Road Songs (Lou Reed -- Romeo Had Juliette)

I listened to this album the day after we came back from summer camp. It was a nice clear Saturday morning and I was making breakfast for the whole family. This is the opening track in his 'New York' album. Above all what I craved the most all this time was a song that told a story. Neil Young has that knack. So does Tom Petty. And Leonard Cohen. They are all story-tellers. But Lou Reed is almost perfect with ciggie in mouth whilst intoning the unforgettable lines:

I'll take Manhattan in a garbage bag/With Latin written on it that says/It's hard to give a shit these days/Manhattan's sinking like a rock/Into the filthy Hudson what a shock/They wrote a book about it/They said it was like ancient Rome.

And then the guitar strums away... Magic.