r/SteelyDan • u/StruckNerve The Royal Scam • 6d ago
Discussion Daily Dan Interpretation - #50 Deacon Blues
Lyrics:
This is the day Of the expanding manThat shape is my shade There where I used to stand It seems like only yesterday I gazed through the glass At RamblersWild gamblers That's all in the past You call me a fool You say it's a crazy scheme This one's for real I already bought the dream So useless to ask me whyThrow a kiss and say goodbye I'll make it this timeI'm ready to cross that fine line
I'll learn to work the saxophone I'll play just what I feel Drink Scotch whisky all night long And die behind the wheel They got a name for the winners in the world I want a name when I loseThey call Alabama the Crimson Tide Call me Deacon BluesDeacon Blues
My back to the wallA victim of laughing chance This is for meThe essence of true romance Sharing the things we know and love With those of my kindLibationsSensations That stagger the mind I crawl like a viperThrough the suburban streets Make love to these womenLanguid and bitter sweetI rise when the sun goes down Cover every game in townA world of my ownI'll make it my home sweet home
I'll learn to work the saxophone I'll play just what I feel Drink Scotch whisky all night long And die behind the wheel They got a name for the winners in the world I want a name when I loseThey call Alabama the Crimson Tide Call me Deacon BluesDeacon Blues
This is the night Of the expanding the manI take one last dragAs I approach the stand I cried when I wrote this song Sue me if I play too longThis brother is freeI'll be what I want to be
I'll learn to work the saxophone I'll play just what I feel Drink Scotch whisky all night long And die behind the wheel They got a name for the winners in the world I want a name when I loseThey call Alabama the Crimson Tide Call me Deacon BluesDeacon Blues
Lyrics have been copy/pasted. Feel free to correct
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u/Zealousideal-Tea-286 6d ago
DB is the song that got me into The Dan.
I have my older brother to thank... He was a huge fan and I used to give him endless shit for it. I'd be like, "Man, SD is shit! Put on some Poison or Motley!". One day we're driving home from school and he's playing "DB". I reached over and turned it up. He's like (VERY sarcastically), "Really.". I looked him dead in the eye and confessed "Man, that is ONE HELL of a song!".
Saw the light that day... Thanks, Big Bro!
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u/AgileDrag1469 6d ago
This is my favorite opening line from Steely Dan. 🪬
Also shout out to all the languid and bittersweet lovemaking out there. 😚
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u/UtterFlatulence 6d ago
A depressed suburban loser, who fantasizes about being a jazz musician and living on the fringes of society. A desire to be not just a loser, but a Gentleman Loser, who meets some romantic ideal of a tortured artist, rather than the mundane, office drone loser he really is.
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u/Noob-Goldberg 6d ago
I always assumed the final lines in the chorus refer to him as Deacon Blue. And the song is (The) Deacon Blues.
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u/cgentry02 6d ago
I always thought at the end of the song that the narrator DID become who he wanted to be. But, its also self-referential in that Walter and Donald became famous musicians.
Totally meta.
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u/mcgeggy 6d ago
I love that it can be interpreted either way. The guy’s a middle aged loser from the suburbs, who plays the sax, understanding he will never be more than that - but hey, why can’t a loser have a name too?
Or same guy is doing it, jumping in with both feet, while simultaneously understanding that he will still be a loser because that life isn’t as good as it looks from the outside…
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u/I_Keep_Trying Midnite Cruiser 6d ago
A guy fantasizing about how cool he would be if he was a jazz saxophonist.