Third World Man

OK - let me clear up a few things. This song, written in 79/80 during the "Guerro Sucio" or Dirty War in Argentina. This was the age of Gen Galteri, one of the most lethal dictators in their history. Bored with killing his own population, he was famous for starting a war with the UK over The Falkland Islands. But I digress. Argentina has a very sizeable Italian community, and Buenos Aries street slang incorporates a lot of Italian words, if not whole sentences. Basically this is a song from the perspective of someone who's seeing all this for the first time. The children soldiers ("Johnny's playroom Is a bunker filled with sand" which Argentina was using at this time, the bombs going off, no one sure whether they were planted by the government as a false flag, or by the communists.

It's about a veteran with post-traumatic stress disorder. Such a tragic song, really it is...

Steely Dan's "Third World Man" The first time I heard this song, I thought I knew the meaning, and after all these years, I still like my interpretation. Becker and Fagan write them, then we get to give our opinions of what the heck they are writing about. Johnny is not a man. He is a boy. War has forced him to be a Third World MAN. He has been conscripted into the military. He no longer gets to have a child's playroom. His playroom is now a bunker. He's forced to "mobilize" at dawn or whenever he is told to do so. He is crouching like the soldier he is to avoid being shot. Soon, he will throw down his disguise, the disguise of a soldier. Then we will see he is just a child. We will see behind those bright eyes (the eyes of a child). Then by and by (we hope), the sidewalks will be safe for the "little guy." (the children). Fireworks are the rockets, bombs, etc. used in a war. When he is crying out (like a child), I have to just (sadly) sing "He's a third world man." There are countless war-torn countries that have conscripted children into the military. Ghana may be one. A rondo is a musical form that has been explained very well by others on this website. It is a sad, haunting song that is one of my favorites from The Dan. RIP Walter Becker

The older I get, the sadder this song makes me. I have always thought "Third World Man" was about the kind of lone gunman nutcase who confuses his delusions for the world around him and eventually opens fire upon it, and with every passing day in America in the 21st century, I find myself thinking about this song and its lyrics more and more often.

They're an eerie, frustratingly accurate prediction of the kind of disturbed gun-wielding misfit Martin Scorsese predicted in Taxi Driver, and more and more of whom seem to be coming off of a conveyor belt in this difficult age.

There are some very good interpretations here. I'll try one.

(Johnny's playroom Is a bunker filled with sand He's become a third world man)

The bunker is his safe place. A bunker is used to protect people from falling bombs or other attacks.

Sand can be defined as - Informal. courage; pluck.

So maybe it's a bunker filled with courage.

Third World includes parts of Asia., Like Vietnam. So he's probably a Vietnam war veteran. This was 1980 and the war ended 1975, I believe the Vietnam war was the first time Post Traumatic Stress Disorder was recognized as an illness.

(Smokey Sunday He's been mobilized since dawn Now he's crouching on the lawn He's a third world man)

Smokey Sunday sounds like what the day became known as. It had to be a pretty big deal to get it's own name.

This guy is getting ready and lining up his rife, or getting ready to throw hand grenades..

(Soon you'll throw down your disguise We'll see behind those bright eyes By and by When the sidewalks are safe For the little guy)

He may have gone on the attack and eventually breaks down when he comes to his senses.

(I saw the fireworks I believed that I was dreaming 'Til the neighbours came out screaming He's a third world man)

Johnny is running through the neighborhood shooting people.or throwing grenades.

[chorus]

(When he's crying out I just sing that Ghana Rondo E'lera del terzo mondo He's a third world man)

Here's the dictionary definition of Rondo:

noun, plural rondos. Music. 1. a work or movement, often the last movement of a sonata, having one principal subject that is stated at least three times in the same key and to which return is made after the introduction of each subordinate theme.

So I'm gonna sing that Ghana last movement, so maybe he was in a war in Ghana. war.

The Italian has already been roughly translated here.as "He reads of the Third World)

Also, Ghanaian music was popular in the seventies. Their artists made some stuff that sold in the U.S. and the U.K.

So let me put it all together:

Johnny's in his safe place, filled with courage . He's become a guerrilla fighting a righteous war.

He's been up since dawn getting ready for the impending assault.

He carries out his plan to kill the neighborhood people, because, he believes, they're threatening the less fortunate.

When he comes to his senses he breaks down

When the narrator sees him breakdown he sees Johnny's final movements.. (I have no idea about Ghana)

He commits suicide in an explosive way. Hand Grenade(?) Shooting himself(?) The surviving neighbors came out of their houses Screaming he's gone nuts he thinks he's a soldier or something close.

Well, that's my guess, meh. Could be, or could not be.

No, "E' l'era del Terzo Mondo" is Italian and means "It's the Age of The Third World", but I don't know if it's a quote from a writer or a journalist and I've always wondered what the inspiration for that line was.

This song is about a little kid playing...pretending he's a soldier. He'll throw down his disguise when he finishes, 'when the sidewalks are safe for the little guys'. He may have started a real fire.

I think everyone who thinks this is a song about a vet with post-traumatic stress disorder is right on the button. In fact, I compile a short video which you can find here <iframe width="420" height="315" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/KXgjHXsa8Vc" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> along those lines. The line is Italian and was added because I think it sounded good. As for the shift in perspective, well, not every song, or even many of them have to hang together perfectly. After all it's just a song.

The song is about Italian communist Giangiacomo Feltrinelli

I am a man from the third world and I have no clue what he is going on about, but I love the song!