Page type: lyric reference
Artist: Lou Reed
Canonical path: /lou-reed/pumping-blood
Related lyric paths: 6
Video embedded: yes
Lyric guide
Pumping Blood
Read Pumping Blood lyrics by Lou Reed on LyroVerse, with linked artist context and related song paths.
person
Curated by Ethan Walker
LyroVerse team
Reference snapshot
The page facts to cite before the commentary
Use this page for the lyric text, linked artist context, and any LyroVerse editor's note attached to the song. Listener comments remain user-generated and should not be treated as the primary source.
Lyrics
Pumping Blood
The lyric stays readable and compact here; the note and related paths sit nearby so you do not lose the song while looking for context.
If I pump out blood in the sunshine
Oil on the wheel
That is blasted and busted away
A nail or a little piece of glass
A little piece of glass
A little piece of glass
Swarming like bees over the air
Off the pump off the thing
The blood that I'm pumping away
Like bees over the air
Off the pump
Off the thing
The blood that I'm pumping away
Off the pump
Off the thing
The blood that I'm pumping away
If I pump blood in the sunshine
And you wear a leather box with azaleas
And I pump more blood
And it seeps through my skin
Will you adore the river
The stream, the trickle
The tributary of my heart
As I pump more blood
And it seeps through my skin
Will you adore the river
The stream, the trickle
The tributary of my heart
If I'm pumping blood
Like a common state worker
If I waggle my ass like a dark prostitute
Would you think less of me
And my coagulating heart
Waggle my ass like a dark prostitute
Coagulating heart
Pumping blood
Would you top me off
Would you top me off as I deepen a curtsy
While you yell out, "mercy"
We grow apart
Would you rip and cut me
Use a knife on me
Be shocked at the boldness
The coldness of this little heart
Tied up in leather
Would you take the measure
Of the blood that I pump
In the manic confusion of love
Supreme violation
Supreme violation
"Oh, ah, ah, ah Jack I beseech you"
"Oh Jack I beseech you"
Supreme violation
Blood in the foyer
The bathroom
The tea room
The kitchen, with her knives splayed
I will swallow your sharpest cutter
Like a colored man's dick
Blood spurting from me
"Oh Jack, Jack I beseech"
"Jack, I beseech you, I beseech"
In the end it was an ordinary heart
"Oh Jack I beseech you"
As I scream out my pain
In the end it was an ordinary heart
In the end, in the end, in the end
It was an ordinary heart
"Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack, Jack I beseech you"
Supreme violation, oh
"Jack, Jack, Jack I beseech you"
I call out your name
Blood in the foyer, the bathroom
The tea room, the kitchen
And knives splayed
I swallow your sharpest cutter
Like a colored man's dick
Blood spurting from me
Blood spurting from me
"Oh Jack"
"Oh Jack, I beseech ya"
In the end it was an ordinary heart
In the end it was an ordinary heart
Pumping blood
Quick answers
What this page can answer fast
Who performs "Pumping Blood"?
Lou Reed performs "Pumping Blood", and this lyric page sits inside the Lou Reed catalog on LyroVerse.
Are there related songs to explore after "Pumping Blood"?
Yes. The related section below points to Berlin and City Lights with a short reason for opening each page next.
Where can I find more songs by Lou Reed?
Use the artist link near the top of the page or the related paths section below to keep moving through Lou Reed's lyric pages.
Song Room
Open Song Room
Interpretations, questions, and corrections for this song
Interpretations, questions, memories, and correction notes live together here. The room stays noindex while the best insights are reviewed.
Listener comments
What people are saying
No listener comments on Pumping Blood yet.
A strong comment here is specific: the phrase you keep hearing, the mood you come back for, or the reason this song stays in rotation.
Sign in to post the first listener note. Reporting stays open to everyone.