Candy Says

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"Candy Says"
Song by The Velvet Underground
from the album The Velvet Underground
ReleasedMarch 1969
RecordedNovember –December 1968
T.T.G. Studios, Hollywood
Sunset and Highland Sound, Hollywood
Genre
Length4:05
Label MGM
Songwriter Lou Reed
Producer The Velvet Underground

"Candy Says" is the first track on the Velvet Underground's self-titled third album. [3]

It is one of four songs that Reed explicitly wrote in the voice of a female character, in the case of "Candy Says", a transgender woman, telling her experiences. Each would begin with the woman's name and then be followed by the verb "says". "Stephanie Says" was the first (later adapted into "Caroline Says" on his solo album Berlin).

Reed insisted bassist Doug Yule take the lead vocal, as he felt Yule's voice was better suited for the material. Reed said the song was also "about something more profound and universal, a universal feeling I think all of us have at some point. We look in the mirror and we don't like what we see...I don't know a person alive who doesn't feel that way." [4]

The song was inspired by actress/model Candy Darling, and ranked as the 15th best Velvet Underground song by Alexis Petridis of the Guardian who described the song as "tender" and "melancholy" with backing vocals inspired by the doo-wop genre. [5]

Alternate versions

Anohni's 2003 live version of the song was featured in the 2022 interactive film video game Immortality.

References

  1. 1 2 Brown, Bill (December 2013). Words and Guitar: A History of Lou Reed's Music. Colossal Books. p. 25. ISBN   978-0-615-93377-1.
  2. ↑ Highter, Erik (November 26, 2014). "The Velvet Underground: The Velvet Underground - 45th Anniversary Super Deluxe Edition". PopMatters . Retrieved January 21, 2026. To say "Candy Says" is delicate may be understanding it; it's a frail and skeletal doo-wop song, complete with softly reverberating doo-doo-wah backing vocals that sound like it takes all the energy the singers have to rise from a whisper to a sigh.
  3. ↑ Hann, Michael (7 December 2015). "Lou Reed's Walk on the Wild Side: what became of Candy, Little Joe and co?". The Guardian . Retrieved 20 January 2026.
  4. ↑ 'Lou Reed, a Life', Anthony DeCurtis, p.121
  5. ↑ Petridis, Alexis (8 July 2021). "The Velvet Underground's greatest songs – ranked!". The Guardian .
  6. ↑ Ratliff, Ben (2005-10-15). "A Musical Manchild, Surrounded by Friends, Explores His Sadness". The New York Times . ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved 2025-04-01.
  7. ↑ Greene, Andy (27 October 2015). "Flashback: Lou Reed Plays 'Candy Says' At his Final Performance". Rolling Stone.
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