Lou Reed
"The Blue Mask"


They tied his arms behind his back, to teach him how to swim
They put blood in his coffee and milk in his gin
They stood over the soldier, in the midst of the squalor
There was war in his body and it caused his brain to holler

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
He 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
And cannot be controlled
Spit upon his face and scream: There is no Oedipus today
LyricsThis 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 and 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 is 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