27 Meanings
Add Yours
Follow
Share
Q&A
Here At The Western World Lyrics
Down at the Lido they welcome you
With sausage and beer,
Klaus and Marushka have been there too,
But lately he spends his time here.
Hanging with the mayor and all his friends
And nobody cares,
Where the sailor shuts out the sunrise
Blacked out on the stairs
[Chorus]
Knock twice, rap with your cane
Feels nice, you're out of the rain
We got your skinny girl
Here at the Western World
Ruthie will give you the silver key
To open the red door:
Lay down your Jackson and you will see
The sweetness you've been crying for
In the night you hide from the madman
You're longing to be
But it all comes out on the inside
Eventually
[Chorus]
In the night you hide from the madman
You're longing to be
But it all comes out on the inside
Eventually
[Chorus]
With sausage and beer,
Klaus and Marushka have been there too,
But lately he spends his time here.
And nobody cares,
Where the sailor shuts out the sunrise
Blacked out on the stairs
Knock twice, rap with your cane
Feels nice, you're out of the rain
We got your skinny girl
Here at the Western World
To open the red door:
Lay down your Jackson and you will see
The sweetness you've been crying for
You're longing to be
But it all comes out on the inside
Eventually
You're longing to be
But it all comes out on the inside
Eventually
Add your song meanings, interpretations, facts, memories & more to the community.
The lyrics "lately he spends his time here" suggests that this song isn't about the "Lido" anyway. It takes place in a place of prostitution, this is fairly obvious. However, there are some themes that are a bit more vague, but I'll take the first stab here. First off, the mayor and all his friends are here, but no one cares. No one questions the morality of the mayor of being in such a place. The part where it gets deep is the line "In the night you hide from the madman you're longin' to be. But it all comes out on the inside eventually." I believe it is a reference to the fact that many men don't like to face their more perverse sexual desires, but they will make themselves clear to yourself regardless. And you will be powerless of it. Not really suprising that this song doesn't have a whole lot of comments.... great song though.
I think it's about a whorehouse in the western United States--but it could be a whorehouse in Germany called the "Western World".
I think it's about a whorehouse in the western United States--but it could be a whorehouse in Germany called the "Western World".
I grew up in Reno and it sounds suspiciously like what used to go on at the Mustang Ranch.
I grew up in Reno and it sounds suspiciously like what used to go on at the Mustang Ranch.
No one cares if the mayor is there because it's legal [or in the case of Germany, permitted, where the citizens are less hung up about sex than in the U.S.
No one cares if the mayor is there because it's legal [or in the case of Germany, permitted, where the citizens are less hung up about sex than in the U.S.
"Lay down your Jackson and you will see the sweetness you've been crying for"--money in exchange for sex with a beautiful woman. American money...
"Lay down your Jackson and you will see the sweetness you've been crying for"--money in exchange for sex with a beautiful woman. American money would work equally well in Germany I suppose.
And, there is a dance club called "The Lido" in Berlin...I don't know if it was there when SD wrote the song, though.
@LucklessPedestrian and the "we got your skinny girls" imho is reference to an under age house of prostitution. fagen and becker are referring to mostly older men here. We reach middle age and our lives become more one of drudgery, a nagging or in these days and ex wife, and most of all we fall our mortality slipping away. The Lolita complex or desire becomes quite strong. For most men its not about aesthetics, beauty, but through sex with a lively naive and willing to be dominated minor we think that will kick us out of...
@LucklessPedestrian and the "we got your skinny girls" imho is reference to an under age house of prostitution. fagen and becker are referring to mostly older men here. We reach middle age and our lives become more one of drudgery, a nagging or in these days and ex wife, and most of all we fall our mortality slipping away. The Lolita complex or desire becomes quite strong. For most men its not about aesthetics, beauty, but through sex with a lively naive and willing to be dominated minor we think that will kick us out of the funk. best to fantasize, jerk off to those naked beauties from russia and the ukraine who are over 18 but are chosen because they are slender. if not well you know what they say 14 will get you 20(years in the slammer)
@LucklessPedestrian That's how I interpret it too, pretty much.
@LucklessPedestrian That's how I interpret it too, pretty much.
@LucklessPedestrian "But it all comes out on the inside" is a direct reference to having an orgasm inside a prostitute (without a condom, I would suppose)......UGH! ICK!
@LucklessPedestrian "But it all comes out on the inside" is a direct reference to having an orgasm inside a prostitute (without a condom, I would suppose)......UGH! ICK!
This song is about elites and addiction. Far removed from the squalor crack houses and roach infested shooting galleries, these dens of iniquities are of a more high class nature. You’ll run into important people such as “the Mayor and all his friends.” “Ruthie will give you the silver key (syringe) to open the red door” (the spot of blood post injection.) For $20 (Jackson) you’ll stave off the maddening withdrawal symptoms (the sweetness you’ve been crying for.) While you’re barely keeping it together, you’ll eventually lose control as “it all comes out of the inside, eventually.” Until then, knock twice, rap with your cane (fancy dress accessory.) They have “your skinny girl” (Jazz slang for syringe) “Here at the western world (first world opulence.)
