Velvet Underground - All Tomorrow's Parties - Lyrics Meaning

Andy Warhol's infamous first studio in New York City, known simply as The Factory, provided the inspiration for The Velvet Underground's "All Tomorrow's Parties." The track appeared on the band's first release, The Velvet Underground and Nico, in 1967. It is one of only three songs on the album on which Nico sings the lead part. She later recorded it as a solo artist and began performing it in live shows. It has since become the namesake for a music festival in England. The Factory was located on the fifth floor of 231 East 47th Street in Manhattan, and became a gathering place for artists and musicians, including the members of the Velvet Underground. Warhol, who shared a similar artistic vision with the group's singer, Lou Reed, collaborated with the band, including them in the extravaganzas of the Exploding Plastic Inevitable, allowing them to use the Factory as a rehearsal space, and designing the famous banana cover art of The Velvet Underground and Nico. Reed drew inspiration for the song "All Tomorrow's Parties" from observing the regular patron's of Warhol's studio, and claims it is "a very apt description of certain people at the Factory at the time." The track was, naturally, Warhol's favorite song written by the band.