Sword of Damocles - Lou Reed

I see the sword of Damocles is right above your head
They're trying a new treatment to get you out of bed
But radiation kills both bad and good
It can not differentiate
So to cure you they must kill you
The sword of Damocles hangs above your head

Now I have seen lots of peoples die
From car crashes or drugs
Last night on 33rd street, I saw a kid get hit by a bus
Bus this drawn out torture over which part of you lives
Is very hard to take
To cure you, they must kill you
The sword of Damocles above your head

That mix of morphine and Dexedrine
We use it on the street
It kills the pain and keeps you up
Your very soul to keep
But this guessing game has its own rules
The good don't always win
And might makes right
The sword of Damocles
Is hanging above your head

It seems everything's done that must be done
From over here, though things don't seem fair
But there are things that we can't know
Maybe there's something over there
Some other world that we don't know about
I know you hate that mystic shit
It's just another way of seeing
The sword of Damocles above your head