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Rating: After the great successes of the early '70s, Lou Reed was riding high and at the peak of commercial success. In 1974, he released "Sally Can't Dance", an album that doesn't quite hold up to its predecessors but still maintains a more than respectable level.
On first listen, the album immediately appears inconsistent as it contains some predominantly commercial tracks (for example, "Sally Can't Dance", a classic hit) reminiscent of the "Transformer" era, and others more serious that even touch on Lou Reed's own biographical events: "Kill Your Sons" speaks of the conflictual relationship with his parents and recalls the electroshock sessions he underwent in his adolescence.
The standout pieces of the album only reveal themselves on a more in-depth listen: "Ennui", which at first might seem boring, is a little gem where Reed, now in his thirties, looks at life with a good dose of defeatism ("everything made me feel aware/ Ah, you're getting old/ you're doing things/ you're losing your hair"
), "Billy" is an acoustic masterpiece of disarming cynicism, and the aforementioned "Kill Your Sons". "Baby Face" and "Ride Sally Ride", with their subdued tones, recall that world of vice and transgression so dear to the author and keep the album at a good qualitative level. The only off-note, the cheerful "Animal Language" seems at least out of place, if only for the chorus in which Reed indulges in frankly embarrassing animalistic sounds.
Tracklist Lyrics and Videos
02 Animal Language (03:05)
Miss Riley had a dog
she used to keep it in her backyard
And when the dog began to bark
all the neighbors began to shout
Then came a stormy night
Miss Riley let her dog out
And when the neighbors found him 'round
they put a gun down his mouth and shot him down
and he went
Ooohhh-wow, bow-wow
Ooohhh-wow, bow-wow
Miss Murphy had a cat
on her lap it sat
And once in a great big while
it looked like that Cheshire cat did smile
But often it used to chase
anything that crossed its face
But one day it got so hot
that Cheshire cat had a blood clot
and she said
Ooohhh-meow, me-meow
Ooohhh-meow, me-meow
Meow
And then the dog met the cat
the dog was hot and the cat was wet
Then came some sweaty dude
he put a board between the two
Then they couldn't get at it
got frustrated all about it
So they did the only thing you could do
they took the dude's sweat and shot it up between the two
and they said
Ooohhh-wow, bow-wow
Ooohhh-wow, bow, me, wow
05 Kill Your Sons (03:40)
All your two-bit psychiatrists
are giving you electroshock
They said, they'd let you live at home with mom and dad
instead of mental hospitals
But every time you tried to read a book
you couldn't get to page 17
'Cause you forgot where you were
so you couldn't even read
Don't you know they're gonna kill your sons
don't you know gonna kill, kill your sons
They're gonna kill, kill your sons
until they run, run, run, run, run, run, run, run away
Mom informed me on the phone
she didn't know what to do about dad
Took an axe and broke the table
aren't you glad you're married
And sister, she got married on the island
and her husband takes the train
He's big and he's fat
and he doesn't even have a brain
They're gonna kill your sons
don't you know they're gonna kill, kill your sons
Don't you know they're gonna kill, kill your sons
until they run away
Creedmore treated me very good
but Paine Whitney was even better
And when I flipped out on PHC
I was so sad, I didn't even get a letter
All of the drugs, that we took
it really was lots of fun
But when they shoot you up with thorizene on crystal smoke
you choke like a son of a gun
Don't you know they're gonna kill your sons
don't you know they're gonna kill, kill your sons
Don't you know they're gonna kill, kill your sons
until they run, run, run, run, run, run, run away
06 Ennui (03:43)
All the things you said
you thought I was dead
everything made me feel aware
Ah, you're getting old
you're doing things
you're losing your hair
All the things that you used to believe in
Turned out to be true, you're guilty of reason
You're the kind of person that
I could do without
And certain kinds of money would make you see
what it's all about
There's a first time for everything
And a first one's on me, don't you see
All of the things that your old lover said
look at them, they jump out of windows
and now they're just dead
It's the truth, don't you realize
Faded without any talent of fun
running out on the streets, balling anyone
It's the truth, It's the truth
Pick up the pieces that make up your life
maybe some day you'll have a wife and them alimony
Oh, can't you see
07 Sally Can't Dance (04:12)
Sally dances on the floor
she says that she can't do it anymore
She walks down St. Marks Place
and eats natural food at my place
Now Sally can't dance no more
she can't get off of the floor
Sally can't dance no more
they found her in the trunk of a Ford
ooohhh, she can't dance no more
Sally is loosing her face
she lives on St. Marks Place
In a rent-controlled apartment, eighty dollars a month
she has lots of fun, she has lots of fun, but
Sally can't dance no more, ooohhh
Sally can't dance no more
She took too much meth and can't get off the floor
now Sally, she can't dance no more
She was the first girl in the neighborhood
to wear tied-dyed pants, ah, like she should
She was the first girl that I ever seen
that had flowers painted on her jeans
She was the first girl in her neighborhood
who got raped on Tompkins Square, real good
Now she wears a sword, like Napoleon
and she kills the boys and acts like a son
Sally can't dance no more, ooohhh, now
Sally can't dance no more
She can't get herself off the floor, ah, huh
Sally, ooohhh, she can't dance no more
Watch this, now
Sally became a big model
she moved up to eighties and park
She had a studio apartment
and that's where she used to ball, folk singers
and that's where she used to ball, folk singers, but
Sally, she can't dance no more
Sally, she can't dance no more
Sally can't get herself off of the floor
now, Sally, she can't dance no more
(Sally can't dance)
(Sally can't dance)
She knew all the really right people
she went to Le Jardin
She danced with Picasso's illegitimate mistress
and wore Kenneth Lane jewels, really it's trash, but
Sally can't dance no more, ooohhh
Sally can't dance no more
She can't get herself off of the floor
now, Sally, ooohhh, she can't dance no more, no more
Dance, no more can't ...
(Sally can't dance, Sally can't dance)
(Sally can't dance, Sally can't dance)
(Sally can't dance, Sally can't dance)
(Sally can't dance, Sally can't dance)
... repeat and fade out
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