The song lyrics were written by the band Van Halen, as they were asked to write a song for the 1979 movie "Over the Edge" starring Matt Dillon. The movie (and the lyrics, although more obliquely) are about bored, rebellious youth with nothing better to do than get into trouble. If you see the movie, these lyrics will make more sense. It's a great movie if you grew up in the 70s/80s you'll definitely remember some of these characters from your own life. Fun fact, after writing the song, Van Halen decided not to let the movie use it.
Times are hard
You're afraid to pay the fee
So you find yourself somebody
Who can do the job for free
When you need a bit of lovin'
'Cause your man is out of town
That's the time you get me runnin'
And you know I'll be around
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work
No more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
Light the candle
Put the lock upon the door
You have sent the maid home early
Like a thousand times before
Like the castle in its corner
In a medieval game
I foresee terrible trouble
And I stay here just the same
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work
No more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work
No more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work
No more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
You're afraid to pay the fee
So you find yourself somebody
Who can do the job for free
When you need a bit of lovin'
'Cause your man is out of town
That's the time you get me runnin'
And you know I'll be around
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work
No more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
Light the candle
Put the lock upon the door
You have sent the maid home early
Like a thousand times before
Like the castle in its corner
In a medieval game
I foresee terrible trouble
And I stay here just the same
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work
No more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work
No more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
I don't wanna do your dirty work
No more
I'm a fool to do your dirty work
Oh yeah
Add your thoughts
Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.
Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!
More Featured Meanings
Light Up The Sky
Van Halen
Van Halen
Fast Car
Tracy Chapman
Tracy Chapman
"Fast car" is kind of a continuation of Bruce Springsteen's "Born to Run." It has all the clawing your way to a better life, but in this case the protagonist never makes it with her love; in fact she is dragged back down by him.
There is still an amazing amount of hope and will in the lyrics; and the lyrics themselve rank and easy five. If only music was stronger it would be one of those great radio songs that you hear once a week 20 years after it was released. The imagery is almost tear-jerking ("City lights lay out before us", "Speeds so fast felt like I was drunk"), and the idea of starting from nothing and just driving and working and denigrating yourself for a chance at being just above poverty, then losing in the end is just painful and inspiring at the same time.
Bron-Y-Aur Stomp
Led Zeppelin
Led Zeppelin
This is about bronies. They communicate by stomping.
Son Şansın - Şarkı Sözleri
Hayalperest
Hayalperest
This song seemingly tackles the methods of deception those who manipulate others use to get victims to follow their demands, as well as diverting attention away from important issues. They'll also use it as a means to convince people to hate or kill others by pretending acts of terrorism were committed by the enemy when the acts themselves were done by the masters of control to promote discrimination and hate. It also reinforces the idea that these manipulative forces operate in various locations, infiltrating everyday life without detection, and propagate any and everywhere.
In general, it highlights the danger of hidden agendas, manipulation, and distraction, serving as a critique of those who exploit chaos and confusion to control and gain power, depicting a cautionary tale against falling into their traps. It encourages us to question the narratives presented to us and remain vigilant against manipulation in various parts of society.
I Can't Go To Sleep
Wu-Tang Clan
Wu-Tang Clan
This song is written as the perspective of the boys in the street, as a whole, and what path they are going to choose as they get older and grow into men. (This is why the music video takes place in an orphanage.) The seen, and unseen collective suffering is imbedded in the boys’ mind, consciously or subconsciously, and is haunting them. Which path will the boys choose? Issac Hayes is the voice of reason, maybe God, the angel on his shoulder, or the voice of his forefathers from beyond the grave who can see the big picture and are pleading with the boys not to continue the violence and pattern of killing their brothers, but to rise above. The most beautiful song and has so many levels. Racism towards African Americans in America would not exist if everyone sat down and listened to this song and understood the history behind the words. The power, fear, pleading in RZA and Ghostface voices are genuine and powerful. Issac Hayes’ strong voice makes the perfect strong father figure, who is possibly from beyond the grave.
I agree it's a song about a guy who knows he is being used but feels powerless to change his situation due to limitations placed on himself.
