| Steely Dan – Hey Nineteen Lyrics | 3 years ago |
| @[panzer4963:41177]\r\n\r\nJust heard this song the other day, and took note of how Aretha Franklin\'s career came back after this song was released, such that even a lot of younger people today know who she was - the irony of that made me want to see if anyone else thought the same, which is why I\'m here.\r\n\r\nIn the process of satisfying that bit of curiosity, I have been amused by a lot of the commentary regarding word/phrase choice in the lyrics. And in yet another twist of irony, most of those words being debated here, are of the era; someone who lived through the time will know what they mean, but the younger commenters - the \'19s\' - won\'t get the reference, just like in the song itself.\r\n\r\nKeep in mind that Steely Dan delves into double entendre a LOT in their lyrics, so even when the song came out, people debated what some of the words/phrases meant, because they can be taken multiple ways. Purely intentional, they do it all the time in their lyrics.\r\n\r\nAll of that said, this song is very simple - I will borrow this description from some guy named Ronald Kinchion, who posted this on YouTube: "its a trip when you get a little older and go to a club, young ladies will politely let you know how old you really are, you have kids their age, but they still talk to you, and make you feel real old, steely dan captured all that awkwardness in this jam, great song, makes you want to go out and have a midlife crisis."\r\n\r\nThat\'s it really - not a \'creepy old man\' as so many want it to be. Just, as you said, the moment many guys might feel at some age, when it suddenly feels odd to be in a bar surrounded by distinctly younger people, of whom you are no longer a part.\r\n\r\nThat said, it isn\'t even clear to me if the older dude is hitting on the younger girl, or if she slid on down the bar to start the conversation with him ("slide on down" is another double entendre, of course, but the primary meaning is simply to move down the bar to sit next to someone... do people not say that anymore?). I\'m pushing 60 now, but well into my 40s, I had \'19s\' slide on the down the bar to test the water... and yeah, sometimes I would bite, but "Ain\'t nothin\' wrong with that" (which of course, ages me too - Robert Randolph is my \'Retha Franklin).\r\n\r\nA few other things, because I\'m old and remember...\r\n\r\nFine Colombian is 100% weed, NOT coke - specifically Colombian Gold. There was no ambiguity of meaning intended here, as EVERYONE of the era knew what \'fine Colombian\' was - no one here is debating what Cuervo means, and this is in the same category.\r\n\r\nGamma Chi is not a frat, it is a sorority reference (specifically, sorority recruiters), hence the next line of the song.\r\n\r\nSole survivor has double meaning, referencing the R&B band of his \'dandy\' era, when Franklin reigned as Queen of Soul.\r\n\r\nSkate a little lower is double entendre again: \'skate\' was popular slang of the time, which could mean many things, but broadly meant \'get.\' In this context, it is metaphorical - this is in a bar, not a skating rink - but basically means he is open to getting it on with the younger woman, and getting increasingly turned on by her. Call it creepy if you will, I will call it human physiology at work.\r\n\r\nIn the end, it\'s all just about "growing old."\r\n\r\nI read some tripe elsewhere from some joker trying to argue the song is all about wealthy white privilege - subconsciously no less. What a bunch of laughable crap!\r\n\r\nYes, Steely Dan intentionally uses ambiguous language, in many of their songs, but this one is not murky.\r\n\r\nit is simply about the awkwardness of realizing that we all grow old, and perhaps consensually enjoying a youthful moment or two while still on the edge of that divide: no longer in the light of youth, nor darkness of senescence, but in the penumbral shadows of fading twilight.\r\n\r\nPeople try to make more of it than is there, but there is enough. Maybe you have to have experienced this process of aging, to see this for what it is - it\'s not creepy, it\'s more just wistfully sad. | |
| The B-52's – Give Me Back My Man Lyrics | 6 years ago |
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@[ParksRec:32385] Just heard this on the local alt radio station, and got me thinking about it again, for the first time in a long time. Old favorite tune, but was always puzzled by ‘divinity’ – than you for clearing that up, it makes total sense now. It is funny to me though, to read through many of the interpretations, as from day one I thought I understood the song completely, and never realized there was such quandary over it. I had to particularly chuckle when I read the Wiki article, and saw “The song's subject matter purportedly deals with a woman whose sweetheart has been attacked by a shark.” Yeah… no. Unless that was snarky euphemism for the other woman who stole her boyfriend, which I suspect. I consider myself a big fan, but had never heard that one before – I guess not fanatic enough, although it doesn’t alter my opinion about the song at all – it may even strengthen it. I always thought the song was about a woman so distraught over the loss of her lover to another, that she was contemplating suicide. Yes, I know the bad, especially on that album, was perceived as dealing in absurdities – but I also thought that was just a thin veneer; there’s always something there, there, under the protective façade of surrealism. I don’t think this song even hides the underlying thought process very much – I found it powerful the first time I heard it, and I still do. I’ve always argued art elicits emotion, and good art elicits the emotion the artist intended. From my first listen on, I feel the raw pain of betrayal, and the helplessness which can accompany it. A woman loses her boyfriend – not to a shark, although that may be how the protagonist sees the other woman who stole him from her. She is distraught, and in a somewhat stereotypical gesture, cuts her hair off and blows what little money she has left before resolving to kill herself. She goes to the shore, where she plans to do it – to drown herself. The exact method is not clear, but does it really matter? She bought some stupid crap from the discount store on the way, perhaps as an excuse to take her there… I’m just going to feed the birds, some sardines, and maybe some candy (maybe all that was handy in the store). Do seagulls eat candy? Probably, but it doesn’t even need to make sense. This is where it actually is absurd, but maybe not as much as it may seem – people do irrational things in the throngs of depression, especially the final stages. None of it has to make any sense – she is driven to suicide, and doing weird things along the way which are nonsensical, because it just doesn’t matter anymore. See these acts as perhaps the last desperate cries for help, for the desire to live battling the darkness. I had also thought, from day one, that ‘fish’ was a reference to her being under water, drowned – she didn’t even need to buy any sardines from the store, perhaps just the candy. The fish in her hand, is a reference to her having done it, and being under the waves, among the fish. Did she go through with it, or is this just reflection of what may have been? I have often wondered if this was autobiographical for Cindy; obviously, she didn’t do it… but maybe she thought about it, a lot. The song breaks my heart. I don’t see it as nonsense, but perhaps I just see and hear what I want to, or what resonates with me. Then again, I go back to my definition of good art, and I think this is outstanding art. It elicits a specific thought and emotion, and I have always thought it was the one she wanted to convey. |
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