Charlie Freak had but one thing to call his own
Three weight ounce pure golden ring no precious stone
Five nights without a bite
No place to lay his head

And if nobody takes him in
He'll soon be dead
On the street he spied my face I heard him hail
In our plot of frozen space he told his tale

Poor man, he showed his hand
So righteous was his need
And me so wise I bought his prize
For chicken feed

Newfound cash soon begs to smash a state of mind
Close inspection fast revealed his favorite kind
Poor kid, he overdid
Embraced the spreading haze

And while he sighed his body died
In fifteen ways

When I heard I grabbed a cab to where he lay
'Round his arm the plastic tag read D.O.A.
Yes Jack, I gave it back
The ring I could not own

Now come my friend I'll take your hand
And lead you home


Lyrics submitted by montresor, edited by xHenryChinaski

Charlie Freak Lyrics as written by Walter Carl Becker Donald Jay Fagen

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network

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Charlie Freak song meanings
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  • +1
    Song Meaning

    This is a wonderfully haunting song. We can deduce several things from the lyrics and arrangement. First, the speaker is an - the? - angel of death, telling a person who has just died (Jack, perhaps that name is just for the rhyme...) about how he came to be in his current situation. The speaker is telling about the time when he was a meth dealer (meth being one of the two meanings of "chicken feed") and he sold meth to Charlie Freak, a druggie, homeless, college graduate (because of the ring) whose life has been ruined by drugs. He is poor, wasting all his money on drugs. The speaker seems to recognize him, and refers to him by a nickname (I'm assuming that "Charlie Freak" is not his real name), so was can deduce he has been in his current situation for a while. He is desperate for drugs, so desperate that he will sell his most prized possession, his 3 ounce ring. The speaker knows how desperate Charlie Freak is and takes his ring for a small amount of drugs (the second meaning of chicken feed). Charlie Freak takes his drugs and ODs. The speaker is told of this and seeks him out. He sees Charlie Freak's body and is immediately struck with guilt of both having cheated Charlie Freak and having killed him with his product. He takes the ring and places it on Charlie Freak's corpse's finger, in hopeless atonement for his sins. The last two lines, "Now come my friend I'll take your hand/And lead you home" is addressed to the person the speaker is telling the story, the dead soul. The speaker has confessed, and now is going to take this soul home. Perhaps Jack is his own soul? I don't think so, but food for thought.

    The bells ringing at the moment of death give this song an hymnlike feel, and form the basis for the spiritual nature of my interpretation. It was at the moment of Charlie Freak's death that the speaker's soul was condemned.

    Thanks for reading, and above all, enjoy the song!

    theoneseanon March 21, 2013   Link

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