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White Light White Heat
White Light White Heat (The Velvet Underground) - cover by Ralph Stanley, from the film "Lawless".
Velvet Underground
"White Light/White Heat" is a song recorded by the American rock band the Velvet Underground. It was released as a single in late November 1967 with the B-side "Here She Comes Now". The following year it appeared as the title track on their second studio album of the same name.
"White Light/White Heat" was recorded in the course of the recording sessions for White Light/White Heat in September 1967 at Scepter Studios in Manhattan. The song's vocals are performed primarily by Lou Reed, with John Cale and Sterling Morrison performing backing vocals. The song, much like "I'm Waiting for the Man", features a rock 'n' roll barrelhouse-style piano vamp. The song is about the sensations produced by intravenous injection of amphetamine and features a heavily distorted electric bass outro played by John Cale over a single chord.
"White Light/White Heat" was also a staple of the Velvet Underground's live performances from 1967 on. The tune appears on numerous live bootleg albums, and is included in a nearly nine-minute version on the group's posthumous 1969 Live double LP. Reed also recorded a live version of the song in 1974, which featured on his Rock 'n' Roll Animal and Greatest Hits albums. Reed went on to perform the song with several notable musicians, including David Bowie, Metallica and the Raconteurs.
The Guardian and Paste both ranked the song number seven on their lists of the greatest Velvet Underground songs.
Two traditional-music influenced versions of the song were included on the soundtrack to the 2012 film Lawless, one by The Bootleggers featuring Mark Lanegan and one by bluegrass musician Ralph Stanley.
The live version of the song from Reed's Rock 'n' Roll Animal was specially covered by Julian Casablancas for the HBO television series Vinyl. It appeared on the soundtrack of the fifth episode, during a flashback to a fictional Reed gig in 1973. The song has also been covered by Mick Ronson.
Personnel
- Lou Reed – lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano
- John Cale – fuzz bass, backing vocals
- Sterling Morrison – lead guitar, backing vocals
- Maureen Tucker – percussion
The song was regularly performed live by David Bowie. A version he recorded in 1973 was released as a single in 1983 to promote the album Ziggy Stardust: The Motion Picture.
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Lyrics:
White light, White light goin' messin' up my mind
White light, and don't you know its gonna make me go blind
White heat, aww white heat it tickle me down to my toes
White light, Oh have mercy white light have it goodness knows
White light, White light goin' messin' up my brain
White light, Aww white light its gonna drive me insane
White heat, Aww white heat it tickle me down to my toes
White light, Aww white light I said now goodness knows, do it
Hmm hmm, White light
Aww I surely do love to watch that stuff tip itself in
Hmm hmm, White light
Watch that side, watch that side don't you know it gonna be dead in the drive
Hmm hmm, White heat
Hey foxy mama watchin' her walk down the street
Hmm hmm, White light
Come up side your head gonna make a deadend on your street
White light, White light moved in me through my brain
White light, White light goin' makin' you go insane
White heat, Aww white heat it tickle me down to my toes
White light, Aww white light I said now goodness knows
White light, Aww white light it lighten up my eyes
White light, don't you know it fills me up with surprise
White light, Aww white heat tickle me down to my toes
White light, Aww white light I tell you now goodness knows, now work it
Hmm hmm, White light
Aww she surely do moves me
Hmm hmm, White light
Watch that speed freak, watch that speed freak everybody gonna go and make it every week
Hmm hmm, White heat
Aww sputter mutter everybody gonna go kill their mother
Hmm hmm, White light
Here she comes, here she comes, everybody get 'n gone make me run to her