No Money Down

Album: Mistrial (1986)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • The Mistrial album found Lou Reed chasing a contemporary pop-rock sound, but the results confused the singer's long-term fans; "No Money Down" was the only track from the album to chart anywhere. Released as the record's second single, it peaked at #75 on the Australian ARIA singles chart.
  • This boisterous synth-rocker features cryptic Lou Reed lyrics that compare failing romance to a financial transaction.
  • Lou Reed's deadpan vocals are accompanied by squealing saxophone courtesy of Rick Bell. An ex member of the Michael Stanley band, Bell has also played with Peter Gabriel.
  • The music video, directed by Godley & Creme, features an animatronic version of Reed miming along to the song. During the final verse, "Robot Reed" starts tearing himself apart, revealing wires and parts.
  • The robot concept was originally intended for another video. Longtime bassist Fernando Saunders explained to Uncut magazine: "Lou decided to get Godley and Creme to do the video for 'Video Violence' with these robots. Then the label decided to change single, but Lou didn't want to waste the robots, so you had this great clever pop song with a video of this robot tearing its own face off... MTV debuted it, and then we got a call saying people were complaining that their video was making kids cry."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

The Evolution of "Ophelia"

The Evolution of "Ophelia"Song Writing

How five songs portray Shakespeare's character Ophelia.

Subversive Songs Used To Sell

Subversive Songs Used To SellSong Writing

Songs about drugs, revolution and greed that have been used in commercials for sneakers, jeans, fast food, cruises and cars.

Richie McDonald of Lonestar

Richie McDonald of LonestarSongwriter Interviews

Richie talks about the impact of "Amazed," and how his 4-year-old son inspired another Lonestar hit.

Boy Bands

Boy BandsFact or Fiction

From NKOTB to 1D, how well do you know your boy bands?

Chris Tomlin

Chris TomlinSongwriter Interviews

The king of Christian worship music explains talks about writing songs for troubled times.

Dave Mason

Dave MasonSongwriter Interviews

Dave reveals the inspiration for "Feelin' Alright" and explains how the first song he ever wrote became the biggest hit for his band Traffic.