All Tomorrow's Parties
The Velvet Underground
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In what costume shall the poor girl wear To all tomorrow's parties A hand-me-down dress from who knows where To all tomorrow's parties And where will she go, and what shall she do When midnight comes around She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown and cry behind the door And what costume shall the poor girl wear To all tomorrow's parties Why silks and linens of yesterday's gowns To all tomorrow's parties And what will she do with Thursday's rags When Monday comes around She'll turn once more to Sunday's clown and cry behind the door And what costume shall the poor girl wear To all tomorrow's parties For Thursday's child is Sunday's clown For whom none will go mourning A blackened shroud A hand-me-down gown Of rags and silks, a costume Fit for one who sits and cries For all tomorrow's parties
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11 facts about this song
Song's Origin"All Tomorrow's Parties" is a song from The Velvet Underground's debut album, "The Velvet Underground & Nico". The song was written by Lou Reed and features Nico on lead vocals.
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MeaningThe lyrics are inspired by the life of New York socialites and Andy Warhol's Factory, an art studio where the city's elitist crowd would gather and party. The song describes the fleeting nature of high society parties and the existential dread that comes with the realization of life's impermanence.
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InfluenceIn an interview, Lou Reed stated that the song was inspired by a storybook he found. The book described a woman who attended glamorous parties, but never fits in, hence the name "All Tomorrow's Parties".
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Musician's RoleJohn Cale is credited for creating the song's distinctive sound. He had tuned all the strings on his viola to the same note, giving the song a drone effect.
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Label AlterationThe song underwent a change in the USA due to a mistake by Verve Records, the band's label. On some versions of the album, the record label accidentally switched the labels on "All Tomorrow's Parties" and "Heroin", causing some confusion among fans.
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Single ReleaseThe song was released as a single in July 1966, with "I'll Be Your Mirror" as the B-side.
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LegacySince its release, "All Tomorrow's Parties" has been covered by numerous bands and artists, including Japan, Nick Cave, and Simple Minds.
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Music VideoA promotional film for the song was shown on Edie Sedgwick's episode of Warhol's "Screen Tests", on which she was captured in black and white, silently lip-syncing the lyrics.
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Acclaim"All Tomorrow's Parties" was placed at number 185 in Pitchfork Media's list of The 200 Greatest Songs of the 1960s.
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NicoThis song is considered one of Nico's signature songs during her period with The Velvet Underground. She performed this song extensively during her solo career.
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DocumentaryThe song’s title was used for a 2006 documentary, "All Tomorrow's Parties", about the music festival of the same name.
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Citation
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"All Tomorrow's Parties Lyrics." Lyrics.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2024. Web. 27 Sep. 2024. <https://www.lyrics.com/lyric-lf/841658/The+Velvet+Underground/All+Tomorrow%27s+Parties>.
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