Light in the Attic Records have shared a previously unreleased 1965 Lou Reed demo, "Men of Good Fortune," from the upcoming Words & Music, May 1965, due out on September 16.
Words & Music, May 1965 is the first installment of the Lou Reed Archive Series.
Even though Reed would later include a song also titled "Men of Good Fortune" on his 1973 album Berlin, this 1965 demo is closer to folk music and contains entirely different lyrics.
Archivists Jason Stern and Don Fleming say it was presumably inspired by the same traditional English and Scottish Child Ballads that informed Simon & Garfunkel's "Scarborough Fair" and Bob Dylan's "Girl from the North Country."
"'Men of Good Fortune' has every trademark of one of the traditional Child Ballads from England and Scotland dating back for centuries and passed on from person to person," the archivists say.
For comments and feedback contact: editorial@rttnews.com
Entertainment News
June 05, 2026 16:18 ET A busy week for economic news flow saw a slew of reports being released that reflected the trends in the U.S. labor market. In Europe, economic growth and inflation data gained attention as the European Central Bank and Bank of England head for policy session later in the month. In Asia, the monetary policy session of the Indian central bank was in focus as the country, a major oil importer, reels under the pressures of a weaker rupee and rising inflation.