Pale Blue Eyes

For the film, see The Pale Blue Eye. For the novel, see The Pale Blue Eye (novel).
"Pale Blue Eyes"
Song by The Velvet Underground
from the album The Velvet Underground
ReleasedMarch 1969 (1969-03)
Recorded
Genre
Length5:40
LabelMGM
Songwriter(s)The Velvet Underground
Producer(s)The Velvet Underground

"Pale Blue Eyes" is a song by American rock band the Velvet Underground, written and sung by Lou Reed. He recorded a demo with John Cale in May 1965. It was included on the band's 1969 album The Velvet Underground.

Despite the name, "Pale Blue Eyes" was written about someone whose eyes were hazel, as Reed notes in his book Between Thought and Expression.[4] The song is said to have been inspired by Shelley Albin, Reed's first love, who at the time was married to another man.[5]

  1. ^ Unterberger, Richie (June 1, 2009). White Light/White Heat: The Velvet Underground Day-By-Day. Jawbone Press. p. 212. ISBN 978-1-906002-22-0.
  2. ^ "The 500 Greatest Albums of All Time". Rolling Stone. December 31, 2023. Retrieved November 15, 2024.
  3. ^ a b Brown, Bill (December 2013). Words and Guitar: A History of Lou Reed's Music. Colossal Books. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-615-93377-1.
  4. ^ Reed, Lou (1991). Between Thought and Expression: Selected Lyrics of Lou Reed. Hyperion. pp. 23. ISBN 1562829238.
  5. ^ Bockris, Victor (1994). Transformer: The Lou Reed Story. Simon & Schuster. pp. 164. ISBN 0684803666.