Janitor of Lunacy

No comments? That's crazy. I was really into this song for about a month. It conjures in my mind images of a woman pleading with gods (real or imagined) for releif and mercy. It is very theatrical and would fit into any great tragic work of drama.

I don't know how or why, but this song is supposedly written for Brian Jones of the Stones, one of Nico's famous boy-toys. I like the song, but it was never my favorite from Desertshore.

What's funny in a sense about this song is that it may actually be the least depressing song on Desertshore, which is so unremittingly grim I can't stand to listen to it for more than a couple tracks. For a band full of geniuses, the greatest may have been Nico, who was consistently underrated largely because she was a beautiful woman. I believe she may at least in part have deliberately destroyed her looks out of self-loathing because of this. Unlike most of the tracks on Desertshore, this is actually somewhat accessible. I'd probably recommend this track to anyone unfamiliar with the album. (I'd also recommend anyone attempting to listen to the entire album straight through put away any loaded guns or razor blades.)

This song is proof that Nico is equally effective without John Cale's arrangments and just her and the harmonium alone, not that his embelleshments are worthless, because I love them just as much. I also like Nico's vocal delivery here, because it shuts the mouths of all who say that she just drones along. Her voice is very strong here and there is, as some have already said, a very theatrical edge to this song and in fact, a lot of Nico's work because it is so timeless.

This song is proof that Nico is equally effective without John Cale's arrangments and just her and the harmonium alone, not that his embelleshments are worthless, because I love them just as much. I also like Nico's vocal delivery here, because it shuts the mouths of all who say that she just drones along. Her voice is very strong here and there is, as some have already said, a very theatrical edge to this song and in fact, a lot of Nico's work because it is so timeless.

I think the verses that start with "Janitor of lunacy" tells the story about how religion has been embedded in a person since birth by society. It portrays how there is a lack of choice in what to believe, how to go in life, who to be- that everything should be according to the religion. With the line starting with "Janitor of tyranny" then states how vain or sinful actions could become blameless since the society itself is dictating what things are corrupt and not.