Bad Sneakers

Steely Dan

Five names that I can hardly stand to hear
Including yours and mine
And one more chimp who isn't here
I can see the ladies talking
How the times are getting hard
And that fearsome excavation
On Magnolia Boulevard

Yes I'm going insane
And I'm laughing at the frozen rain
Well I'm so alone
Honey when they gonna send me home

Bad sneakers and a Pina Colada my friend
Stompin' on the avenue
By Radio City with a
Transistor and a large sum of money to spend

You fellah, you tearin' up the street
You wear that white tuxedo
How you gonna beat the heat
Do you take me for a fool
Do you think that I don't see
That ditch out in the valley
That they're digging just for me

Yes I've gone insane
You know I'm laughing at the frozen rain
I feel like I'm so alone
Honey when they gonna send me home

Bad sneakers and a Pina Colada my friend
Stompin' on the avenue
By Radio City with a
Transistor and a large sum of money to spend

You know I'm going insane
Yes I'm laughing at the frozen rain
And I'm so alone
Honey when they gonna send me home

Bad sneakers and a Pina Colada my friend
Stompin' on the avenue
By Radio City with a
Transistor and a large sum of money to spend


Lyrics submitted by AbFab, edited by nomusician2

Bad Sneakers Lyrics as written by Walter Carl Becker Donald Jay Fagen

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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Bad Sneakers song meanings
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28 Comments

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  • +4
    General Comment

    Kind of thought it was about someone basically losing his mind, and probably already institutionalized; in particular, experiencing paranoid schizophrenia. The chorus is plain enough, I think...in the schizophrenic mind, objects become invested with extreme (delusional) importance - those sneakers, they're very bad! Also, the "fearsome excavation" - could be simple construction of some sort, but the schizophrenic mind invests it with menace and dread. Walking around with a transistor refers (perhaps) to the common delusion of having your thoughts monitored and/or broadcast into your head (see e.g. Clean, Shaven). And the paranoid perception that everyone's scheming about you, just out of eyesight/earshot - and that they're out to kill you - "do you take me for a fool...that ditch they're digging..."

    Not sure about the white suit. I like to think I'm pretty on top of drug slang, including terms specific to the 70s and earlier, but I don't hear cocaine here - unless it's what's driving the madness.

    Regarding the pina colada, I got nothing.

    TedPikulon July 14, 2012   Link

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