The Black Angel's Death Song

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"The Black Angel's Death Song"
Song by The Velvet Underground
From the album The Velvet Underground and Nico
Album released	March 1967
Recorded	1966
Genre	Avant-garde Rock and Roll
Song Length	3:12
Record label	MGM Records
Producer	Andy Warhol
The Velvet Underground and Nico Album Listing
I'll Be Your Mirror (Track 9)	The Black Angel's Death Song (Track 10)	European Son (Track 11)

"The Black Angel's Death Song" is a song by The Velvet Underground, from their debut album The Velvet Underground and Nico (1967). It was written by Lou Reed and John Cale. The music is dominated by the piercing sound of John Cale's electric viola, creating dissonance throughout the song. Also throughout the song are loud bursts of audio feedback. The song is preceded on the album by 'I'll Be Your Mirror', and succeeded by 'European Son', another particularly experimental track. The song is a good example of the avant-garde nature of the Velvets' work, and the lyrics are particularly unorthodox for the time that they were written (some suggest to parody Bob Dylan):

“

The myriad choices of his fate Set themselves out upon a plate For him to choose What had he to lose Not a ghost bloodied country All covered with sleep Where the black angel did weep

”

The Austin, Texas band The Black Angels derived their name from this song. [1]