Gaslighting Abbie

Steely Dan

One plush summer you come to me ripe and ready
And bad through and through
With that deep mystical soul synergy pumping steady
Between me and you

Lovin' all the beautiful work we've done cara mia
And it's barely July
If we keep on boppin' until Labor Day
Li'l miz Abbie bye bye

What will it be some soothing herb tea?
That might be just the thing
Let's say we spike it with Deludin
Or else, maybe tonight a hand of solitaire

[Chorus]
Flame is the game
The game we call gas lighting Abbie
It's a luscious invention for three
One summer by the sea

With the long weekend that's comin' up fast
Let's get busy
There's just too much to do
That black mini looks just like the one she's been missin'
Feels good on you

There's a few items we need in town, allez-vous girl
There's no time to waste
Such as fresh cable and fifteen watt bulbs
Couple dozen, it's a big old place

Let's keep it light, we'll do a fright night
With blood and everything
Some punky laughter from the kitchen
And then, a nice relaxing hand of solitaire

[Chorus]

You can choose the music
I'll set up my gear
Later on we'll chill and watch the fireworks from here

How can you knock this mighty spite lock
Check out the work itself
A mix of elegance and function
That's right, a tweak or two and then she's out of here

[Chorus]


Lyrics submitted by AbFab, edited by hashmouth

Gaslighting Abbie Lyrics as written by Walter Carl Becker Donald Jay Fagen

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Gaslighting Abbie song meanings
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14 Comments

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  • +1
    General Comment
    The married narrator is, with his lover's help, trying to drive his wife insane.
    alasdairforreston February 25, 2006   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    They aren't roommates. The narrator is singing to his mistress, with whom he has been "bopping" all summer. The two of them are having so much fun together that he figures it might be a good idea to get his wife out of the way. As previous posters mentioned, the "Gaslight" reference is to a classic film in which a husband tries to convince his wife that she is going crazy, and the narrator is suggesting that they do the same thing to his wife. (And to add insult to injury, he is pawing his mistress while she wears clothing that she stole from his wife!) He proposes that they set their plan in motion for the upcoming 4th of July weekend, something having to do with setting up lights throughout the house that they can dim, flicker, or otherwise manipulate in some way to mess with her head (as in the movie "Gaslight"). He clearly feels that this will be a wonderfully entertaining event, telling the mistress to pick out some appropriate music, and when the deed is done, they can just hang out and watch the 4th of July fireworks.
    GaslitAbbieon October 07, 2007   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    Maybe this seems a bit far-fetched, but the fact that the narrator refers to hands of solitaire so often made me wonder. Why would a one-person game be a way for two antagonists to spend an evening? My theory is the people gaslighting Abbie are actually just one person. One person with a split personality, sort of like Norman Bates in Psycho. His female side slowly takes over Abbie's identity (and clothes) as the two sides of him/her conspire to destroy her. It lends a nicely subtle kind of madness to the song, and I don't think anything in the lyrics contradicts it. Just another perspective.
    Minzon May 22, 2009   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    Becker and Fagen confirmed the Charles Boyet "Gaslight" film connection when they were guests on Marian McPartland's "Piano Jazz" radio program. They didn't elaborate (what a shock), but with the "driving your wife mad" as a pretext I'd say the thoughts about a man, his mistress and an inconvenient wife are probably accurate.
    heartnmindon January 22, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment
    Noticed that they pronounced dilaudid as "deluded".
    dustbunny44on November 11, 2013   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Clearly a reference to trying to drive someone crazy a la Hitchcock's "Gaslight."
    GreyBlueEyeson August 25, 2006   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    This is basically about 2 roommates conspiring to convince a 3rd that she's insane. From the term "Gaslighting", a form of psychological abuse meant to make someone distrust their own memory, and also from "Gaslight", a 1944 film based on a London, England film with the name "Murder on Thornton Street". A great song, one that is truely underrated in my opinion.
    lancelot323on May 17, 2007   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    I agree, they are planning to kill this man's wife either by setting her on fire or spiking her tea with poison. It is so bizarre how people think this is an innocent dance song.
    kamakiriadon February 15, 2008   Link
  • 0
    General Comment
    Just to clarify a bit... The two films, "Gaslight", were both based on a a British play of the same name. Vincent Price starred in the Broadway version, but the play was known as "Angel Street" in the USA. The first film based on this play was the British version (Gaslight - 1940), but was also released in the US as "Angel Street." The American version, "Gaslight", was released in 1944. Now, as for the song... While some of the interpretations here are amusing, Fagen and Becker have themselves, in interviews, referenced the movie as being the origin. The bit about solataire, however, is a reference to the film "The Manchurian Candidate." If you haven't seen it, I'm not going to lay it all out here, but watch it and you'll get the reference. (The original... watch the original... 1962 starring Frank Sinatra, Laurence Harvey, Janet Leigh and Angela Lansbury.)
    buddhalouon November 26, 2011   Link
  • -1
    General Comment
    I read a review of this album where the reviewer thought this song was actually about setting someone on fire. Once again music reviewers show their ingnorance.
    Rfeynmanon April 15, 2006   Link

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