However, members of the band (Reed, in particular) frequently denied any claims that the song was advocating use of the drug. Some critics declared the band were glorifying the use of drugs such as heroin.
"Heroin" (along with songs like " I'm Waiting for the Man" which dealt with similar subject matter) tied the Velvet Underground with drug use in the media. Reed was known to do this during subsequent performances of the song as well. One notable difference in the lyrics is Lou Reed's opening - he sings "I know just where I'm going" rather than "I don't know just where I'm going" as on the final album recording.
Overall, the tempo of the song is at a steadier, quicker pace. This version of the song features slightly different lyrics and a more contained, less chaotic performance. The original take of "Heroin" that was intended for release on The Velvet Underground & Nico was at Scepter Studios in New York City, April 1966. This version of the song can be found on the 1995 compilation album, Peel Slowly and See. On the recording, Reed performs the song on an acoustic guitar. Unlike songs such as " I'm Waiting for the Man" and " Venus in Furs" which sound drastically different from their corresponding 1966 recordings on The Velvet Underground & Nico, the '65 version of "Heroin" is nearly identical to the album version in structure. Ludlow Street Loft, July 1965 Īnother version of "Heroin" was with Lou Reed, Sterling Morrison and John Cale at the band's Ludlow Street loft in July 1965. This demo was recorded in May 1965 while he was working for Pickwick, subsequently mailed to himself, and rediscovered more than 50 years later. The earliest recorded version of "Heroin" was a solo demo by Lou Reed. Personnel Īlternative versions Pickwick Records, May 1965 I couldn't hear anybody, so I stopped, assuming, well, they'll stop too and say "what's the matter, Moe?" But nobody stopped. She explains:Īs soon as it got loud and fast, I couldn't hear anything. Tucker stopped drumming for several seconds at the 5:17 mark, before picking up the beat again. Rolling Stone said "It doesn't take much to make a great song," alluding to the song's use of merely two chords. Like " Sister Ray", it features no bass guitar Reed and Morrison use chords and arpeggios to create the song's trademark sound. The song is based on a plagal progression of D♭ and G♭ major chords (I and IV in the key of D♭ major). The song then slows to the original tempo, and repeats the same pattern before ending. Tucker's drumming becomes faster and louder. The tempo increases gradually, until a crescendo, punctuated by Cale's viola and the more punctuated guitar strumming of Reed and Morrison. "Heroin" begins slowly with Reed's quiet, melodic guitar, Sterling Morrison's rhythm guitar and drum patterns by Maureen Tucker, soon joined by John Cale's droning electric viola. This recording of the song is the album's second longest track on the album at 7 minutes and 12 seconds " European Son" is 30 seconds longer. "Heroin" was among a three-song set to be re-recorded, in May 1966 at TTG Studios in Hollywood, before being included on the final release of The Velvet Underground & Nico (along with " I'm Waiting for the Man" and " Venus in Furs"). I was working for a record company as a songwriter, where they'd lock me in a room and they'd say write ten surfing songs, ya know, and I wrote "Heroin" and I said "Hey I got something for ya." They said, "Never gonna happen, never gonna happen." In an interview with WLIR in 1972, Reed said he wrote the lyrics while working as a songwriter for Pickwick Records, a budget label that mostly released inexpensive sound-alikes. Critic Mark Deming of Allmusic writes, "While 'Heroin' hardly endorses drug use, it doesn't clearly condemn it, either, which made it all the more troubling in the eyes of many listeners." In 2004, it was ranked at number 448 on Rolling Stone 's list of The 500 Greatest Songs of All Time, and was re-ranked at number 455 in 2010. Written by Lou Reed in 1964, the song, which overtly depicts heroin abuse, is one of the band's most celebrated compositions. " Heroin" is a song by the Velvet Underground, released on their 1967 debut album The Velvet Underground & Nico.
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