It is one of the four songs that feature Doug Yule on vocals, encouraged by main singer and songwriter Lou Reed.
[1] The song also appears on 1969: The Velvet Underground Live, with Reed on vocals, singing an earlier, significantly different version of the lyrics.
The later, studio version is written from the point of view of a fan addressing a "fat blonde actress".
Reed, who had left the band a month before, stated that his original versions of "Sweet Jane", "Rock and Roll" and "New Age" were corrupted.
Doug Yule, on the other hand, insists that Reed's mixes were respected.