The myriad choices of his fate
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
Not an old city street in the east
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 ka tak koh
Choose to choose
Choose to choose, choose to go



Lyrics submitted by capitol76

Track duration: 03:12

"The Black Angel's Death Song" as written by John Cale Lou Reed

Lyrics © GARNANT MUSIC, SPIRIT ONE MUSIC OBO OAKFIELD AVENUE MUSIC LTD.

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The Black Angel's Death Song song meanings
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23 Comments

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  • 0
    General Comment:It almost seems like it could be about reincarnation though, given the title and the repetition of "choose again" or "choose to go"

    like a trippy narrative of having one foot in the realm of death and one in NYC or something. love this song.
    Flag whereartestebanon March 23, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:There is obviously no story to this song but smack is referenced. My interpretation is that the ability to choose to escape effected reed and at times he is telling a junkie's interpretation of the city while they are high.
    Flag johnbetjemanon March 04, 2012   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the song is a lot of jabberwocky, but i always thought there was a sort of loose narrative. i always imagined a sort of wartime scenario, some lone confused soldier seeing all possible paths before him spread out like some quantum probability wave. some end in glory, some in metaphysical disillusionment, some in violent death. feeling nothing to lose, alienated from some dreary place he once called home, he plays out these scenarios in his mind. caught between decisions, he often retreats back in the safety of the "cozy brown snow", which i always felt sure was heroin, to save the choice for another time. try between, try to lose, choose to choose, choose to go. does he take the middle path, give up, dedicate to making a choice, possibly the one that would finally fulfill his fate?

    the last line of this song is 'choose to go'. i think this song is about embracing your fate, knowingly following the path that will probably end your life with guns blazing. i mean look at the title, it's obviously a song about death. there's plenty of imagery to suggests it.

    also, i like that the black angel is portrayed as weeping. it's not a malevolent force, but a compassionate, remorseful one. the metaphysical implications of this song seem staggering if you take the view that reed was telling some kind of story or making some point.

    I personally think the guy is a jackass, and that he channels dead music gods from time to time, in-between putting out albums and albums of crap.

    Flag kamalmanzukieon July 16, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:the song is a lot of jabberwocky, but i always thought there was a sort of loose narrative. i always imagined a sort of wartime scenario, some lone confused soldier seeing all possible paths before him spread out like some quantum probability wave. some end in glory, some in metaphysical disillusionment, some in violent death. feeling nothing to lose, alienated from some dreary place he once called home, he plays out these scenarios in his mind. caught between decisions, he often retreats back in the safety of the "cozy brown snow", which i always felt sure was heroin, to save the choice for another time. try between, try to lose, choose to choose, choose to go. does he take the middle path, give up, dedicate to making a choice, possibly the one that would finally fulfill his fate?

    the last line of this song is 'choose to go'. i think this song is about embracing your fate, knowingly following the path that will probably end your life with guns blazing. i mean look at the title, it's obviously a song about death. there's plenty of imagery to suggests it.

    also, i like that the black angel is portrayed as weeping. it's not a malevolent force, but a compassionate, remorseful one. the metaphysical implications of this song seem staggering if you take the view that reed was telling some kind of story or making some point.

    I personally think the guy is a jackass, and that he channels dead music gods from time to time, in-between putting out albums and albums of crap.

    Flag kamalmanzukieon July 16, 2011   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:Someone living life, making choices, trying to find their place. The last lines are like advice talking about staying balance, not being overwhelmed by truth and realizations and being free to anything you are feeling. Free to your own opinions, path and everything in-between.
    Flag AndrewVSon June 12, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:it's about someone trying to find the meaning of life. so many explanations, so much imagery, so many feelings, emotions, situations, ups and downs... but is there really a meaning to life? or rather is there really any point in trying to figure out the meaning to life? it's all about the choices we make in the end. choose to choose... even choose to go if that's what it takes
    Flag zaisimon May 26, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I have no idea what the meaning is to the lyrics of this beautiful song.

    I suspect that old Lou Reed would find you all trying to dissect his lyrics pretty funny. The only really perceptive comment here is gnagy's.
    Flag theeman0000on January 19, 2010   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:agh, I was just about to mention that. I read that Lou said he just put together words that sounded cool together that had no real meaning behind them. Yet, intentional or not, there's something about this song that's deeper than just 'random words put together'. I think it's the "choose to go" - probably my favorite line off this one. And I still think John Cale's hissing pretty much makes this song.

    ALSO:
    "And if Epiphany's terror reduced you to shame
    Have your head bobbed and weaved
    Choose a side to be on"

    This always made me think of sex change. "Bobbed and weaved" - a bob cut is usually a women's hairstyle. Also "choose a side to be on" - that speaks for itself.
    Flag othatzsokewlon November 16, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:This is a great tune. I read an interview with Lou Reed in which he said this song has no meaning, it all about the cadence and rhyme of the words. THats the beauty of this tune, searching for a meaning that doesn't exist. Just random words....
    Flag gnagyon October 20, 2009   Link
  • 0
    General Comment:I love the random 'pffffffffffffff'
    Flag othatzsokewlon October 14, 2009   Link

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