Editing The Velvet Underground & Nico (section)

===Themes===
''The Velvet Underground & Nico'' was notable for its overt descriptions of topics such as [[drug abuse]], [[prostitution]], [[Sadomasochism|sadism and masochism]] and [[paraphilia|sexual deviancy]]. "[[I'm Waiting for the Man]]" describes a protagonist's efforts to obtain [[heroin]],<ref name="waiting">{{cite magazine |title=The Velvet Underground, 'I'm Waiting for the Man' |url=https://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/the-velvet-underground-im-waiting-for-the-man-20110526 |magazine=[[Rolling Stone]] |date=April 7, 2011 |access-date=September 11, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170912011446/http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/the-500-greatest-songs-of-all-time-20110407/the-velvet-underground-im-waiting-for-the-man-20110526|archive-date=September 12, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{harvnb|Sounes|2015|pp=40–41}}</ref> while "[[Venus in Furs (song)|Venus in Furs]]" is a nearly literal interpretation of [[Venus in Furs|the 19th century novel of the same name]] (which itself prominently features accounts of [[BDSM]]).<ref>{{harvnb|Sounes|2015|pp=41–43}}</ref> "[[Heroin (The Velvet Underground song)|Heroin]]" details an individual's use of the drug and the experience of feeling its effects.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.allmusic.com/song/heroin-mt0009688252 |title=Heroin&nbsp;- The Velvet Underground {{!}} Song Info |publisher=[[AllMusic]] |access-date=August 18, 2017 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170819024156/http://www.allmusic.com/song/heroin-mt0009688252 |archive-date=August 19, 2017}}</ref>

[[Lou Reed]], who wrote the majority of the album's lyrics, never intended to write about such topics for shock value. Reed, a fan of poets and authors such as [[Raymond Chandler]], [[Nelson Algren]], [[William S. Burroughs]], [[Allen Ginsberg]], and [[Hubert Selby, Jr.]], saw no reason the content in their works could not translate well to [[rock and roll]] music. An English major who studied for a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] at [[Syracuse University]], Reed said in an interview that he thought joining the two (gritty subject matter and music) was "obvious".<ref name="Bockris-Malanga"/> "That's the kind of stuff you might read. Why wouldn't you listen to it? You have the fun of reading that, and you get the fun of rock on top of it."<ref name="Bockris-Malanga"/>

Though the album's dark subject matter is today considered revolutionary,<ref name="Heylin"/> several of the album's songs are centered on themes more typical of popular music. Certain songs were written by Reed as observations of the members of Andy Warhol's "[[The Factory|Factory]] [[Warhol superstars|superstars]]". "[[Femme Fatale (The Velvet Underground song)|Femme Fatale]]" in particular was written about [[Edie Sedgwick]] at Warhol's request. "[[I'll Be Your Mirror]]", inspired by [[Nico]],<ref name="Bockris1994">{{harvnb|Bockris|1994|pp=106, 135}}</ref> is a tender and affectionate song; in stark contrast to a song like "Heroin". A common misperception is that "[[All Tomorrow's Parties]]" was written by Reed at Warhol's request (as stated in [[Victor Bockris]] and [[Gerard Malanga]]'s Velvet Underground biography ''Up-Tight: The Velvet Underground Story''). While the song does seem to be another observation of Factory denizens, Reed wrote the song before meeting Warhol, having recorded a demo in July 1965 at Ludlow Street.<ref name="wilcox"/>