The Valley of Unrest

Far away far away Are not all lovely things far away As far at least lies that valley As the bedridden sun in the luminous east The paralyzed mountains, the sickly river Are not all things lovely far away Are not all things lovely far away It is a valley where time is not interrupted Where its history shall not be interpreted Stories of Satan's dart of angel wings Unhappy things Within the valley of unrest The sun ray dripped all red The dell was silent All the people having gone to war Leaving no interrogator to mind The willful looting the pale past knowledge The sly mysterious stars The unguarded flowers leaning The tulips overhead paler The terror stricken sky Rolling like a waterfall Over the horizon's fiery wall A visage full of meaning How the unhappy shall confess As Roderick watches like a human eye While violets and lilies wave Like banners in the sky Hovering over and above a grave As dew drops on the freshly planted eternal dew Coming down in gems There's no use to pretend Though gorgeous clouds fly Roderick, like the human eye has closed forever Far away far away Roderick, whatever thy image may be Roderick, no magic shall sever the music from thee Thou hast bound many eyes in a dreamy sleep Oh tortured day The strains still arrive I hear the bells I have kept my vigilance Rain dancing in the rhythm of a shower Over what guilty spirit to not hear the beating To not hear the beating heart But only tears of perfect moan Only tears of perfect moan --- The Valley of Unrest - Lou Reed and Elizabeth Ashley