In a world full of hate, love should never wait Heavenly arms reach out to me Heavenly arms strong as a sunset Heavenly arms pure as the rain Lovers stand warned of the world's impending storm Heavenly arms reach out to me Sylvia, Sylvia Sylvia, Sylvia
C
D
G
G
Oh-oh-whoa, oh-oh-oh-oh-oh Ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh-ooh, oh-whoa-whoa Mmm... oh-whoa-whoa (Heavenly arms reach out to hold me) (Sylvia, you mean so much to me) (Heavenly arms reach out to hold me) (Sylvia, you mean so much to me) (Heavenly arms reach out to hold me) (Sylvia, you mean so much to me) (Heavenly arms reach out to hold me)