| Donald Fagen – The Nightfly Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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The song is aabout a late-night talk show host/DJ. (It brings to mind the late Ray Taliaferro, who ran an all-night talk show in San Francisco for over 30 years. He would also occasionally play jazz music on his show.) "Won't you turn your radio down" - having the radio on while calling a talk show can cause feedback and confuse both the caller and the host. "Respect the seven second delay we use" - the program is sent through system that delays the sound by seven minutes before it goes over the air. Profanity or other inappropriate material can be deleted before it is aired. "a race of men in the trees / You're for tough legislation" - example of the types of calls that late-night talk shows sometimes get. "a race of men in the trees " could also have a more sinister meaning: lynching of African Americans in the southern US, which was known to take place as late as the 1950s. "Thanks for calling / I wait all night / For calls like these" - sung with a sarcastic tone, he's not really enthusiastic about these callers/subjects. "But I feel like crying / I wish I had a heart like ice" - What, all's not going well here in radioland? More on this later in the song. "Patton's Kiss And Tell" - ad for a cosmetics project, face cream most likely. The ad is but a temporary distraction; the singer will tell us more about why he is unhappy shortly. "You'd never believe it But once there was a time When love was in my life I sometimes wonder What happened to that flame The answer's still the same It was you, it was you Tonight you're still on my mind" Once upon a time, the singer was in a nice relationship. It broke up, probably due to the stresses of being in the radio business (late nights, odd hours, perhaps having to move from town to town to find work) "You" refers to the host's audience. |
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| Donald Fagen – On the Dunes Lyrics | 2 years ago |
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It's a breakup song, pure and simple. He's singing about being on the beach where he and his girlfriend broke up, watching the boats, romantic couples and people just out having fun, and becoming depressed. |
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| Sparks – Just Got Back from Heaven Lyrics | 6 years ago |
| The singer is boasting about his experiences (with a woman, most likely) to his friends, who are not really buying it. | |
| The Vogues – Magic Town Lyrics | 11 years ago |
| simple story. Guy moves to a new town, thinking he'll get rich quick, gets discouraged when it doens't happen. Cf. "On Broadway" (Drifters/George Benson/etc.) predating this song by three years. | |
| Simon and Garfunkel – The Boxer Lyrics | 12 years ago |
| As he gets ready for the NYC winter ("laying out my winter clothes") he is wishing he was back home (apparently a warmer climate where "winter clothes" were not needed...) | |
| Simon and Garfunkel – America Lyrics | 12 years ago |
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Michigan "sucked less" back when the song was written? :-) More likely, "Michigan seems like a dream to me now" = "I barely remember being there now after four days of hitchhiking." |
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| Timex Social Club – Rumors Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Tina = Tina Turner Michael = Michael Jackson Susan = Susan Moonsie, of Prince's "Appollonia 6" Or so I've been told.... |
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