Satellite Of Love

Because this was being performed live as early as 1969, it was written when Russia was sending satellites to Mars. Therefore, the allusion to watching satellites lift off on television was reasonable. However, the two Mars satellites sent at that specific time both failed on lift-off.

Lou Reed stated this is a song of jealousy. It is about a guy watching a satellite leave Earth and suddenly realizing that his lover has left him. Lou had at least one, but likely two lovers at the time. Nico is well-known as a short fling. There are rumors of a more serious relationship that ended while he was seeing Nico. Further, John Cale, his partner, left him.

Lou Reed stated that Harry, Mark, and John are real names. He originally used fake names when performing this song, but switched to real names under the influence of David Bowie.

For many years, this was considered a solo work written while working with David Bowie. Then, recording of the some performed live while Reed was still with the Velvet Underground emerged. I found it interesting that the band members who performed the song generally had no memory of doing so. The end result is there was one history in which this was a solo song heavily influence by David Bowie, so it likely had no real meaning. Then, later, it was recognized as work written by Lou Reed at a time when the two events (satellites and a lover leaving him) both took place.