"The Gift" is the second track that appears on ''

White Light/White Heat ''White Light/White Heat'' is the second studio album by American rock band the Velvet Underground. Released on January 30, 1968, on Verve Records, it was the band's last studio recording with multi-instrumentalist and founding member John Cal ...

'', the 1968 second album by

the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock band formed in New York City in 1964. The original line-up consisted of singer/guitarist Lou Reed, multi-instrumentalist John Cale, guitarist Sterling Morrison, and drummer Angus MacLise. MacLise w ...

. The song is over eight minutes long and, in the stereo version, mixed in such a way that a

short story A short story is a piece of prose fiction that typically can be read in one sitting and focuses on a self-contained incident or series of linked incidents, with the intent of evoking a single effect or mood. The short story is one of the oldest ...

can be heard in the left speaker, while a rock instrumental is heard on the right.

Elements

Short story

The short story, recited by a deadpan

John Cale John Davies Cale (born 9 March 1942) is a Welsh musician, composer, singer, songwriter and record producer who was a founding member of the American rock band the Velvet Underground. Over his six-decade career, Cale has worked in various styl ...

, was written by

Lou Reed Lewis Allan Reed (March 2, 1942October 27, 2013) was an American musician, songwriter, and poet. He was the guitarist, singer, and principal songwriter for the rock band the Velvet Underground and had a solo career that spanned five decades. ...

as a writing project during his college days. The narrative concerns Waldo Jeffers, a lovesick youth, who has engaged in a distressing

long-distance relationship A long-distance relationship (LDR) or long-distance romantic relationship (LDRR) is an intimate relationship between partners who are geographically separated from one another. Partners in LDRs face geographic separation and lack of face-to-face ...

with his

college A college (Latin: ''collegium'') is an educational institution or a constituent part of one. A college may be a degree-awarding tertiary educational institution, a part of a collegiate or federal university, an institution offering ...

girlfriend Marsha Bronson. After their school terms end, Waldo returns to his hometown of

Locust, Pennsylvania Locust is an unincorporated community located in North Mahoning Township, Indiana County, Pennsylvania, United States. This town is mentioned in the song " The Gift" by the Velvet Underground The Velvet Underground was an American rock ba ...

. He becomes increasingly paranoid over the course of two months, worried that Marsha might not stay faithful to him as promised. More than anything, he fears constantly that she will engage in sexual promiscuity. Lacking the requisite money to visit her in

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, he concocts a plan to mail himself to her in a large cardboard box, expecting it will be a welcome surprise to Marsha. He ships himself on Friday. The following Monday, Marsha is having a discussion with her friend Sheila Klein about Bill, a man that Marsha slept with the previous night. When the package arrives at the door, the two struggle to open the box while Waldo waits excitedly inside. Unable to open the box by other means and frustrated, Marsha retrieves a sheet metal cutter from her basement and gives it to Sheila, who stabs straight through the box and right through the center of Waldo's head.

Music

It appears in five versions on the Super Deluxe 45th Anniversary Edition of ''White Light/White Heat'': stereo, mono, vocal only, instrumental only, and live instrumental. The instrumental track was originally developed from live jams. Contrary to rumor, it is not the same song as "Booker T.", as noted in

David Fricke David Fricke is an American music journalist who serves as the senior editor at ''Rolling Stone'' magazine, where he writes predominantly about rock music. One of the best known names in rock journalism, his career has spanned over 40 years. I ...

's essay in the 2013 deluxe reissue of ''White Light/White Heat''. At the urging of

Frank Zappa Frank Vincent Zappa (December 21, 1940 – December 4, 1993) was an American musician, composer, and bandleader. His work is characterized by wikt:nonconformity, nonconformity, Free improvisation, free-form improvisation, sound experimen ...

, Reed provided the sound effect of Waldo's head being cut by stabbing a

cantaloupe The cantaloupe, rockmelon (Australia and New Zealand, although cantaloupe is used in some states of Australia), sweet melon, or spanspek (Southern Africa) is a melon that is a variety of the muskmelon species (''Cucumis melo'') from the fami ...

either by using a knife or a wrench. The remastered version was released on the 1995 ''

Peel Slowly and See ''Peel Slowly and See'' is a five-disc box set of material by the Velvet Underground. It was released in September 1995 by Polydor. Compilation The name of this box set comes from the instruction presented on vinyl copies of the band's debut alb ...

'' box set, and subsequently released on a standalone 1996 CD. A live version appears on ''

Live MCMXCIII ''Live MCMXCIII'' ("1993" in Roman numerals) is a live album by the Velvet Underground. It was released simultaneously in single and double CD/cassette formats on October 26, 1993, by Sire Records, then DVD format on January 24, 2006. The single ...

''. The British punk band the

Bollock Brothers The Bollock Brothers are a British punk act formed in 1979 by the London promoter, DJ, and manager Jock McDonald. They are best known for their English language cover of Serge Gainsbourg's song "Harley David (Son of a Bitch)" (originally in ...

did a cover version called "The Gift II".

Personnel

– spoken word, fuzz bass *

– electric guitar, cantaloupe *

Sterling Morrison Holmes Sterling Morrison Jr. (August 29, 1942 – August 30, 1995) was an American guitarist, best known as one of the founding members of the rock group the Velvet Underground, usually playing electric guitar, occasionally bass guitar, and ...

– electric guitar *

Maureen Tucker Maureen Ann "Moe" Tucker (born August 26, 1944) is an American musician and singer-songwriter who was the drummer for the New York City-based rock band the Velvet Underground. After they disbanded in the early 1970s, she left the music industry ...

– percussion

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Gift, The The Velvet Underground songs Black comedy music 1968 songs Songs written by Lou Reed Song recordings produced by Tom Wilson (record producer) Songs written by John Cale