| XTC – Dear God Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Excellent song. The lyrics are very explicit requiring little analysis. No hidden meanings that I can see. The song starts out with a boy singing. Then the boy becomes a man singing. Pretty obvious that this represents a transistion in beliefs from childhood to adult. |
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| Steely Dan – Dr Wu Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Yes, I think you've got it right. Excellent observations. It is a beautiful song. I was on a Steely Dan marathon for about two weeks, remembering their songs, and trying to figure the lyrics out. I've come to the conclusion that their lyrics don't always make sense. In the book "Reelin in the Years", there is mention of a man who did sound checks for the group before their live concerts. This guy was somewhat peculiar, and he always played a "stupid song" when he was testing the sound system. This is one of the theories out there about the "All night long we would sing that stupid song". After two weeks of non-stop "Reelin in (My) Years" and listening again to their music, finally watching the DVD of Steely Dan in concert in 2000, I've burned out on the group. Got to give it a rest. As I was watching "Bablyon Sisters" on the DVD, I made the decision that I'm not into the group's post-"Royal Scam" music. |
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| Steely Dan – Dr Wu Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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The above is wrong on all counts! Check out http://www.granatino.com/sdresource/9lyics.htm. B&F describe how they write lyrics. They described themselves as impressionists, not realists. Dr. Wu is about a love-dope triangle. "Dr. Wu" is a dope habit personified (whatever that means). I better quietly scoot out of hear, before I ruin this webpage even any further. |
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| Steely Dan – Dr Wu Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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(...Back again. I'm on a roll, and there's no stopping me.) I think that Dr. Wu was a doctor, who was "an ordinary guy" who didn't take drugs. But he got involved with Katy, a friend/groupie of Fagen's, who was a drug dealer. Now this doctor has become a junky, a "shadow of the man that I once knew". Fagen questions Katy, "Did you get this ordinary guy high?". "No way!", she lies (but you can see it in her eyes). Now things are really screwed things up. Jeez, the doctor was helping Donald get sober, but Donald screwed things up by introducing Dr. Wu to Katy (of all people) at that pool party. I mean, look at the Doc, he's stoned! Look what she's done to him! No "love triangle". Just drugged-out music people and their groupies getting mixed-up with us ordinary types, screwing-up a person's life in the process. Just a theory. I think this story is personnal experience of Donald Fagen's that only he can understand. |
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| Steely Dan – Dr Wu Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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All very interesting perspectives on this song. Can't say that I've formed a definite and complete analysis of the meaning. I think that composers are like painters, and B&F are "realists" not "impressionists". Their songs have definite meanings. In the case of "Kid Charlemagne", the lyrics describe the a story about the rise and fall of LSD chemist Owsley Stanley. Some composers use words like salt and pepper, simply to sound cool, or to create an effect. I don't think B&F work that way. I believe that "Katy" and "Dr. Wu" must have a definite meaning in B&F's lives. I hope that "Katy" isn't a drug, because that would be too allegorical like Clapton's stupid song, "Cocaine". Some simple observations: Katy issues: At first "Katy tried." Then "Katy lied" (Who the heck is this woman/drug? Why is she tryin then lyin? Is she a drug dealer?) Dr. Wu issues: This is somebody they once knew who has been transformed. Perhaps B-or-F knew this guy as a kid, and as an adult he has become a doctor or an acupuncturist. If he's an acupuncturist, seems kind of "crazy" to some. What happened to this guy we knew as a kid? Is this guy high? Or is he really a normal/sane person - is he an ordinary guy. B&F conclude that he's an ordinary guy. The big question: How did Katy finally "get" to Dr. Wu? Is Katy dealing drugs? Did she actually get the doctor high? Did Katy bring this good/normal/ordinary guy down? Song issues: "All night long We would sing that stupid song And every word we sang I knew was true" (What is this song? Is it "Ricky Don't Lose That Number?") At Biscayne Bay, "I went searching for the song you used to sing to me". (Is this a different song? This guy, who is now a doctor, did he use to sing a song when they were kids?) I've got to work on this one. It's a puzzle. I've ordered a DVD of Steely Dan, and I'm reading a book "Reelin' In the Years" (which I really like). Perhaps I'll get something out of one of those. |
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| Steely Dan – Dr Wu Lyrics | 17 years ago |
| Very interesting analysis. | |
| Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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I've gotten myself into an intellectual cul-de-sac on this webpage. One more thought, before I turn the car out of here ("Is there gas in the car?"). When I finally realized (after 30 years) that this song is about a drug dealer, I was somewhat upset. I thought that the song was perhaps reflective of the Steely Dan groups life style. My wife says, "Obviously!". I don't know if they were into drugs. Whether or not they were into drugs, this song is really a synopsis of the 1960's. It is a story of this character, Owsley Stanley, and his rise and fall. It has a beginning ("While the music played, you worked by candlelight..."), a middle ("Every A frame had your number on the wall..."), and an end ("You are obselete..."). It is clearly a very well written, concise and obtuse story, and a puzzle. It is so well written, so well arranged and so on top of the bell curve, it is about as close to perfect as I can imagine. |
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| Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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Woops! I'm confusing the Larry Carlton's opening riff on "Don't Take Me Alive" with "Kid Charlemagne". That guitar solo was the one that was perfect. I think Carlton also played on "Kid". Must be getting old, reminiscing. I started listening to this stuff again when I got a Zune for my birthday. Becker and Fagan were like Lennon and McCartney. The only thing that bugged me about B&F is they were almost too hip. They seemed to be too private, on guard and too careful. If you ever hear "Becker and Fagan - The Early Tapes", it's very enlightening to hear the early version of "Any World" before they got slick. |
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| Steely Dan – Kid Charlemagne Lyrics | 17 years ago |
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It's been a long time since I first heard this song. When Kid Charlemagne came out, I was in my twenties, sitting on Lee Street Beach in Evanston, Illionis, listening to a little Sony radio which I had just bought at Chandlers Book Store. When I heard the first chord of Kid Charlemange (with one of the best guitar solos of all time), I was hooked. I knew that Steely Dan had reached a whole new level, and a whole new direction. These were the same guys who gave us "Ricky Don't Lose That Number" - which was very cool. But Kid Charlemagne was about 10 times as cool as "Ricky"! At the time in the 1970's, I didn't get the lyrics. I mean "Day-glow freaks"? Fast forward to today, for some reason I can now understand the lyrics. It's now obvious to me that the song is about a drug dealer. Realizing this has kind of bummed me out, because why write a great song about a drug dealer? Reading the Wikipedia explanation, it's about this guy Owsley Stanley. He didn't deserve a great song. I don't get the part "All those day-glow freaks who use to paint the face, they've joined the human race". Must be something that happened at the Haight-Ashbury scene. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were incredibly cerebral. Fagen has a website that has articles he has written. He's quite an intellectual. Perhaps at the time, Owsley Stanley was somebody he was reading about. I can't figure out how they put this song together. I'm guessing that the lyrics came first. The guitar solo was performed by Larry Carlton. It is perfect. Big question: Did Larry write the solo himself? Because, if he did, why is Larry Carlton playing "lite jazz" today? I don't get it. This leads me to believe that simply the working with Fagan and Becker forced him to be on a higher level. If read that they were perfectionists who were difficult to work with. |
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