So this has been.my favorite song of OTEP's since it came out in 2004, and I always thought it was a song about a child's narrative of suffering in an abusive Christian home. But now that I am revisiting the lyrics, I am seeing something totally new.
This song could be gospel of John but from the perspective of Jesus.
Jesus was NOT having a good time up to and during the crucifixion. Everyone in the known world at the time looked to him with fear, admiration or disgust and he was constantly being asked questions. He spoke in "verses, prophesies and curses". He had made an enemy of the state, and believed the world was increasingly wicked and fallen from grace, or that he was in the "mouth of madness".
The spine of atlas is the structure that allows the titan to hold the world up. Jesus challenged the state and in doing so became a celebrated resistance figure. It also made him public enemy #1.
All of this happened simply because he was doing his thing, not because of any agenda he had or strategy.
And then he gets scourged (storm of thorns)
There are some plot holes here but I think it's an interesting interpretation.
No I'm never gonna do it without the fez on
Oh no
No I'm never gonna do it without the fez on
Oh no
That's what I am
Please understand
I want to be your holy man
No I'm never gonna do it without the fez on
Oh no
Ain't never gonna do it without the fez on
Oh no
That's what I am
Please understand
I want to be your holy man
No I'm never gonna do it without the fez on
Oh no
Don't make me do it without the fez on
Oh no
That's what I am please understand
Oh no
No I'm never gonna do it without the fez on
Oh no
That's what I am
Please understand
I want to be your holy man
No I'm never gonna do it without the fez on
Oh no
Ain't never gonna do it without the fez on
Oh no
That's what I am
Please understand
I want to be your holy man
No I'm never gonna do it without the fez on
Oh no
Don't make me do it without the fez on
Oh no
That's what I am please understand
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the fez is 70's slang for condom
Yes! I totally called it!
Fez on sounds exactly like faison in French, which means "do it", so the song becomes "don't make me do it without the do it" - but in the colloquial French it means permission, essentially. So there is a hidden double meaning implying rape - which is perfectly consistent with the entire album, The Royal Scam. Every song is about a criminal act, culminating with the greatest criminal being the government.
And all this time, I thought it was in reference to the Shriners, and how they open doors to success for their own members. Interesting. I think the condom idea would be a reach if not for the fact that the band is named after a dildo in the first place.
It is disco, plain and simple. And perhaps they were trying to cash in, but not without a little poison in the sugar. I remember hating disco (had a "Disco Sucks" t-shirt) at the time, but I had to like this song because it was Steely Dan. In truth I did like disco, but as a pure-bred white boy in a white part of the country, wouldn't/couldn't admit it...
I never knew about fez == condom until recently, so I just thought it was "cool" to think you might have a "funny hat" on in bed.
@mumajor must be a programmer with the ==
I love how he emphatically states that no he's never gonna do it without the fez on, and adamantly exclaims he AIN'T never gonna do it without the fez on, but in the end he's practically begging her not to make him do it without the fez on. Great jam.
Hahahahaha...Its steely dan doing a safe sex public service announcement.
This one always reminds me of a friend I had in high school who refused to take his socks off during sex. lol
I think I read somewhere that Becker and Fagen did intend this to be a song promoting condom use (and actually stated as much).... But I still like to interpret it as a song about someone with a weird fetish and the need to roleplay a certain way to get off ("I wanna be your holy man")--makes it a funny song to me, and more in keeping with the band's general wry sense of humor which I've come to love about them. Somehow public service announcements (even subtle ones) seem out of character for them.
@Ulkesh Maybe at that line we come back with the idea of him being a Shriner who refuses to do anything without the Fez, even sex.
It's not a disco song. Disco songs of that era were characterized by a steady 1/4 kick drum pulse -- this is anything but. Never heard the reference to condom use, but it would make sense, ironically, given the name of the band.
I've posted previously that this is probably about gay culture. Disco and someone's comment that the fez was gay slang for condom.
Captain Obvious has to point out that Fagen's irony is in the line "I want to be your holy man".
Religious views against condoms/masturbation are derived from an Old Testament reading where someone was supposed to impregnate his brother's wife after he died (as was the custom) but he pulled out and "wasted his seed".
So basically Fagen is doing what he does best, besides his musical songwriting abilities.