submissions
| Steely Dan – Deacon Blues Lyrics
| 20 years ago
|
It's about a guy who's been climbing up the corporate ladder ("the expanding man"), only to realize that he doesn't respect this way of life. So he becomes a bluesman, and declares himself a "free" person, and tries to cope with his loneliness and misery by martyring himself (possibly explaining the word "deacon," a church reference). For the longest time I thought "They call Alabama the Crimson Tide" was the worst lyric I'd ever heard, until I discovered what it really meant. Of course it's over the top, that's the whole point: Modern society, with its ridiculous values, defines a winner as a football team. The protagonist in this song mocks these ideals, yet he is unhappy because he feels he has no place in the world.
This song means more to me every time I hear it. The sax solo ain't bad, either. |
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