| Steely Dan – My Rival Lyrics | 16 years ago |
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... As with most things, the simplest explanation most-probably explains Walter & Donald's intention ... With this song, I agree with underbanyantrees ... 1. The wind was driving in my face / The smell of prickly pear / The mild truck eased into my space / Somebody screamed somewhere: The narrator was probably driving a convertible: smelling pricky pear because that is common in southern California: followed the (undercover-spy) milk truck to his home; and, from some arbitrary distance, he watched it pull into his usual parking space; 'someone screaming somewhere' is just a random fact: if you're out in the open air, many times you will hear a random sounds: children screaming perhaps. 2. I struck a match against the door / Of Anthony's Bar and Grill / I was the whining stranger / A fool in love / With time to kill: This may be the biggest giveaway of the lyrical intention; if "match" is read as synonymous with "rival" (as in 'you've met your match'), the narrator may be explaining in this stanza how he happened upon hie lovers cheat-partner: they were both at Anthony's and the rival is near the door: the narrator describes himself as "whining", possibly alluding to one reason his rival is seen as desirable: he has a deeper voice ? 3. The third stanza is pretty straightforward: the narrator ends it by mentioning 2 undesirable features of the man: the narrator probably sees himself as more physically attractive than his rival. ... The chorus is also pretty straightforward ... 4. I still recall when I first held / Your tiny hand in mine / I loved you more than I can tell / But now it's stomping time: pretty straightforward: the narrator remembers the first time he held his lover's hand, he regards the memory sweetly, but now it's time to stomp his rival into the ground, haha. ... I think this may be the most straightforward song in the album ... Any thoughts are appreciated !! |
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