@Thedevilyouno I saw a similar interpretation of this song on Reddit, not sure if that was you, but same exact references to drugs, etc. I think this is an over-interpretation of the meaning of these lyrics. I think it's pretty obvious this is about a brothel where people (including the mayor and all his friends) can go to forget about everything/get out of the rain and consort with hot skinny girls. Sometimes the most obvious explanation is the correct one. Not saying I have any special knowledge about this, but the drug references seem a bridge too far, at...
@Thedevilyouno I saw a similar interpretation of this song on Reddit, not sure if that was you, but same exact references to drugs, etc. I think this is an over-interpretation of the meaning of these lyrics. I think it's pretty obvious this is about a brothel where people (including the mayor and all his friends) can go to forget about everything/get out of the rain and consort with hot skinny girls. Sometimes the most obvious explanation is the correct one. Not saying I have any special knowledge about this, but the drug references seem a bridge too far, at least to me.
The Lido Shipyard Sausage Company is a restaurant in Newport Beach, CA.
I think Western World may be referring to the play "The Playboy of the Western World." It could be a loose metaphor for the Playboy mansion in LA, since for a while in the 70's there were two Playboy mansions, the original in Chicago and the one in L.A. called "Playboy Mansion West."
It's hard to imagine Donald Fagen and Walter Becker not going to the Playboy mansion, being huge rock stars in the 1970s.
Ok, this a wonderfully decadent song. It smells of smegma and damp bedsheets. Basically: "The Lido (wherever the heck that is, I'll let you jet-setters argue it out among yourselves–I don't give a rip) may have sausage and beer, and, yeah, it's a pretty cool hang out (some of our regulars have been there), but we got somethin' special here that they don't have, so they've been spending their free time here lately. Even the mayor and all his cronies are here because here nobody will give them up. We're all brothers in crime here, baby. This is where all the sailors go, they wear themselves out on shore leave here because they know this is where they get their money's worth! Welcome to scumbag paradise! And all it takes is two raps with your cane (a coital/phallic metaphor, obviously) to gain egress! It feels nice! 'Deed it do! That's what we're all about, Tex! We got what every swingin' dick wants: yo' skinny girl! She's the decadent obsession of the western world. Take Ruthie here: she'll take you up to the room with the red door and unlock the door to all your slimy dreams! All the sweetness you can imagine for just $20! One andy jackson is all it takes, here at the Western World! Every night you try to deny who you really are; what a waste! You know you want to be the animal, the madman, the beast! You gotta let the beast loose sooner or later, so why not sooner? It all cums out, either inside one of our sweet ruthies or inside your hand! So why not make it worthwhile instead of wanking in the dark all alone?" That's my take. Love this song; makes me want to take a shower! SD
@steelydeacon I agree with your take completely. But I would go a step further. The 'sweetness' he is so longing for, that is found in his 'skinny girl' seems to imply a specific fetish that must remain coded in this delicious ambiguity. Also, I believe the proper lyric is "you're longing to weep". But it all comes out...etc. Perhaps another dimension to our protagonist.
@steelydeacon I agree with your take completely. But I would go a step further. The 'sweetness' he is so longing for, that is found in his 'skinny girl' seems to imply a specific fetish that must remain coded in this delicious ambiguity. Also, I believe the proper lyric is "you're longing to weep". But it all comes out...etc. Perhaps another dimension to our protagonist.
Apparently, a description of a place where expats indulge in decadence: food, drink, and sex. It's hard to pin down where: the original Lido is in Venice, but there's a vague sense of a Third World setting.
@rikdad And I'm picking up an East Berlin/Communist World vibe where the Western Expats go for sex
@rikdad And I'm picking up an East Berlin/Communist World vibe where the Western Expats go for sex
I heard this song for the first time 3 years back. I was afraid to invest in the CD, because I didn't know if it was good or not. The song is an ode to a popular brothel....come on the mayor is even there. Reminds me of that episode of the Simpsons where they are trying to tear down the local brothel & Mayor Quimby is shown walking out with a grin on his face
@kamakiriad You should have invested. That CD has since grown exponentially in value.
@kamakiriad You should have invested. That CD has since grown exponentially in value.
Definitely seems like its talking about an expat bar/brothel in a third world country - but the title "Here in the Western World" makes me think its also a Communist one (this song came out during the Cold War) and all of the Western Expats and Party Officials come here for a night of decadence.
@taverner It\'s a big world and hard to know about all of it, but it doesn\'t seem like a brothel for Western expats would exist in the Communist Bloc. For local party cadres, yes.
@taverner It\'s a big world and hard to know about all of it, but it doesn\'t seem like a brothel for Western expats would exist in the Communist Bloc. For local party cadres, yes.
I thought "The Lido" it referred to the restaurant in ciudad Guadalajara, Mexico but forget why I was convinced of that.
This song generalizes America. Its an advertisement to move here. We ve got everything you want all for a 20 especially young skinny girls. If you have money and influence hence the mayor reference, nobody will ever say a thing. Thats all it takes is money and everybody turns a blind eye here at the Western World (USA)
Ratfink is right. This is about Nazis hiding in post-WWII Argentina. Come on folks, listen to the lyrics - they're some of the Dan's few clear ones.
I would vote Villa Baviera in particular! Did you know "Home at Last" is about Homer and the freakin' Odyssey?
I would vote Villa Baviera in particular! Did you know "Home at Last" is about Homer and the freakin' Odyssey?
Good ol' Steely Dan!
Good ol' Steely Dan!