Times are hard You're afraid to pay the fee So you find yourself somebody Who can do the job for free
Times are hard, he is lonely, for whatever reason there's no other lover in his life he's making a serious connection with. So he has to resort to playing second fiddle lover to this woman who is married. He's afraid to pay the fee, he's afraid to have serious relationship with someone and make himself vulnerable. So he finds someone who will 'do the job', have sex with him. But even referring to sex as a job is telling.
When you need a bit of lovin' Cause your man is out of town That's the time you get me runnin' And you know I'll be around
She is the one who decides when they see each other. So there is a lopsided power dynamic in the relationship, with her in control. When she says come, he comes running. However when he has needs, she most likely doesn't make time for him.
I'm a fool to do your dirty work Oh yeah
This is his self awareness. When he says "your dirty work" he's referring to the woman he's having an sexual affair with. This seems to be a purely sexual relationship with not much emotional connection or caring. Her dirty work is cheating on her husband with someone. He is enabling her bad behavior and also not getting anything deeply satisfying out of the experience himself. He could be replaced, any other stud could do her dirty work instead. It's possible that he has feelings for her, which allows for the lopsided power dynamic.
I don't want to do your dirty work No more
He'd like to stop but, "times are hard" and he doesn't have the self confidence to believe he can find anyone better.
Light the candle Put the lock upon the door You have sent the maid home early Like a thousand times before
This seems to be saying that their "romance" has grown stale and become routine. Lighting a candle before an intimate experience is a romantic gesture, setting the mood and ambiance. Like a thousand times before... he has now realized the romantic gestures are shallow, meaningless and he's not feeling fullfilled like he really desires.
Like the castle in its corner In a medieval game I foresee terrible trouble And I stay here just the same
He percieves that she's manipulating him and the husband. Maybe since he acknowledges some responsibility for his behavior, or because he is aware of her scheming and the husband is not, he doesn't quite see himself as a pawn in her game but as a rook. I think in chess castling is done when the king is in danger, the rook and the king switch places. The husband would be the king, she obviously would be the queen.
Like the castle in its corner <br /> In a medieval game <br /> I foresee terrible trouble <br /> And I stay here just the same <br /> <br /> I like this part too, not sure exactly why.<br /> <br /> I rediscovered this song after seeing American Hustle. I wonder how many times I've looked up to see who does it, only to say "Oh yeah, Steely Dan, I knew I knew that!" lol<br /> <br /> I believe in chess the rook (or castle) is considered one of the more powerful pieces, so it's like he's saying "even though I have the power to change things, I just don't".
Quite obviously this is a gorgeous bit about a "back-door man" who is aware every moment of how he is being used, and yet submits to this strange woman's every will.
I agree. The guy fully realizes he's playing second fiddle to her husband/boyfriend but for one reason or another cannot turn her sexual requests down even knowing sooner or later that he will probably get caught or tossed aside when she is is bored with him. David Palmer does a wonderful job; haven't heard any of the other vocalists quite catch the bittersweet soulfulness of the song.
I absolutely love the chess reference in here. A really great metaphor for the hopelessness of the situation- but seriously, rook, castle and save the king!
I love that too. You're right it is a great metaphor.
This is the first song I remember hearing in my life. The horns at the beginning are so subtle, it's beautiful.
Dirty work = sex, specifically sex that results in her orgasm.
The song's about a guy who is the man she cheats on her husband with (when he's out of town, she lights a candle for romance, sends the maid home early), and the moral dilemma - sex or cuckold the hubby. He's unable to overcome his desire for her, despite the terrible risk, every time - thousands of times before.
Does anyone else think that this song could not be about a woman? In my opinion, it continues to play on the drug/alcohol abuse trend that is so present in Steely Dan's music. Think about it, he is addicted, knows its bad, doesn't know why he keeps doing it, and can't stop even though he knows the consequences. Hey, it's a stretch, but I sure would continue an ever present theme. Thoughts?
