Sister Ray Lyrics
They're cooking for the down time
Who's staring at Miss Rayon
Who's busy licking off her pig pen
I'm searching for my mainline
I said I couldn't hit it sideways
I said I couldn't hit it sideways
Oh, just like Sister Ray said
Whip it on 'em
They're busy waiting for her booster
Who just got back from Carolina
She said she didn't like the weather
They're busy waiting for her sailor
Who's big and dressed in pink and leather
He's just here from Alabama
He wants to know a way to earn a dollar
I'm searching for my mainer
I said I couldn't hit it sideways
I couldn't hit it sideways
Oh, just like Sister Ray said
Lay it on 'em
He cocks it, shoots it between three and four
He aims it at the sailor
Shoots him down dead on the floor
Oh, you shouldn't do that
Don't you know you'll stain the carpet?
Now don't you know you'll stain the carpet
And by the way, have you got a dollar
Oh, no, man, I haven't got the time time
Too busy sucking on a ding-dong
She's busy sucking on my ding-dong
Oh, she does just like Sister Ray said
I'm searching for my mainline
I said I c-c-c-c-couldn't hit it sideways
I c-c-c-c--c-couldn't, couldn't hit it sideways
Oh do it do it, just j-j-j-just do it do it, just like Sister Ray said, oh!
Who's knocking at my chamber door?
Now could it be the police
They come and take me for a ride ride
Oh, but I haven't got the time time
Hey, hey, hey, she's busy sucking on my ding-dong
She's busy sucking on my ding-dong
Oh, now, do it just like Sister Ray said
I'm searching for my mainline
I couldn't hit it sideways
I couldn't hit it sideways
Oh, now just like
Oh, just like
Oh, just like
Oh, just like
Oh, just like
Oh, just like...
Cooking for the down time
Who's staring at Miss Rayon
Do it do it do it do it do it
Licking off her pigpen
I'm s-s-s-searching for my mainline
I couldn't hit it sideways
I couldn't hit it sideways
Just like, oh just like
Oh, do it do it do it
Just like, just like, just like...
They're busy waiting for her booster
She's just back from Carolina
She said she's bound to beat her sailor
I said she hasn't got the time time
Too busy sucking on my ding dong
Too busy sucking on my ding dong
Now, just like Sister Ray said
I'm searching for my mainline
I said I couldn't hit it sideways
Whip it on me Jim, whip it on me Jim, whip it on me Jim
Said I couldn't hit it sideways
Oh, do it
Now just like... just like Sister Ray said
He cocks it, shoots it bang between three and four
He aims it at the sailor
He shoots him down dead on the floor
Oh, you shouldn't do that
Don't you know you'll hit the carpet, don't you know you'll mess the carpet?
Busy sucking on his ding dong
She's busy sucking on his ding dong
Now just like Sister Ray said
I'm searching for my mainline
Couldn't hit it sideways
Couldn't hit it sideways
Now just like, now just like, now just like
Like Sister Ray said, now do it to him!
They're busy cooking for the down time
Who's busy staring at Miss Rayon
Who's busy licking off her pigpen
I'm busy searching for the mainline
I couldn't hit it sideways
I said I couldn't hit it sideways
Now just like, now just like, I said aw, just like
Amph-ph-ph-ph-ph-ph-phetamine
Amphe-phe-phe-phe-phe-phetemine
Seventeen violent, drug fueled, sleazy, sex crazed minutes of fractured guitars screaming in glorious extacy. Wow.
During the song, (and you can hear it quite clearly) Lou Reed and Sterling Morrison actually had to turn up their guitars because John Cale was intentionally trying to drown out everybody with his organ (that was routed though a distorted guitar amplifier).
Tom Wilson, the producer of the album, was so frustrated by the way they were playing and walked out in the middle of the song. "I don't have to listen to this, come and get me when your done." he told them.
Just one question...what the heck does "I couldn't hit it sideways" mean???
Couldn't hit it sideways...he's trying to find a vein to shoot up into (searching for his mainline), but can't hit it, even "sideways." It's just an expression of frustration at trying to find a vein.
