The Velvet Forum

Been listening to this a lot lately, but some parts of the lyrics are hard to hear.
Does anyone have the lyrics to this version, because it's almost completely different from the album version?
And John Cale mentioned something about "Sister Ray part 3" and that Lou used to "invent these fantastic characters".
Do you think this is something similar?

Its strange you should bring this up because i've been listening to 'Sweet Jane' from the third cd of the Dispatches set and thinking there are quite alot of musical/lyrical similarities between the two songs on these versions. I really like that version from La Cave - I seem to remember seeing some lyrics to that version somewhere, i'll have a look through my harddrive.

Pale Blue Eyes
as sung live, 10/68 (with thanks to whoever translated this many years ago..)

I thought of you as my mountain top
I though of you as my peak
I though of you as everything
I've had but couldn't keep
I've had but couldn't keep

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Sister Jenny went down to Mexico
Took five trips around the world
She came back, and she's all shot full of holes
She's such a funny kind of girl
She's such a funny kind of girl

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Up the stairway, and out the back
Hey baby, won't you please come home?
Been out in the graveyard since half past six
Yea, me, I never had no home
I never had no home

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Back on the south, go on, get out on the street again
Had my partner right by my side
The meanest damn band in all the land
And I guess I'll see you in the by-and-by
I'll see you all in the good ol' by-and-by

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Aw, here comes Miss Sally, she's bound 'round here, three, four more times (?)
She comes wearing the same thing twice
They put her upside down and held her on the _?_
The they froze her into a piece of ice
That's 'cause she didn't ask herself too nice

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

The angels went to heaven and then the devil went to hell
And I see her coming down from the ceiling in my room
You look like the mad monk who came here from Afghanistan
You should have seen the mother when he came down in his room
I certainly couldn't get out of there too soon

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Thanks a lot, bleach. Now it's buggin' me what those missing lyrics are! Here are my corrections/thoughts:

bleach wrote:Pale Blue Eyes
as sung live, 10/68 (with thanks to whoever translated this many years ago..)

I thought of you as my mountain top
I thought of you as my peak
I thought of you as everything
I've had but couldn't keep
I've had but couldn't keep

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Sister Jenny went down to Mexico
Took five trips around the world
She came back, and she's all shot full of holes
She's such a funny kind of girl
She's such a funny kind of girl

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Up the stairway, and out the back
Hey baby, won't you please come home?
Been out in the graveyard since half past six
Yea, me, I never had no home
I never had no home

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Back on the south walk, out on the street again
Had my partner right by my side
The meanest damn band in all the land
And I guess I'll see you in the by-and-by
I'll see you all in the good ol' by-and-by

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Aw, here comes Miss Sally, she's been 'round here, three, four more times (?)
She comes wearing the same thing twice
They put her upside down and held her on the _?_
The they froze her into a piece of ice
That's 'cause she didn't act herself too nice
(To me, this entire verse seems freestyle, hence Lou fumbling a couple words...but who the hell knows for sure!)

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

The angels went to heaven and then the devil went to hell
And I see her coming down from the ceiling in my room
You look like the mad monk who came here from Afghanistan
You should have seen the mother when he came down in his room
I certainly couldn't get out of there too soon

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

I'm almost postive it is, as mg196 says, 'she didn't act herself too nice' - one of my favourite Lou lyrics, and one I find myself singing quite often. On so many of these live recordings, Lou sounds like he's making the words up as he goes along - I've always wondered how much was planned and how much just came to him on stage (particularly things like Sweet Jane, where there are some radically different lyrics on some versions).

Thank you very much!
Interesting lyrics, especially the last part with heaven and hell and "mad monk from Afghanistan".
And only a month or two later, they recorded the album version. Perhaps Lou had written those lyrics
around this time too.

Thanks so much for this thread. I pulled out my La Cave cd and played it along with the lyrics. It has been too long. I didn't remember the different lyrics. Very cool. Rick

The only change I'd offer (which is how I've always heard it, but that doesn't mean much) is:

Back on to South Fork, out on the street again

Actually, two more changes and a change to my prior change:

I thought of you as my mountain top
I thought of you as my peak
I thought of you as everything
I've had but couldn't keep
I've had but couldn't keep

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Sister Jenny went down to Mexico
Took five trips around the world
She came back, and she's all shot full of holes
She's such a funny kind of girl
She's such a funny kind of girl

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Up the stairway, and out the back
Hey baby, won't you please come home?
Been out in the graveyard since half past six
Yeah, me, I never had no home
I never had no home

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Back on the south fork, out on the street again
Had my partner right by my side
The meanest damn band in all the land
And I guess I'll see you in the by-and-by
I'll see you all in the good ol' by-and-by

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

Aw, here comes Miss Sarah, she's been 'round here, three, four more times
She come to learn the same thing twice
They put her upside down and held upon the church
Then they froze her into a piece of ice
That's 'cause she didn't act herself too nice

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes

The angels went to heaven and then the devil went to hell
And I see you coming down from the ceiling in my room
You look like the mad monk who came here from Afghanistan
You should have seen the mother when he came down in his room
I certainly couldn't get out of there too soon

Linger on, your pale blue eyes
Linger on, your pale blue eyes