I don't know just where I'm going
But I'm gonna try for the kingdom, if I can
'Cause it makes me feel like I'm a man
When I put a spike into my vein
And I tell you things aren't quite the same

When I'm rushing on my run
And I feel just like Jesus' son
And I guess that I just don't know
And I guess that I just don't know

I have made big decision
I'm gonna try to nullify my life
'Cause when the blood begins to flow
When it shoots up the dropper's neck
When I'm closing in on death

You can't help me now, you guys
And all you sweet girls with all your sweet talk
You can all go take a walk
And I guess I just don't know
And I guess that I just don't know

I wish that I was born a thousand years ago
I wish that I'd sailed the darkened seas
On a great big clipper ship
Going from this land here to that
On a sailor's suit and cap

Away from the big city
Where a man cannot be free
Of all the evils of this town
And of himself and those around
Oh, and I guess that I just don't know
Oh, and I guess that I just don't know

Heroin, be the death of me
Heroin, it's my wife and it's my life
Because a mainline into my vein
Leads to a center in my head
And then I'm better off than dead

Because when the smack begins to flow
I really don't care anymore
About all the Jim-Jims in this town
And all the politicians making crazy sounds
And everybody putting everybody else down
And all the dead bodies piled up in mounds

'Cause when the smack begins to flow
And I really don't care anymore
Ah, when that heroin is in my blood
And that blood is in my head
Then thank God that I'm as good as dead
And thank your God that I'm not aware
And thank God that I just don't care
And I guess I just don't know
Oh, and I guess I just don't know


Lyrics submitted by capitol76

Heroin Lyrics as written by Lou Reed

Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Heroin song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

115 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +15
    General Comment

    As Lou has said, the song is about heroin. Not for it, not against it, just about it. That's only one part of its brilliance (very few, if any, songwriters have had the courage to deal so head-on with drugs since); it's also brilliant musically, with everything so primal, from the simple guitars raving up and down, the screeching viola and perhaps most importantly, Moe's pounding drums. Just beautiful!

    leamancon December 28, 2010   Link
  • +9
    General Comment

    Ever notice how on the first album, most of the instrumentation seem to try to metaphorically symbolize the theme/subject of the song? With heroin, with its the flow from the rush and the nod, slowly building up, and increasingly strung out (care of cale's screeching viola). I'm Waiting for the Man sounds angular and repetitive and full of motion, just like the city it describes. Venus in Furs sounds like some viking slave ship beat, perfect for its account depravity in antiquity. In There She Goes Again, at the end of the verse, when lou says, "you'd better hit her", the band answers back with a sharp "bum bum bum bum" in agreement. And then my all time favorite, The Black Angel's Death Song, has Cale's viola providing that eerie, ghostly shriek in perfect counterpoint to Reed's rambling lyrics about death and choice and fate. The whole album is completely sublime. If you yearn to start a band whose ideals are originality and expression, this album is almost a prerequisite.

    kamalmanzukieon December 07, 2009   Link
  • +8
    General Comment

    I don't know why, but to me this is a beautiful song. It almost makes me cry at times. The lyrics are kind of meaningful too. I'd say Lou isn't very fond of heroin.

    I And Ion August 06, 2002   Link
  • +8
    General Comment

    I love Lou Reed because he doesn't say something is good or bad he just goes, hey here it is, you decide. I think he is the most truthful song writer I've ever heard

    drgonzothxon August 28, 2002   Link
  • +8
    General Comment

    When I heard this song as a teenager I promised myself that I never ever would take drugs. The lyrics scared me. There was nothing romatic about taking heroin. It was just a sentence to slavery and death. I held that promise.

    Rebelcaton September 09, 2005   Link
  • +5
    General Comment

    I like how the song progresses. It becomes more disorderly until it snaps. The style parallels a heroin trip.

    novadudeon December 05, 2004   Link
  • +4
    General Comment

    I really don't care anymore About all the Jim-Jim's in this town And all the politicians makin' crazy sounds And everybody puttin' everybody else down And all the dead bodies piled up in mounds

    This song is about escape. Kind of like, "look what you guys made me do." The world is in turmoil and is crazy, but he finds his own craze and peace within himself and his drug.

    puzzudon July 31, 2010   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    This song is a part of me. I don't know what else to say, I think it's gonna follow me for the rest of my life, and frankly, I don't mind. It's just so soothing, relaxing, depressing, comforting, stressing, everything... all at once. I love it.

    eirikwson December 13, 2005   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    The lyrics are amazing but in my opinion the violin at the end says it all. it's a complete chaotic train wreck on the surface but underneath, it has this stange beauty, like the lyrics are saying it's like he's happy to be this wrecked and disoriented, and he does'nt care. and I think that those 30 seconds of violent screeching are a metaphor for his view of heroin.

