Techno Ted may be a person who caused Chris incredible emotional pain & trepidation as well as moments of peace & happiness but now is removed and awaiting his fate. Darling may be a different person who is also free of him and can live her life free of Ted's tyranny. "In between all the laughing, and daydreams ... lies: a desert of truth" Lies are like a desert or the omission of Truth: Where there were Lies then Truth was absent. The song, "Techno Ted", may be a cathartic celebration of the downfall of this person.
This is the day of the expanding man
That shape is my shade
There where I used to stand
It seems like only yesterday
I gazed through the glass
At ramblers, wild gamblers
That's all in the past
You call me a fool
You say it's a crazy scheme
This one's for real
I already bought the dream
So useless to ask me why
Throw a kiss and say goodbye
I'll make it this time
I'm ready to cross that fine line
Learn to work the saxophone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues
My back to the wall
A victim of laughing chance
This is for me
The essence of true romance
Sharing the things we know and love
With those of my kind
Libations
Sensations
That stagger the mind
I crawl like a viper
Through these suburban streets
Make love to these women
Languid and bittersweet
I rise when the sun goes down
Cover every game in town
A world of my own
I'll make it my home sweet home
Learn to work the saxophone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues
This is the night of the expanding man
I take one last drag
As I approach the stand
I cried when I wrote this song
Sue me if I play too long
This brother is free
I'll be what I want to be
I learned to work the saxophone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues
That shape is my shade
There where I used to stand
It seems like only yesterday
I gazed through the glass
At ramblers, wild gamblers
That's all in the past
You call me a fool
You say it's a crazy scheme
This one's for real
I already bought the dream
So useless to ask me why
Throw a kiss and say goodbye
I'll make it this time
I'm ready to cross that fine line
Learn to work the saxophone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues
My back to the wall
A victim of laughing chance
This is for me
The essence of true romance
Sharing the things we know and love
With those of my kind
Libations
Sensations
That stagger the mind
I crawl like a viper
Through these suburban streets
Make love to these women
Languid and bittersweet
I rise when the sun goes down
Cover every game in town
A world of my own
I'll make it my home sweet home
Learn to work the saxophone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues
This is the night of the expanding man
I take one last drag
As I approach the stand
I cried when I wrote this song
Sue me if I play too long
This brother is free
I'll be what I want to be
I learned to work the saxophone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues
Lyrics submitted by jachschmere, edited by raybrown5
Deacon Blues Lyrics as written by Walter Carl Becker Donald Jay Fagen
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Techno Ted
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I'll put in my two cents. 1st verse tells how our character never considered himself a loser as he looked out on the 'ramblers and gamblers,' but he finds something romantic about the concept and decides he wants to be a blues man. He thinks there's nothing more to it than picking up the sax and putting feeling into it, drinking too much, and dying early as a loser with a name. He wants to have a good, exciting time, talk with the others like him, get with all the ladies, and play at night.
I think the song is much more sarcastic than many have given it credit for. The narrator isn't supposed to be someone freeing himself from society; he is naive. The idea of someone reinventing their life as a musician, not for the idea of playing music but for living hard and dying a loser, is more than a little ridiculous and should not be desirable.
Interesting notes on the football references. Very cool songwriting.
Steely Dan's songwriting often leaves me with a sense of a biting arrogance that comes from seeing the illusions others chase (Rat Race). Look at the way Kid Charlemagne ridicules the big-headed subject of that song for instance. Jack of Speed is equally acidic in its character analysis. SO, I think your statement about sarcasm has to be considered. But for me, this song has a more "heroic" FEEL to it. The way they sing it, it seems to be glorifying more than criticizing. At the same time it makes sure to keep "honest" and capture the darker aspects of a - let's call it hedonistic for lack of a better term - lifestyle. The interpretation that made a lot of sense to me was post that said basically "I'll take the risk of hurting myself (dying behind the wheel) and trade in your 9 to 5 for a shot at a dream. And "that shape is my shade" is to me an obvious reference to wanting to bust out of the shadows and experience life. I'm left feeling more inspired and steadfast at the end than depressed.
Good comment.