The Velvet Forum

By Jonathan Richman
Velvet Underground

Lyrics

They were wild like the usa
A mystery band in a New York way
Rock and roll, but not like the rest
And to me, america at it's best
How in the world were they making that sound?
Velvet Underground.

A spooky tone on a Fender bass
Played less notes and left more space
Stayed kind of still, looked kinda shy
Kinda far away, kinda dignified.
How in the world were they making that sound?
Velvet Underground.

Now you can look at that band and wonder where
All that sound was coming from
With just 4 people there.

Twangy sounds of the cheapest types,
Sounds as stark as black and white stripes,
Bold and brash, sharp and rude,
Like the heats turned off
And you're low on food.
How in the world were they making that sound?
Velvet Underground.
Like this...

Wild wild parties when they start to unwind
A close encounter of the thirdest kind
On the bandstand playing, everybody's saying
How in the world were they making that sound?
Velvet Underground.

Well you could look at that band
And at first sight
Say that certain rules about modern music
Wouldn't apply tonight.

Twangy sounds of the cheapest kind,
Like "Guitar sale $29.99,"
Bold and brash, stark and still,
Like the heats turned off
And you can't pay the bill.
How in the world were they making that sound?
Velvet Underground.

Both guitars got the fuzz tone on
The drummer's standing upright pounding along
A howl, a tone, a feedback whine
Biker boys meet the college kind
How in the world were they making that sound?
Velvet Underground.

Wild wild parties when they start to unwind
A close encounter of the thirdest kind
On the bandstand grooving, everybody moving
How in the world are they making that sound?
Velvet Underground.

I agree with Jonathan.

I love this song!! the lyrics go round my head frequently - for thise who don't know it: after the line 'Like This' on the studio version is a bit of Sister Ray which is pretty funny - when he does it live he sometimes changes the VU bit - once he played about half of What Goes On before veering back to the rest of the song - gotta love him...

He is one of my personal hero

Thanks for the tip about this song. I managed to track it down,its great.
For my money the Modern Lovers were the band who were the closest of any band to the feel of the late Velvets. I really love that band.

Oh yeah - Pablo Picasso could almost be them until Jonathan sings