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.
Standing on the corner
Suitcase in my hand
Jack is in his corset, and Jane is her vest
And me, I'm in a rock 'n roll band, ha
Ridin' in a Stutz Bearcat, Jim
You know, those were different times
Oh, all the poets, they studied rules of verse
And those ladies, they rolled their eyes
Sweet Jane, whoa
Sweet Jane, oh-oh
Sweet Jane
I'll tell you something, Jack, he is a banker
And Jane, she is a clerk
And both of them save their monies, ha
And when, when they come home from work
Ooh, sittin' down by the fire, oh
The radio does play
The classical music there, Jim
"The March of the Wooden Soldiers"
All you protest kids
You can hear Jack say, get ready, ah
Sweet Jane, ah, come on, baby
Sweet Jane, oh-oh
Sweet Jane
Some people, they like to go out dancing
And other peoples, they have to work, just watch me now
And there's even some evil mothers
Well, they're gonna tell you that everything is just dirt
You know that women never really faint
And that villains always blink their eyes, ooh
And that, you know, children are the only ones who blush
And that life is just to die
But everyone who ever had a heart
Oh, they wouldn't turn around and break it
And anyone who ever played a part
Oh, they wouldn't turn around and hate it
Sweet Jane, oh-oh
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Heavenly wine and roses
Seem to whisper to her when he smiles, ah
Heavenly wine and roses
Seem to whisper to her, hey, when she smiles
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Suitcase in my hand
Jack is in his corset, and Jane is her vest
And me, I'm in a rock 'n roll band, ha
Ridin' in a Stutz Bearcat, Jim
You know, those were different times
Oh, all the poets, they studied rules of verse
And those ladies, they rolled their eyes
Sweet Jane, whoa
Sweet Jane, oh-oh
Sweet Jane
I'll tell you something, Jack, he is a banker
And Jane, she is a clerk
And both of them save their monies, ha
And when, when they come home from work
Ooh, sittin' down by the fire, oh
The radio does play
The classical music there, Jim
"The March of the Wooden Soldiers"
All you protest kids
You can hear Jack say, get ready, ah
Sweet Jane, ah, come on, baby
Sweet Jane, oh-oh
Sweet Jane
Some people, they like to go out dancing
And other peoples, they have to work, just watch me now
And there's even some evil mothers
Well, they're gonna tell you that everything is just dirt
You know that women never really faint
And that villains always blink their eyes, ooh
And that, you know, children are the only ones who blush
And that life is just to die
But everyone who ever had a heart
Oh, they wouldn't turn around and break it
And anyone who ever played a part
Oh, they wouldn't turn around and hate it
Sweet Jane, oh-oh
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Heavenly wine and roses
Seem to whisper to her when he smiles, ah
Heavenly wine and roses
Seem to whisper to her, hey, when she smiles
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
La-la-la-la, la-la-la
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Sweet Jane
Lyrics submitted by capitol76, edited by rosalyre, Mellow_Harsher, Dianimal66, zhizhumao
Sweet Jane Lyrics as written by Lou Reed
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Not true. In live versions from the summer of '70, when the band was recording Loaded, Lou sang "Jane is in her corset, Jack is in his vest". I think he just slipped up and mixed up those lyrics and kept it that way because cross-dressing is something he had sang about before in previous VU songs.