Couldn't hit it sideways...he's trying to find a vein to shoot up into (searching for his mainline), but can't hit it, even "sideways." It's just an expression of frustration at trying to find a vein.
As the person above notes (although not perfectly clearly) the "mainline" is the vein, presumably in the forearm. Just as when having blood drawn, you obviously penetrate the vein at a straight angle. So "couldn't hit it sideways" seems to suggest that he's already "messed up", intoxicated, on something other than heroin, can't do anything physically precise.
As the person above notes (although not perfectly clearly) the "mainline" is the vein, presumably in the forearm. Just as when having blood drawn, you obviously penetrate the vein at a straight angle. So "couldn't hit it sideways" seems to suggest that he's already "messed up", intoxicated, on something other than heroin, can't do anything physically precise.
"'Sister Ray' was done as a joke - no, not as a joke, but it has eight characters in it and this guy gets killed and nobody does anything. It was built around this story that I wrote about this scene of total debauchery and decay. I like to think of 'Sister Ray' as a transvestite smack dealer. The situation is a bunch of drag queens taking some sailors home with them, shooting up on smack and having this orgy when the police appear." - Lou Reed
These are the full, correct lyrics as I hear them:
Doug and Sally inside They're cooking for the downpipe Who's staring at Miss Rayon Who's busy licking off her pig pen I'm searching for my mainline I said I couldn't hit it sideways I said I couldn't hit it sideways Oh, just like Sister Ray said Whip it on 'em
Rosie and Miss Rayon They're busy waiting for her booster Who just got back from Carolina She said she didn't like the weather They're busy waiting for her sailor Who's big and dressed in pink and leather He's just here from Alabama He wants to know a way to earn a dollar I'm searching for my mainer I said I couldn't hit it sideways I couldn't hit it sideways Oh, just like Sister Ray said Lay it on 'em
Cecil's got his new piece He cocks it, shoots it between three and four He aims it at the sailor Shoots him down dead on the floor Oh, you shouldn't do that Don't you know you'll stain the carpet? Now don't you know you'll stain the carpet And by the way, have you got a dollar Oh, no, man, I haven't got the time time Too busy sucking on a ding-dong She's busy sucking on my ding-dong Oh, she does just like Sister Ray said I'm searching for my mainline I said I c-c-c-c-couldn't hit it sideways I c-c-c-c--c-couldn't, couldn't hit it sideways Oh do it do it, just j-j-j-just do it do it, just like Sister Ray said, oh!
Now, who is that knocking Who's knocking at my chamber door? Now could it be the police They come and take me for a ride ride Oh, but I haven't got the time time Hey, hey, hey, she's busy sucking on my ding-dong She's busy sucking on my ding-dong Oh, now, do it just like Sister Ray said I'm searching for my mainline I couldn't hit it sideways I couldn't hit it sideways Oh, now just like Oh, just like Oh, just like Oh, just like Oh, just like Oh, just like...
Now Rosie and Miss Rayon They're busy waiting for her booster She's just back from Carolina She said she's bound to beat her sailor I said she hasn't got the time time Too busy sucking on my ding dong Too busy sucking on my ding dong Now, just like Sister Ray said I'm searching for my mainline I said I couldn't hit it sideways Whip it on me Jim, whip it on me Jim, whip it on me Jim Said I couldn't hit it sideways Oh, do it Now just like... just like Sister Ray said
I said now Cecil's got his new piece He cocks it, shoots it bang between three and four He aims it at the sailor He shoots him down dead on the floor Oh, you shouldn't do that Don't you know you'll hit the carpet, don't you know you'll mess the carpet?
Oh, she hasn't got the time time Busy sucking on his ding dong She's busy sucking on his ding dong Now just like Sister Ray said I'm searching for my mainline Couldn't hit it sideways Couldn't hit it sideways Now just like, now just like, now just like Like Sister Ray said, now do it to him!
