Lady Godiva’s Operation
The Velvet Underground * Track #31 On Peel Slowly and See
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![What Goes On [1969 The Velvet Underground Live] by The Velvet Underground](/img/300x300/47409bc872dc0e370d32253cbd6c8d6e.jpg)
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Lady Godiva's Operation by The Velvet Underground
Release Date
Performed by
The Velvet UndergroundProduced by
Tom WilsonWrited by
Lou ReedAbout
The 3rd track on the classic Velvet Underground album, White Light/White Heat. This song is about a botched lobotomy on a transgender woman.
John Cale called it “a BBC Radiophonic Workshop idea … a radio-theatre piece, trying to use the studio to create this panorama of a story”.
Lady Godiva’s Operation Lyrics
[Verse 1: John Cale]
Lady Godiva, dressed so demurely
Pats the head of another curly-haired boy
Just another toy
Sick with silence, she weeps sincerely
Saying words that have oh-so-clearly been said
So long ago
[Verse 2: John Cale]
Draperies wrapped gently 'round her shoulder
Life has made her that much bolder now
That she's found out how
[Verse 3: John Cale]
Dressed in silk, Latin lace, and envy
Pride and joy of the latest penny fair
Pretty passing care
Hair today now dipped in the water
Making love to every poor daughter's son
Isn't it fun?
[Verse 4: John Cale, Lou Reed, Both]
Now, today, propping grace with envy
Lady Godiva peers to see if anyone's there
And hasn't a care
Doctor is coming, the nurse thinks sweetly
Turning on the machines that neatly pump air
The body lies bare
Shaved and hairless what once was screaming
Now lies silent and almost sleeping
The brain must have gone away
Strapped securely to the white table
Ether caused the body to wither and writhe
Underneath the white light
Doctor arrives with knife and baggage
Sees the growth as just so much cabbage
Oh, that must now be cut away
Now comes the moment of great, great, decision
Doctor is making his first incision
[Verse 5: John Cale, Lou Reed]
One goes here
One goes there
"The ether tube's leaking," says someone who's sloppy
Patient, it seems, well, he's not so well sleeping
The screams echo up the hall
Don't panic, someone give him Pentothal instantly
Doctor removes his blade cagily slow from the brain
By my count of ten
The head won't move
Lady Godiva’s Operation Q&A
Who wrote Lady Godiva’s Operation's ?
Lady Godiva’s Operation was written by Lou Reed.
Who produced Lady Godiva’s Operation's ?
Lady Godiva’s Operation was produced by Tom Wilson.
When did The Velvet Underground release Lady Godiva’s Operation?
The Velvet Underground released Lady Godiva’s Operation on Tue Jan 30 1968.
What did The Velvet Underground say about "Lady Godiva's Operation"?
Reed:
And there’s the gender confusion on the song. Fear of sleep. The perfect thing for people we were running around with, staying up fifteen days at a time.