Buttercup Song (May 1965 Demo)

[Lou Reed, Lou Reed & John Cale]

[Intro]
"Buttercup Song"
Words and music, Lou Reed

[Chorus]
Never get emotionally involved
With a man, a woman, a beast, or a child
With cobblestone streets, or subway turnstiles
And by World War III you'll have developed style

[Verse 1]
Well I've got this friend, and - I'll tell ya, man - he's real hip
An anthropologite, baby, that is his business
But never once - wooh! - does he ever blow his cool
Because he always follows this wondrous golden rule
Oh! Oh, oh, oh -

[Chorus]
Never get emotionally involved
With a man, a woman, a beast, or a child
With cobblestonе streets, or subway turnstiles
And by World War III you'll have devеloped style

[Verse 2]
But he is a lion, of course he got hung up
On an androgynous small buttercup
Of stagnates and pistillate flowers, did he
Which happens, by the way, when you get involved, emotionally, so -

[Chorus]
Never get emotionally involved
With a man, a woman, a beast, or a child
Wooh! - Cobblestone streets, or subway turnstiles
And by World War III you'll have developed style

[Verse 3]
Oh, you should have seen it!
Oh, my God, what a sight!
A fully-grown man writing poems at night
To the silly old flower blooming in the night air
As alliteration blossomed, off in his chair
To which I came attached one dusk evening
When I sat in our park, some stuffing in Spring
And déjà vu! My friend turned in dismay
And then, thank God, I heard him once more say - oh!

[Chorus]
Never get emotionally involved
With a man, a woman, a beast, or a child
With cobblestone streets, or subway turnstiles
And by World War III you'll have developed style

[Verse 4]
Well, then it happened
Well, I am sad to relay
While he's eating SpaghettiO's, this girl's - uh, Chinese plate
He drooled and he slobbered over the design
As down in his mouth dribbled three-month-old port wine
Nineteen dollars a quart, gift from his mother - oh!

[Chorus]
Never get emotionally involved
With a man, a woman, a beast, or a child
With cobblestone streets, or subway turnstiles
Then by World War III you'll have developed style

[Verse 5]
It seems those who tell you what to do
Have already done it, before they do
But it don't even matter - uh, if'n it's true
Because you know - damn well, you know
You're gonna do the same thing, too

[Chorus]
Oh, never get emotionally involved
With a man, a woman, a beast, or a child
With cobblestone streets, or subway turnstiles
And by World War III you'll have developed style
Oh! - Never get emotionally involved
With a man, a woman, a beast, or a child
With cobblestone streets, or subway turnstiles
And by World War III you'll have developed style

[Outro]
Get close to the mic