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The Velvet Underground, "Lady Godiva's Operation"
(1968)

Lady Godiva, dressed so demurely
Pats the head of another curly-haired boy
Just another toy

Sick with silence, she weeps sincerely
Saying words that have oh so clearly been said
So long ago

Draperies wrapped gently around her shoulder
Life has made her that much bolder now
That she found out how

Dressed in silk, latin lace and envy
Pride and joy of the latest penny-fare
Pretty passing care

Hair today now dipped in the water
Making love to every poor daughter's son
Isn't it fun?

Now today, propping grace with envy
Lady Godiva peers to see if anyone's there
And hasn't a care

"Doctor is coming," the nurse thinks (sweetly)
Turning on the machines that (neatly pump air)
The body lies bare

Shaved and hairless, what once was (screaming)
Now lies silent and (almost sleeping)
The rain must have gone away

(Strapped securely to the white table
Ether causes the body to wither and writhe)
Underneath the white light

(The doctor arrives with a knife and baggage)
Sees the growth as just so much cabbage)
That must now be cut away

(Now comes the moment of great, great decision)
The doctor is making his first incision)
One goes here
(And one goes there)

"The ether tube's leaking," says someone who's sloppy
(The patient, it seems, is not so well sleeping)
The screams echo off the walls

Don't panic--someone give him pentathol instantly
The doctor removes his blade cagily slow from the brain
(By my count of ten
The head won't move.)