LogFAQs > #954716782

193. Lou Reed Perfect Day (1972)
from the album Transformer

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QYEC4TZsy-Y

Key lyrics:
You made me forget myself
I thought I was someone else
Someone good

At this point in his career, Lou Reed had already made an ode to heroin with the aptly titled Heroin by the Velvet Underground. But where Heroin is defiant and almost joyful, Perfect Day is a lament not necessarily about addiction itself but those things which pushed him to using. This is a song from the perspective of someone who sees only one way out of his misery. On the surface, an oblivious listener might even mistake this for a love song and they might actually be right. Lou Reed perfectly blurs the line between love and addiction, taking whatever he can to fill the void that is the heart of this song.

Whatever the subject matter, Perfect Day perfectly captures the sense of someone who reassures themselves while everyone else can see them falling apart. Even the narrator seems aware, remarking that he will reap what he sowed by the end. This is another song defined by contrast, melancholy music matched with positive imagery. But even that sad music is strangely beautiful, those gentle piano notes rising to match Reeds forced optimism. Or maybe its not forced perhaps this is a moment of genuine happiness for someone otherwise trapped in a depressive state. There are many ways to interpret this song, but they all hit just as hard.

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My top 100 games (with write-ups): https://foolfantastic.com/top-100-video-games-project/