    Jessevetroneon April 19, 2008   Link
  • +3
    General Comment

    What a powerful existential song about the nature of addiction. The drug takes over his entire life, it becomes his reason for living. The music really adds to the personal emptiness, the sadness that no one who hasn't been there can ever express, the desperate feeling you can never escape - feelings of weakness and self-doubt, the desire for meaning or at least significance in a meaningless world.

    montresoron August 20, 2009   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Mountain Song
Jane's Addiction
Jane's Addiction vocalist Perry Farrell gives Adam Reader some heartfelt insight into Jane’s Addiction's hard rock manifesto "Mountain Song", which was the second single from their revolutionary album Nothing's Shocking. Mountain song was first recorded in 1986 and appeared on the soundtrack to the film Dudes starring Jon Cryer. The version on Nothing's Shocking was re-recorded in 1988. "'Mountain Song' was actually about... I hate to say it but... drugs. Climbing this mountain and getting as high as you can, and then coming down that mountain," reveals Farrell. "What it feels to descend from the mountain top... not easy at all. The ascension is tough but exhilarating. Getting down is... it's a real bummer. Drugs is not for everybody obviously. For me, I wanted to experience the heights, and the lows come along with it." "There's a part - 'Cash in now honey, cash in Miss Smith.' Miss Smith is my Mother; our last name was Smith. Cashing in when she cashed in her life. So... she decided that, to her... at that time, she was desperate. Life wasn't worth it for her, that was her opinion. Some people think, never take your life, and some people find that their life isn't worth living. She was in love with my Dad, and my Dad was not faithful to her, and it broke her heart. She was very desperate and she did something that I know she regrets."
Album art
No Surprises
Radiohead
Same ideas expressed in Fitter, Happier are expressed in this song. We're told to strive for some sort of ideal life, which includes getting a good job, being kind to everyone, finding a partner, getting married, having a couple kids, living in a quiet neighborhood in a nice big house, etc. But in Fitter, Happier the narrator(?) realizes that it's incredibly robotic to live this life. People are being used by those in power "like a pig in a cage on antibiotics"--being pacified with things like new phones and cool gadgets and houses while being sucked dry. On No Surprises, the narrator is realizing how this life is killing him slowly. In the video, his helmet is slowly filling up with water, drowning him. But he's so complacent with it. This is a good summary of the song. This boring, "perfect" life foisted upon us by some higher powers (not spiritual, but political, economic, etc. politicians and businessmen, perhaps) is not the way to live. But there is seemingly no way out but death. He'd rather die peacefully right now than live in this cage. While our lives are often shielded, we're in our own protective bubbles, or protective helmets like the one Thom wears, if we look a little harder we can see all the corruption, lies, manipulation, etc. that is going on in the world, often run by huge yet nearly invisible organizations, corporations, and 'leaders'. It's a very hopeless song because it reflects real life.
Album art
Magical
Ed Sheeran
How would you describe the feeling of being in love? For Ed Sheeran, the word is “Magical.” in HIS three-minute album opener, he makes an attempt to capture the beauty and delicacy of true love with words. He describes the magic of it all over a bright Pop song produced by Aaron Dessner.
Album art
Midnight
Ed Sheeran
“Midnight” is a song about finding a love that is so true that it provides a calming feeling through every storm. Ed Sheeran reflects on his good fortunes in landing someone with such peace and support and speaks of not fearing the dark days because he knows they’ll all end in the safety nets of her arms. “Well, good morning there / What a way to start the day / With everything laid bare,” Ed Sheeran sings in the first verse, enthusiastic to be waking up beside his woman. He apologizes for missing her calls in the second verse and promises to return them because for him, speaking to her is the most important thing. “Well, I get lost inside my head / In this chaos, you’re my calm / And I will find my feet again / ‘Cause еven the worst days of my life will always еnd / At midnight in your arms,” sings Ed Sheeran in the chorus, revelling in his good luck.