 Genius Meanings
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Steely Dan – Haitian Divorce
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This song refers to the alleged ease of divorce in Haiti. It also parallels this with the ease with which some people fall into, out of, and back into love.
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Steely Dan – The Caves of Altamira
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In a 2000 online chat with the BBC, Donald Fagen and Walter Becker explained the meaning of “The Caves of Altamira”:
Donald: It’s a pretty straightforward story about a guy who
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Steely Dan – Doctor Wu
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With Steely Dan, the weirder the lyrics get, the more likely that it’s based on a true story. Sure enough, Dr. Wu is a real person.
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Steely Dan – Do It Again
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This song is all about the three things that motivate men: Violence, Women, and Money. Each verse deals with a different topic, from a different point of view, with the point being
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Steely Dan – The Fez
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The Fez = a condom
Making this a “safe-sex” song well before its' time
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Steely Dan – The Royal Scam
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[Verse 1] / And they wandered in from the city / Of St. John without a dime / Wearing coats that shined both red and green / Colors from their sunny island / From their boats of
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Steely Dan – Dirty Work
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Dirty Work is from Steely Dan’s debut album, Can’t Buy A Thrill.
It is about a backdoor man and a married woman who takes advantage of this poor guy.
This is one of the few
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Steely Dan – Reelin’ In the Years
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“Reelin' In the Years” is a song by jazz rock band Steely Dan. It was released as the second single from their 1972 album, Can’t Buy a Thrill. It reached No. 11 in the Billboard
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Steely Dan – Everything You Did
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[Verse 1] / Where did the bastard run? / Is he still around? / Now you gotta tell me everything you did baby / I'm gonna get a gun / Shoot the lover down / Are you gonna tell me
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Steely Dan – Josie
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“Josie” is the third and final single from Aja, a top 30 hit in both the US and Canada.
In a 2007 Stylus Magazine article, “Top Ten Obscure Steely Dan Lyrics”, Patrick McKay
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Steely Dan – Deacon Blues
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“Deacon Blues” is the narration of a rock-bottom suburbanite’s fantasy of becoming a romantic saxophonist. Donald Fagen explained:
Many people have assumed the song is about a guy
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Steely Dan – Only a Fool Would Say That
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[Verse 1] / A world become one of salads and sun / Only a fool would say that / A boy with a plan, a natural man / Wearing a white Stetson hat / [Pre-Chorus] / Unhand that gun
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Steely Dan – Time Out of Mind
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According to Stylus Magazine:
A bleak source of black comedy, “Time Out of Mind” is the best song on Gaucho, an uneven record that is nevertheless a favorite of many a writer here
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Steely Dan – Dallas
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I lived in no holy house but the Grand Hotel / The back streets of this old town I know so well / And I drunk of no holy wine save muscatel; / Now my friend, I've got to go / You
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Steely Dan – Hey Nineteen
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“Hey Nineteen” is the squalid centerpiece of the concept album that is Gaucho.
Steely’s protagonist here is a pathetic aging dude attempting to put the moves on a 19-year old by
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Steely Dan – Black Friday
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“Becker and Fagen’s tale is of a crooked speculator who makes his fortune and absconds to Australia with the proceeds to live in the lap of luxury and seek forgiveness for his sins
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Steely Dan – Aja
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The title track on Steely Dan’s most successful LP (both critically and commercially), “Aja” is an 8-minute jazz fusion epic made up of a number of different pieces members Donald
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Steely Dan – Don't Take Me Alive
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A classic Steely Dan character, a desperate and alienated narrator, has apparently taken hostages and negotiates first with the police, then himself, as he considers his fate.
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Steely Dan – Bad Sneakers
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This song is one of the Dan’s most direct, biting critiques of the debauchery of Southern California in the 70’s, taken from an outsider’s perspective.
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Steely Dan – Sail the Waterway
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My old man / He been around the world / And he tells me everything / He told me how to tie a sailor's knot / And made me how to swim / And though my man and I got it together / He
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Steely Dan – Green Earrings
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[Verse 1] / Cold, daring / No flies on me / Sorry, angel / I must take what I see / [Chorus] / Green earrings / I remember / The rings of rare design / I remember / The look in
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Steely Dan – Babylon Sisters
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Rife with American West Coast imagery, “Babylon” in this case is the modern utopia of California.
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Steely Dan – Any Major Dude Will Tell You
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[Verse 1] / I never seen you lookin' so bad, my funky one / You tell me that your super fine mind has come undone / [Chorus] / Any major dude with half a heart surely will tell you
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Steely Dan – Rikki Don't Lose That Number
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[Intro] / [Verse 1] / We hear you're leavin', that's okay / I thought our little wild time had just begun / I guess you kind of scared yourself, you turn and run / But if you have
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Steely Dan – Chain Lightning
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[Verse 1] / Some turn out, a hundred grand / Get with it, we'll shake his hand / Don't bother to understand / Don't question the little man / Be part of the brotherhood / Yes it's
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Steely Dan – Peg
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“Peg” is the tale of an aspiring actress with “starlet fever” as told by the boyfriend she ditched to chase that dream:
Imagine that “Peg” takes place at a seedy photo shoot in L.
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Steely Dan – Night by Night
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[Verse 1] / It's a beggar's life, said the Queen of Spain / But don't tell it to a poor man / 'Cause he's got to kill for every thrill / The best he can / Everywhere around me / I
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Steely Dan – Show Biz Kids
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ACCEPTED SUGGESTION: This is a song which disparages a certain class of L.A. residents…wealthy offspring of entertainment moguls….show biz kids who don’t give a F about anybody
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Steely Dan – Black Cow
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“Black Cow” opens Aja with, according to Donald Fagen, a man talking about his girlfriend’s “behavior and her habits and then out of that you begin to see her character and their
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Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne
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In a 2000 online chat with the BBC, Walter Becker explained the model for “Kid Charlemagne.”
I would say it was very loosely inspired by a character named Owsley. His name was
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Steely Dan – Third World Man
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[Verse 1] / Johnny's playroom / Is a bunker filled with sand / He's become a third world man / Smoky Sunday / He's been mobilized since dawn / Now he's crouching on the lawn / He's
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Steely Dan – Sign in Stranger
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[Verse 1] / Have you heard about the boom on Mizar 5? / People got to shout to stay alive / They don't even have policeman a-one / Doesn't matter where you been or what you've done
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Steely Dan – My Old School
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A 2006 Entertainment Weekly article, “Back to Annandale” explains the backstory of “My Old School.”
But just outside of Adolph’s, he sees it. The house. ‘'Right there is the
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