Lyric discussion by thebodiesobtained 

Cover art for Head Held High lyrics by Velvet Underground, The

I think hold your head up high means keep up appearances and act like you're above everything. It's kind of like trying to repress something you don't want to deal with, it will still be there disfiguring you and making your life miserable. They said the answer was to become a dancer could mean that people told him if you have problems you will be able to overcome them through art and self-expression. But he says just like I figured they're always disfigured meaning if you become a dancer or an artist of some kind it really doesn't solve your problems, it just puts them on display for the whole world to see, and that makes you feel like a circus animal or something. It's also kind of like when try to repress something. The whole song is angry and it says do the dog and people calling him boy it's like when people are so twisted they just want you to perform for their entertainment and they don't care what you're going through. It reminds me of Atrocity Exhibition and also Showroom Dummies in some weird way.