Power & Glory - The Situation - Lou Reed

I was visited by the power and the glory
I was visited by a majestic hymn
Great bolts of lightning lighting up the sky
Electricity flowing through my veins

I was captured by a larger moment
I was seized by divinity's hot breath
Gorged like a lion on experience
Powerful from life

(I wanted all of it, all of it, all of it)
All of it
(not just some of it, all of it, all of it)
All of it

I saw a man turn into a bird
I saw a bird turn into a tiger
I saw a man hang from a cliff by the tips of his toes
In the jungles of the amazon

I saw a man put a redhot needle through his eye
Turn into a crow and fly through the trees
Swallow hot coals and breathe out flames
And I wanted this to happen to me

(I wanted all of it, all of it, all of it)
All of it
(all of it, all of it, all of it)
Not some of it

We saw the moon vanish into his pocket
We saw the stars disappear from sight
We saw him walk across water into the sun
While bathed in eternal light

We spewed out questions waiting for answers
Creating legends, religions and myths
Books, stories, movies and plays
All trying to explain this

(I wanted all of it, oh, all of it)
All of it
(all of it, oh, all of it)
Not some of it

I saw a great man turn into a little child
The cancer reduce him to dust
His voice growing weak as he fought for his life
With a bravery few men know

I saw isotopes introduced into his lungs
Trying to stop the cancerous spread
And it made me think of "leda and the swan"
And gold being made from lead

The same power that burned hiroshima
Causing three legged babies and death
Shrunk to the size of a nickel
To help him regain his breath

And I was struck by the power and the glory
I was visited by a majestic him
Great bolts of lightning lighting up the sky
As the radiation flowed through him

(I wanted all of it, not just some of it, all of it)
He wanted all of it
(all of it, all of it, all of it)
He wanted all of it, not some of it