Both as a standalone and as part of the DSOTS album, you can take this lyric as read. As a matter of public record, Jourgensen's drug intake was legendary even in the 1980s. By the late 90s, in his own words, he was grappling with massive addiction issues and had lost almost everything: friends, spouse, money and had nearly died more than once. "Dark Side of the Spoon" is a both funny & sad title for an album made by a musical genius who was losing the plot; and this song is a message to his fans & friends saying he knows it. It's painful to listen to so I'm glad the "Keith Richards of industrial metals" wised up and cleaned up. Well done sir.
Just got back from the downtown palais
Where the music was so sweet
Knocked me right back in the alley
I'm ready, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready
Oh, oh, oh, I'm ready and I'm really gonna rock tonight
Sweet little lady sings like a songbird
And she sings the opera like you ain't never heard
But she ain't ready
No, no, no, she ain't ready
No, no, no, she ain't ready
And she ain't gonna rock and roll
She's sweet on Wagner
I think she'd die for Beethoven
She loves the way Puccini lays down a tune
And Verdi's always creeping from her room
Come on, I'll show you how to sing the blues
Now baby, come on over you got nothin' to lose
Are you ready, hey, hey, hey are you ready?
Ooh, ooh, ooh, are you ready?
I wanna show you how to rock and roll
Now listen here baby she said to me
"Just meet me at the opera house at a quarter to three
'Cause I'm ready, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready
Ooh, ooh, ooh, I'm ready
I'm gonna show you how to sing the blues"
She's sweet on Wagner
I think she'd die for Beethoven
She loves the way Puccini lays down a tune
And Verdi's always creeping from her room
Far, far away the music is playing
Well, we were reelin' and a rockin' all through the night
Yeah, we were rockin' at the opera house until the break of light
And the orchestra were playin' all Chuck Berry's greatest tunes
And the singers in the chorus all got off on singing blues
And as the night grew older everybody was as one
The people on the streets came runnin' in to join in song
Just to hear the opera singer singin' rock and roll so pure
I thought I saw the mayor there but I wasn't really sure, but it's alright
Where the music was so sweet
Knocked me right back in the alley
I'm ready, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready
Oh, oh, oh, I'm ready and I'm really gonna rock tonight
Sweet little lady sings like a songbird
And she sings the opera like you ain't never heard
But she ain't ready
No, no, no, she ain't ready
No, no, no, she ain't ready
And she ain't gonna rock and roll
She's sweet on Wagner
I think she'd die for Beethoven
She loves the way Puccini lays down a tune
And Verdi's always creeping from her room
Come on, I'll show you how to sing the blues
Now baby, come on over you got nothin' to lose
Are you ready, hey, hey, hey are you ready?
Ooh, ooh, ooh, are you ready?
I wanna show you how to rock and roll
Now listen here baby she said to me
"Just meet me at the opera house at a quarter to three
'Cause I'm ready, yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm ready
Ooh, ooh, ooh, I'm ready
I'm gonna show you how to sing the blues"
She's sweet on Wagner
I think she'd die for Beethoven
She loves the way Puccini lays down a tune
And Verdi's always creeping from her room
Far, far away the music is playing
Well, we were reelin' and a rockin' all through the night
Yeah, we were rockin' at the opera house until the break of light
And the orchestra were playin' all Chuck Berry's greatest tunes
And the singers in the chorus all got off on singing blues
And as the night grew older everybody was as one
The people on the streets came runnin' in to join in song
Just to hear the opera singer singin' rock and roll so pure
I thought I saw the mayor there but I wasn't really sure, but it's alright
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Grebulous: you're exactly right. They hired a female opera singer (German, IIRC) to sing the aria portions, and the beginning of the song features her mis-starting, and, I think, saying something in German.
findsomepeace: "Mayor" is what it says on the album's lyric sheet.
@Kenobi65 She is literally singing Far away the music is playing in German and stumbles on the first word (weit = far).