LOU REED, THAT OLD MAN

My Old Man

Lou Reed

When I was a young boy in Brooklyn
Going to public school
During recess in the concrete playground
They lined us up by twos
In alphabetical order, Reagan, Reed and Russo
I still remember the names
And stickball and stoopball
Were the only games that we played
And I wanted to be like my old man
I wanted to grow up just like my old man
I wanted to be like my old man
I wanted to dress like
I wanted to be just like
I wanted to act like my old man
I wanted to be like
I wanted to act like
I wanted to be just like my old man

And then like everyone else I started to grow
And I didn't want to be like my father anymore
I was sick if his bullying
And having to hide under a desk on the floor
And when he beat my mother
It made me so mad I could choke
And I didn't want to be like my old man
I didn't even want to look like my old man
I didn't even want to seem like my old man

A son watches his father
Being cruel to his mother
And makes a vow to return only when
He is so much richer
In every way so much bigger
That the old man will never hit anyone again

Like my old man X4

And can you believe what he said to me
He said, "Lou, act like a man"
Why don't you act just like a man
Act like your daddy
Act like a man
Why don't you act like a man
Like your old man

Like my old man

     Nesta letra, vemos a afirmação e a negação se misturarem, de forma que você não saiba exatamente

se é uma ou se é outra, ou se são as duas. Não há a ironia de "Mirem-se nestas mulheres de Atenas", verso que nega por meio da afirmativa. Aqui nesta letra, mais direta e narrativa, repleta de marcas temporais (when, during, then), observemos o valor do imperativo, que, por coincidência (?) aparece em Father and son (mais de uma vez neste blog). O imperativo, ele sim é irônico, pois exprime um desejo ou uma ordem,

sabendo, de antemão, que ocorrerá a inversão.      

Marcus Vinicius Quiroga