Music in Our Schools Month: Vocabulary from the Lyrics of Lou Reed (1942-2013)

Not to toot our own horn, but this collection is sure to strike a chord with music lovers. We’ve remixed noteworthy biographies, pitch-perfect fiction, catchy song lyrics, and essential music terminology. These vocabulary lists will be music to your ears!
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Full list of words from this list:

words only definitions & notes
  1. repartee
    adroitness and cleverness in reply
    "Who has touched and who has dabbled
    here in the city of shows
    Openings, closings, bad repartee
    everybody knows"
    -"New York Telephone Conversation"
  2. base
    having or showing an ignoble lack of honor or morality
    "I dreamed I wasn't gross or base, a criminal on the take
    And most of all I dreamed I forgot the day John Kennedy died"
    -"The Day John Kennedy Died"
  3. caustic
    harsh or corrosive in tone
    "As you pass through the fire, your right hand waving
    There are things you have to throw out
    That caustic dread inside your head will never help you out"
    -"Magic and Loss (the Summation)"
  4. progeny
    the immediate descendants of a person
    "They say he didn't have an enemy
    His was a greatness to behold
    He was the last surviving progeny
    The last one on this side of the world"
    -"Last Great American Whale"
  5. nullify
    declare invalid
    "I have made very big decision
    I'm goin' to try to nullify my life"
    -"Heroin"
  6. femme fatale
    a woman who is considered to be dangerously seductive
    "She builds you up to just put you down, what a clown
    'Cause everybody knows (She's a femme fatale)
    The things she does to please (She's a femme fatale)
    She's just a little tease (She's a femme fatale)"
    -"Femme Fatale"
  7. disarray
    bring disorder to
    "Dark cloudy bars
    Shiny Cadillac cars
    And the people on subways and trains
    Looking gray in the rain as they stand disarrayed"
    -"After Hours"
  8. imperious
    having or showing arrogant superiority
    "Ermine furs adorn the imperious Severin"
    -"Venus in Furs"
  9. myriad
    a large indefinite number
    The myriad choices of his fate
    Set themselves out upon a plate
    For him to choose
    What had he to lose
    -"The Black Angel's Death Song"
  10. wizened
    lean and wrinkled by shrinkage as from age or illness
    "It might be fun to have a kid that I could kick around
    Create in my own image like a god
    I'd raise my own pallbearers to carry me to my grave
    And keep me company when I'm a wizened toothless clod"
    -"Beginning of a Great Adventure"
  11. pristine
    immaculately clean and unused
    "But then again pristine isolation might not be the best idea
    It's not good trying to immortalize yourself"
    -"Beginning of a Great Adventure"
Created on Sun Oct 27 19:58:12 EDT 2013 (updated Mon Mar 02 12:02:47 EST 2020)

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