Cover art for Sword of Damocles - Externally by Lou Reed

Sword of Damocles - Externally

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Jan. 14, 19921 viewer

Sword of Damocles - Externally Lyrics

[Verse 1]
I see the sword of Damocles is right above your head
They're trying a new treatment to get you out of bed
But radiation kills both bad and good, it can not differentiate
So to cure you they must kill you, the sword of Damocles hangs above your head

[Verse 2]
Now I have seen lots of peoples die from car crashes or drugs
Last night on 33rd Street, I saw a kid get hit by a bus
But this drawn out torture over which part of you lives is very hard to take
To cure you they must kill you, the sword of Damocles above your head

[Verse 3]
That mix of morphine and Dexedrine, we use it on the street
It kills the pain and keeps you up, your very soul to keep
But this guessing game has its own rules, the good don't always win
And might makes right, the sword of Damocles is hanging above your head

[Verse 4]
It seems every thing's done that must be done from over here, though things don't seem fair
But there are things that we can't know, maybe there's something over there
Some other world that we don't know about, I know you hate that mystic shit
It's just another way of seeing the sword of Damocles above your head

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About

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Genius Annotation

Sword of Damocles is a song on the Magic and Loss Album released in 1992. Two of his close friends died during the making of this album which inspired Reed to expand the theme from magic to include loss.

Credits
Produced By
Written By
Recorded At
The Magic Shop, New York City
Release Date
January 14, 1992
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