The Blue Mask (2003 Remaster) - Lou Reed

They tied his arms behind his back

to teach him how to swim

They put blood in his coffee

and milk in his gin

They stood over the soldier

in the midst of the squalor

There was war in his body

and it caused his brain to holler

Make the sacrifice

mutilate my face

If you need someone to kill

I'm a man without a will

Wash the razor in the rain

let me luxuriate in pain

Please don't set me free

death means a lot to me

The pain was lean and it made him scream

he knew he was alive

He put a pin through the nipples on his chest

he thought he was a saint

I've made love to my mother, killed my father and brother

what am I to do

When a sin goes too far, it's like a runaway car

it cannot be controlled

Spit upon his face and scream

there's no Oedipus today

This is no play you're thinking you are in

what will you say

Take the blue mask down from my face

and look me in the eye

I get a thrill from punishment

I've always been that way

I loathe and despise repentance

you are permanently stained

Your weakness buys indifference

and indiscretion in the streets

Dirty's what you are and clean is what you're not

you deserve to be soundly beat

Make the sacrifice

take it all the way

There's no "won't" high enough

to stop this desperate day

Don't take death away

cut the finger at the joint

Cut the stallion at his mount

and stuff it in his mouth