Good Evening Mr Waldheim

Lou Reed

Transposer:

God evening Mr. Waldheim And Pontiff how are you? You have so much in common In the things you do And here comes Jesse Jackson He talks of common ground Does that common ground include me Or is it just a sound? A sound that shakes Oh Jesse you must watch the sounds you make A sound that quakes There are fears that still reverberate Jesse you say common ground Does that include the P.L.O? What about people right here right now Who fought for you not so long ago? The words that flow so freely Falling dancing from your lips I hope that you don’t cheapen them With a racist slip Oh common ground Is common ground a word or just a sound? Oh oh common ground Remember those civil rights workers buried in the ground If I ran for president And once was a member of the Klan Wouldn’t you call me on it The way I call you on Farrakhan? And Pontiff pretty Pontiff Can anyone shake your hand ? Or is it just that you like uniforms And someone kissing your hand? Or is it true The common ground for me includes you too? Oh oh is it true The common ground for me includes you too? Good evening Mr. Waldheim Pontiff how are you? As you both stroll through the woods at night I’m thinking thoughts of you And Jesse you’re inside my thoughts As the rhythmic words subside My common ground invites you in Or do you prefer to wait outside? Or is it true The common ground for me is without you? Or is it true The common ground for me is without you? Oh is it true There’s no ground common enough for me and you?

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La chanson aborde des thèmes de moralité et d'hypocrisie, en interrogeant la notion de « terrain d’entente » entre des figures publiques et leurs actions. L'artiste soulève la question de savoir si de tels discours incluent réellement tout le monde, en particulier ceux qui ont lutté pour les droits civiques. Il met en lumière les contradictions d’individus qui prônent l’unité tout en appartenant à des groupes controversés, suggérant qu'il existe une distance entre les paroles prononcées et la réalité vécue. Dans ce contexte, l’auteur s’adresse tant aux figures politiques qu’à des leaders religieux, les interpellant sur leur intégrité et leur capacité à véritablement rassembler. Il remet en question si ce « terrain d'entente » est vraiment pour tous ou si, au contraire, il exclut certains. Cette réflexion est particulièrement pertinente à une époque où les divisions sociales et politiques sont très marquées, posant un regard critique sur les dialogues qui semblent superficiels.

Le Chansonnier