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About

Genius Annotation

“I’m Waiting for the Man” visually describes the experience of buying heroin from a dealer, specifically $26 worth near the intersection of Lexington Avenue and 125th Street in New York City.

“I’m Waiting For The Man” marks the beginning of a common motif that runs throughout The Velvet Underground & Nico, as the subject of heroin appears in several tracks afterwards.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did The Velvet Underground say about "I’m Waiting for the Man"?
Genius Answer

Lou Reed’s statement regarding the whole
song –

Everything about that song holds true except the price ($26).

John Cale remembered the song for Uncut magazine in 2006:

One of our drone songs… I liked it because it was rock’n’roll. I hammered the piano, smacking it with fists, and there was no back-beat for Maureen’s drums. It’s very British-sounding, mid-’60s pop like The Honeycombs“Have I The Right?”. Lou came up with the riff and his solos were crazy. Sterling used to do the solos live. His method was to play like unwinding a ball of string, where you end up in the right place.

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Vocals
Tambourine
Recorded At
TTG Studios, Hollywood, CA (May 1966)
Release Date
March 12, 1967
I’m Waiting for the Man Is A Remix Of
View I’m Waiting for the Man samples
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