Lady Godiva's Operation Explained
"Lady Godiva's Operation" is a song by the Velvet Underground from their second album, White Light/White Heat (1968). The lyrics of the first half of the song, sung by John Cale, describe Lady Godiva; the lyrics of the second half, sung by Cale alternating with Lou Reed, are full of oblique, deadpan black humor and describe a botched surgical procedure, implied to be a lobotomy.[1] Cale plays electric viola while Sterling Morrison plays bass, an instrument that he disliked, despite his competent abilities.[2] [3]
The song was covered by the Fatima Mansions as a single.[4]
Lou Reed said of the song in 1973: "Listen to the lyrics of my early songs, 'Lady Godiva's Operation' was about a trans-sexual."[5]
Personnel
- John Cale – lead vocals, electric viola, medical instrument vocal noises
- Lou Reed – co-lead vocals, electric guitar
- Sterling Morrison – bass guitar, backing vocals, medical instrument vocal noises
- Maureen Tucker – percussion
Notes and References
- Web site: Wawzenek. Bryan. March 30, 2018. Doctor, Doctor, Give Me the News: 40 Songs About Doctors. August 22, 2021. Ultimate Classic Rock.
- Web site: Hoffman. Eric. Examinations: An Examination of John Cale. Mental Contagion. October 24, 2014. When I had to play viola, Sterling had to play bass, which he hated.. 3 March 2016. https://web.archive.org/web/20160303204052/http://www.mentalcontagion.com/mcarchive/examinations/examinations0409.html. dead.
- Tom . Pinnock . John Cale on The Velvet Underground & Nico . . September 18, 2012 . March 7, 2015 . 29 December 2014 . https://web.archive.org/web/20141229052133/https://www.uncut.co.uk/the-velvet-underground/john-cale-on-the-velvet-underground-nico-news . dead .
- News: Green . Jim . Fatima Mansions . . February 22, 2016.
- Bloom . Howard . April 1973 . The Eerie Roots of Lou Reed's New Transformer . . 7 . 7 . 48.