Doug and Sally inside They're busy cooking for the downpipe Who's busy staring at Miss Rayon Who's busy licking off her pigpen I'm busy searching for the mainline I couldn't hit it sideways I said I couldn't hit it sideways Now just like, now just like, I said aw, just like Amph-ph-ph-ph-ph-ph-phetamine
actually, this just after "oh just like oh just like..." and before "Now rosie and miss rayon"
actually, this just after "oh just like oh just like..." and before "Now rosie and miss rayon"
Doug and Sally inside, now move it along Cooking for the downpipe Who's staring at Miss Rayon Do it do it do it do it do it Licking off her pigpen I'm s-s-s-searching for my mainline I couldn't hit it sideways I couldn't hit it sideways Just like, oh just like Oh, do it do it do it Just like, just like, just like...
Doug and Sally inside, now move it along Cooking for the downpipe Who's staring at Miss Rayon Do it do it do it do it do it Licking off her pigpen I'm s-s-s-searching for my mainline I couldn't hit it sideways I couldn't hit it sideways Just like, oh just like Oh, do it do it do it Just like, just like, just like...
I think you're correct about a lot of the changes you made. On the Quine Tapes official bootleg release there are multiple live versions of Sister Ray and the lyrics are often far more clear than they are on the album version. The live versions are of course not lyrically identical to the album version, but they're largely the same and we can extrapolate from them what the lyrics are on the studio version.
I think you're correct about a lot of the changes you made. On the Quine Tapes official bootleg release there are multiple live versions of Sister Ray and the lyrics are often far more clear than they are on the album version. The live versions are of course not lyrically identical to the album version, but they're largely the same and we can extrapolate from them what the lyrics are on the studio version.
So, "dressed in pink and leather" is definitely correct, there's really no ambiguity, and it's a pretty important line. I think you're also correct about...
So, "dressed in pink and leather" is definitely correct, there's really no ambiguity, and it's a pretty important line. I think you're also correct about "licking off her pigpen" instead of "licking up."
A couple of your other changes are incorrect I think - I think it's very clearly "Duck" instead of "Doug," and in fact on one of the live recordings on the Quine Tapes Lou does a little intro and says "This is a story about somebody named Duck and Sally and Cecil..." and there's not a lot of ambiguity. It also sounds like he's saying "down five" rather than "downpipe."
Anyway, overall I think your lyrics are much more accurate than the official ones here on this site, and the only glaring mistake I see in yours is the very first word, cuz it's Duck! :)
Check out the Quine Tapes if you haven't, they're amazing.
@minuette it's worth listening to as many live versions as u can find, cos they give insights, and show the song actually had no definitive version, with many varying raps. I hear 'cooking for their down TIME' not downpipe. Never heard of Downpipe in any slang, but down time kinda fits the sentence meaning: they're cooking a shot to enjoy some chillout time.
@minuette it's worth listening to as many live versions as u can find, cos they give insights, and show the song actually had no definitive version, with many varying raps. I hear 'cooking for their down TIME' not downpipe. Never heard of Downpipe in any slang, but down time kinda fits the sentence meaning: they're cooking a shot to enjoy some chillout time.
Even if it is about drugs and oral sex with a transexual, it just might be the greatest song ever.
If you want to read a literary inspiration for this song, check out "Last Exit to Brooklyn" by Hubert Selby, Jr. There's a chapter that describes a similar, sleazy situation...
couldnt hit it sideways is just lou reed rambling about how he cant find a vein. because of this damn song i cant stop saying time time or ride ride. sorely underappreciated song, album, and band.
Ding dongs will live forever thanks to Lou Reed.
The line about knocking on the chamber door is an Edgar Allan Poe reference.
The live Joy Division version of this song is great, but not as good as the original, which is the greatest song ever precisely because it's about drugs and sexual deviancy.
As Lou Reed said: "'Sister Ray' was done as a joke- no, not as a joke, but it has eight characters in it and this guy gets killed and nobody does anything. It was built around this story that I wrote about this scene of total debauchery and decay. I like to think of 'Sister Ray' as a transvestite smack dealer. The situation is a bunch of drag queens taking some sailors home with them, shooting up on smack and having this orgy when the police appear."