About the Song

Track: Pale Blue Eyes

Length: 5:41

Album: The Velvet Underground (1969)

Artist: The Velvet Underground

Songwriter: Lou Reed

Favorite part: 

“Thought of you as my mountaintop

Thought of you as my peak

Thought of you as everything

I’ve had, but couldn’t keep

I’ve had, but couldn’t keep”

© Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Here’s Why I Love It

Let this song unfurl for you once, and you’ll have a perfect weekend morning song forever. Raining? Fuhgeddaboudit, so good. It has a delicacy that’s hard to match. There’s an eerie quality that seems to linger and bounce around in your head for a while, just like those pale blue eyes. Was this Reed’s intent? Maybe. He was mysterious yet open, similar to the culture he represented. Reed was a very influential artist in the alt-rock scene that blossomed out of NYC in the late-1960s—the same, well-documented artistic scene that Andy Warhol held court for at Max’s Kansas City. A super interesting subculture and time period, really.

The song deepens with each verse. It’s in that second verse, the one above, when you realize that Reed is singing about lost love as opposed to separation from a lover. He takes something very specific, a thought of her being everything, and metaphorically opens it up to everything he’s ever lost. Oof. It lands and resonates in a big way, at least for me. He also uses repetition as a point of emphasis—a trick that, when done well, I love seeing.

The middle of the song has a subtle and creamy guitar solo that leads perfectly into the back half. The final verse is when you learn what’s really goin’ on. He’s had a final, meaningful encounter, one he doesn’t regret despite the fact that the relationship is impossible. Something he reminds you of with, “The fact that you are married / Only proves that you’re my best friend / But it’s truly, truly a sin.” The line is not just an acknowledgment that it was wrong, but an odd, honest way to fortify his belief in their connection. And enough to enable those pale blue eyes to “linger onnn…” 

Listen to the song and read the lyrics for full effect.

You can now listen to the Lyrics I Love playlist on Spotify. A new song is added with each edition!

*This article is part of the ongoing Lyrics I Love series: short interpretations of the meaning and story behind one song with lyrics that move me.