Oh! Sweet Nuthin’

Producers

The Velvet Underground, Geoffrey Haslam &

Although it may sound closer to blues, country and classic rock, “Oh! Sweet Nuthin'” – the closing song off of Loaded, truly represents the reason why the Velvet… Read More

Nov. 15, 19701 viewer74.4K views

Oh! Sweet Nuthin’ Lyrics

[Instrumental Intro]

[Verse 1]
Say a word for Jimmy Brown
He ain't got nothin' at all
Knocked the shirt right off his back
He ain't got nothin' at all
And say a word for Ginger Brown
Walks with his head down to the ground
Took the shoes right off his feet
And threw the poor boy right out in the street
And this is what he said

[Chorus]
Oh, sweet nothin'
She ain't got nothin' at all
Oh, sweet nothin'
She ain't got nothin' at all

[Verse 2]
Say a word for Polly May
She can't tell the night from the day
They threw her out in the street
But just like a cat, she landed on her feet
And say a word for Joanna Love
She ain't got nothin' at all
With every day, she falls in love
And every night she falls
And when she does, she says

[Chorus]
Oh, sweet nothin'
You know she ain't got nothin' at all
Woah woah, sweet nothin'
She ain't got nothin' at all

[Post-Chorus]
Woah, let me hear ya

[Instrumental Break]

[Verse 3]
Oh, say a word, say a word for Jimmy Brown (Oh, sweet nothin')
He ain't got nothin' at all, not a thing (Ain't got nothin' at all)
And not a shirt, shirt on his back (Oh, sweet nothin')
No, he ain't got nothin' at all (Ain't got nothin' at all)
And say a word for Ginger (Oh, sweet nothin')
He walks with his head to the ground (Ain't got nothin' at all)
They took the shoes, took the shoes from his feet, from his feet (Oh, sweet nothin')
And threw the poor boy out into the street (Ain't got nothin' at all)
And then he said

[Chorus]
Oh, sweet, sweet nothin' (Oh, sweet nothin')
She ain't got, she ain't got, she ain't got nothin' at all (Ain't got nothin' at all)
Sweet sweet, sweet sweet (Oh, sweet nothin')
Nothin', she ain't got (Ain't got nothin' at all)
Oh, sweet sweet nothin' (Oh, sweet nothin')
Sweet sweet nothin' at all (She ain't got nothin' at all)
Sweet sweet nothin' got nothin'
Oh, sweet nothin' (Oh, sweet nothin')
Oh oh, sweet nothin' at all (Ain't got nothin' at all)
Oh, let me hear you

[Bridge]
(Oh, sweet nothin'
Ain't got nothin' at all
Oh, sweet nothin'
Ain't got nothin' at all
Oh. sweet nothin'
Ain't got nothin' at all)
Oh, sweet nothin'
(Oh, sweet nothin'
Ain't got nothin' at all
Oh, sweet nothin'
Ain't got nothin' at all
Oh, sweet nothin'
Ain't got nothin' at all
Oh, sweet nothin'
Ain't got nothin' at all)

[Outro]
She ain't got nothin' at all
She ain't got nothin' at all
She ain't got nothin' at all
She ain't got nothin' at all
She ain't got nothin' at all
She ain't got nothin' at all
Sweet nothin'
She ain't got nothin' at all
Sweet sweet nothin'
She ain't got nothin' at all

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About

Genius Annotation

Although it may sound closer to blues, country and classic rock, “Oh! Sweet Nuthin'” – the closing song off of Loaded, truly represents the reason why the Velvet Underground is acclaimed as the pioneers of punk: it is quite a powerful track based solely on three chords.

Lyrically, it sounds a bit like a precursor to “Walk on the Wild Side”: Lou Reed presents a panel of characters inhabiting the underbelly of a metropolis:

It tells the stories of the disaffected, the poor Jimmy Brown, the homeless and depressed Ginger Brown, his fellow street person Polly May, and poor Joanna Love who finds herself in an endless stream of failed relationships. (source).

However, different from “Walk on the Wild Side”, the characters here don’t seem to be based on specific people, they’re more like archetypes.

This is one of the songs in which Doug Yule had the most input: he recorded the drums, the vocals and the guitar solo.