It could be about that, and it would wouldn't be too much of a stretch, at least not conceptually. I think this is true because basically it all boils down to will vs. habit in these scenerios. The question is do we have the power of will needed to overcome our previous choices (our karma...). We might even resent our situation, know we are responsible, and yet feel without power to change it even while we KNOW that we "can" if we only CHOOSE to do the hard work instead of the "dirty" work...<br /> <br /> Sex, like any good drug (good as in powerful, not as in beneficial), has the power to make one lose one's will within a certain context that is highly ecstatic. The challenge of man is to lose his will into an ecstasy that is evolutionarily foward, beneficial in the long AND short term, and in harmony with his ultimate in true nature WITHOUT turning into an ascetic wretch (in my view).<br /> <br /> I think the character is not fully forthcoming, btw. He sings only about her and him, leaving the "other man" out of it. The other man is being cuckolded, as someone pointed out. I think there must be a distinct pleasure going back to our ancient and archaic neural programming/evolution which involves taking another man's woman, and I think it is also in women, to be taken by the stronger man (at least symbolically in this case, because the hubby might woop some ass if he came home and caught this guy).<br /> <br /> So called "forbidden fruit" is nothing other than the prize which can only be had by danger and will, sometimes in contests with the wills of others. Since all things precious are made more so by being difficult to get, the difficulties associated with having someone else's stuff (whether gained fairly or not) strike a primal chord in all of us, I'm sure not least of all the Pope, who wants to own your body AND soul.<br /> <br /> Well, I say some of this from experience. I've known women who were separated from their hubbies, and their hubbies were assholes who were cheating on them anyway, and so this luscious woman is basically all over me, so what do you think I'm going to end up doing with her since I know all these factors? Yet even knowing these things, it was like cuckolding that guy, surely it was to her, and I even told her that I now possessed her and not him (and that turned us both way the hell on). Besides being a turn on, it was the truth. This is different than when I have to sneak in some dudes house to do the "dirty deed" with is wife while he is a faithful and loving husband who still takes care of her and isn't in the middle of trying to divorce her and leave her with nothing while cheating on her. Well, it is logically different, but somehow it was the same in a deep psychological way, to take her for myself... Damn that was good.
i respect the other reply. knowing your a fool to do a deed that could ruin ur life, but the implements of society (a mideval game) leave you knowing that the only way to come up is to do the dirt. I look at it as a person who knows damn well what is wrong and right, and they're stuck doing wrong because its the role in society that they've assumed. Its also like hes gona go sleep with her and he knows her dude is gona come home, but he stays cuz he knows
@Bazooka27
Like so many of Steely Dan's lyrics, I think you're spot-on: These lyrics could obviously apply to the protagonist's addiction to an illicit affair with a married woman, but (without too much of a stretch) one could interpret it as addiction to alcohol, or drugs, or work, or achievement—anything that you know is self-destructive or unhealthy for you, but gives you an incredibly addictive high.
I think it's indicative of Steely Dan's brilliance that, 45 years after the release of Can't Buy A Thrill, people are still not only listening to their music—but finding personal meaning in their lyrics.
Here's my take:
Times are hard You're afraid to pay the fee So you find yourself somebody Who can do the job for free When you need a bit of lovin' 'Cause your man is out of town That's the time you get me runnin' And you know I'll be around (A woman, I'm assuming a trophy wife, has a guy who she uses like a boy toy. When her husband is out of town she calls him to come over.)
I'm a fool to do your dirty work Oh yeah I don't wanna do your dirty work No more I'm a fool to do your dirty work Oh yeah (He wants to stop doing it but he can't bring himself to stop)
Light the candle Put the lock upon the door You have sent the maid home early Like a thousand times before (Self explanatory)
Like the castle in its corner In a medieval game I foresee terrible trouble And I stay here just the same (Like a castle in its corner in a medieval game refers to chess. Rooks are referred to as castles also. They occupy the corners of the chess board. A chess player can get into a situation where he knows in a couple of moves his opponent will take his castle i.e. rook and he can't do anything about it. He probably thinks that one day her husband is going to find out and the excrement is going to hit the oscillating air moving device.)
I'm a fool to do your dirty work Oh yeah I don't wanna do your dirty work No more I'm a fool to do your dirty work Oh yeah
I'm a fool to do your dirty work Oh yeah I don't wanna do your dirty work No more I'm a fool to do your dirty work Oh yeah I don't wanna do your dirty work No more I'm a fool to do your dirty work Oh yeah
About a back-door man who feels guilty yet trapped in his sex relationship with a taken woman.
@dcat Nailed it. I couldn't have said it better.
my favorite steely dan song, though i didnt realize it was them until a few days ago...
And what about that soulful, simmering organ...
I think the back-door man is in love with her and can't break away, yet knows he's being used.
Ah, love...