This is a hauntingly beautiful song about introspection, specifically about looking back at a relationship that started bad and ended so poorly, that the narrator wants to go back to the very beginning and tell himself to not even travel down that road. I believe that the relationship started poorly because of the lines:
"Take me back to the night we met:When the night was full of terrors: And your eyes were filled with tears: When you had not touched me yet"
So, the first night was not a great start, but the narrator pursued the relationship and eventually both overcame the rough start to fall in love with each other:
"I had all and then most of you"
Like many relationships that turn sour, it was not a quick decline, but a gradual one where the narrator and their partner fall out of love and gradually grow apart
"Some and now none of you"
Losing someone who was once everything in your world, who you could confide in, tell your secrets to, share all the most intimate parts of your life, to being strangers with that person is probably one of the most painful experiences a person can go through. So Painful, the narrator wants to go back in time and tell himself to not even pursue the relationship.
This was the perfect song for "13 Reasons Why"
Just a perfect day
Drink Sangria in the park
And then later
When it gets dark, we go home
Just a perfect day
Feed animals in the zoo
Then later
A movie, too, and then home
Oh, it's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spent it with you
Oh, such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on
Just a perfect day
Problems all left alone
Weekenders on our own
It's such fun
Just a perfect day
You made me forget myself
I thought I was
Someone else, someone good
Oh, it's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spent it with you
Oh, such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on
You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow
Drink Sangria in the park
And then later
When it gets dark, we go home
Just a perfect day
Feed animals in the zoo
Then later
A movie, too, and then home
Oh, it's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spent it with you
Oh, such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on
Just a perfect day
Problems all left alone
Weekenders on our own
It's such fun
Just a perfect day
You made me forget myself
I thought I was
Someone else, someone good
Oh, it's such a perfect day
I'm glad I spent it with you
Oh, such a perfect day
You just keep me hanging on
You just keep me hanging on
You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow
You're going to reap just what you sow
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
Perfect Day Lyrics as written by Lou Reed
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Coming from a former Heroin addict. This song IS about heroin. No matter what you take away from this song, anything is great btw, don't want to put anyone down. This song is quite most likely referring the double edge sword that is opiate/heroin addiction. So I may be a little biased on this song meaning because of my previous opiate addiction and seeing trainspotting, but it describes to a TEE what i experienced as a heroin addict.
Feel no pain, no emotions, no harm, no foul, no hardships. Things may not be GREAT, but it just kept me hanging on. Problems fell by the wayside, for all I care I was a weekend warrior who only cared about heroin when not working. This relationship is unrealistic as heroin slowly seeps into your life as a functional addict. Eventually you need it to deal with any aspect of life. Death in the family? Unbearable, use heroin. Life? Unbearable, use heroin. Boredom? Lovelessness? Depression? Insomnia? No matter, heroin will be your girlfriend, your close friend, your hero, hell it even has a GREAT personality. Take what you will from this song, but I am pretty sure I get it.
lets just say its about an addict... heroin or otherwise.
This song in no way explicitly mentions heroin. Its simply about putting one's problems on hold and ignoring real life to be with someone. You've taken that "someone" and interpreted it as heroin.
sure its a pop song, its about anything anyone wants but<br /> <br /> it was definitely inspired by heroin. especially at this time lou was probably going through hit share of h. im sure lou was doing more meth but this song is what getting off on opiates feels like
You're reading too much into it. Can we just accept that Lou is not a totally fucked up guy and actually had a decent day with someone he liked? Why does every song have to be about drugs on this site, fucking christ. He's not one to use extended metaphors about heroin. I know this because he wrote this song called "Heroin"? He was pretty straightforward with that. The song was used in the movie for dramatic irony.
You're gonna reap just what you so - pretty much that thought that when the junk wears off, detox awaits. And if you've ever been dependent on opiates, you know how FUN that is.
I agree with this poster. Personal experience with drugs does make one qualified to judge if somebody is describing a relationship with a drug. Maybe Lou Reed is more to the point and wouldn't put hidden meanings in his songs. I don't know much about him. I just know that every word fits the drug interpretation to me. According to The Independent article Reed said "That's a lovely song. A description of a very straightforward affair." He didn't say who or what the affair was with. I think that it is not necessarily correct to believe that the songwriter himself is fully conscious of what he is writing about. If we know that he was using drugs at the time, this could have subtly influenced the creative process. <br /> <br /> I have been using opiates for quite a while and have never experienced physical tolerance/withdrawl and would say that I have had some bad (borderline addiction) and some good (successful self medication) results. <br /> <br /> Injecting heroin would create a sudden onset and a shorter duration of effects, but the effects of opiates that I have used gradually unfold over a period of 12 hours, thus creating a "perfect day" which comes to a peaceful resolution after "dark." Maybe he could have been repeatedly shooting up at the locations mentioned in the song though. <br /> <br /> In my experience, you may look back at the end and think "that was a perfect day". It doesn't matter what you are doing. I could be running errands, visiting friends, or becoming very introverted as described in the song. One would certainly be content doing mundane activities like going to the zoo or seeing a movie. The repeated references to "home" could refer to the anticipation of lying down at the end of the day and experiencing what is known as "the nod". <br /> <br /> "Problems left alone": the application to opiates is obvious. <br /> <br /> "Weekenders on our own": Weekend warrior. Drugs distinct from the workday routine. Time to be completely free with no responsibilities. <br /> <br /> "You just keep me hanging on". Drugs as a solace to get through all the BS. <br /> <br /> The bittersweet mood is felt with mild guilt buried beneath the high and the knowledge that things won't stay so "perfect".<br /> <br /> I see the song as very uplifting, but that is just my own bias as I see using drugs as an ethical choice to avoid getting caught up in the evils of society. The evil is seen in all types of relationships and in work, but more than anything in romantic relationships. Competition, environmental destruction, greed, manipulation, phoneyness. Drugs stand apart from all this, hence making you "forget yourself" (your ego and habits) and see yourself as "someone good" (spiritually pure). Forget your neuroticism. Be very polite and agreeable. More social, never getting angry or frustrated. <br /> <br /> "You're going to reap just what you sow" can be seen as a double-edged sword. Literally savouring the the abundant poppy harvest and spreading the joy to other people in the park. A gift from god. Or gradually sinking into physical addiction and having your life fall apart around you (what did you expect?). <br /> <br /> Lazy day with your girlfriend or lazy day on opiates. Whatever interpretation best resonates with you. It's not that different really. An intimate relationship that creates comfort and feelings of peaceful transcendence; or a selfish, addictive insular thing with many potential ways for the magic to wear off and a reluctance to accept the inevitability of this happening one way or another.
I think that the song also describes modern, first world problems. One thinks "I really have nothing to complain about", but there is that creeping sense of malaise. Things can get really stressful, but at the end of the day it's not that important if people think that you're a big shot. You're not going to go hungry or wind up in a war zone. You anticipate your free time, but when it comes you get bored or self destructive. Even when you get the 9-5 job and the girlfriend, there is still something missing. Society offers you small entertainments for a Saturday afternoon such as going to the zoo or going to a movie. Addictions to drugs or generic romance are an escape, but they may only exacerbate the monotony of it all.
I certainly hope you've managed to kick this addiction -- I have never tried heroin, but it sounds like getting off the stuff is damn near impossible. I will say a prayer for all addicts. God bless you.