I was scrapin' bottom
Gropin' in the dark
It takes a crusty punk to really beat
The mean streets of Medicine Park
So I shifted left for out of town
Then I clicked my heels and I doubled down to

Blues Beach
I'm frying
Sizzlin' in the merciful rays
And it's the long sad Sunday
Of the early resigned

I went to Central Station
To catch that early bus
They were gassed and runnin' every which way
But unhappily not for us
Here comes Trina, the child bride
I said hey pretty girl, can I cop a ride to

Blues Beach
It's rainin'
I'm chillin' at the Manatee Bar
Well it's a stone soul picnic
For the early resigned

We could rent a paranymphic glider
My hypothetical friend
And we could sail
'Til the bending end

Grab Big Dog a blanket
Angel of my heart
Things may get a whole lot worse
Before suddenly falling apart
Give your roommate Yvonne a ring
Cause if she still wants in I gotta pull some strings

On Blues Beach
I'm dying
Freezin' in the merciful rays
And it's the long sad Sunday
Of the early resigned


Lyrics submitted by blackiswhite

Blues Beach Lyrics as written by Walter Becker Donald Fagen

Lyrics © Wixen Music Publishing

Lyrics powered by LyricFind

Blues Beach song meanings
Add Your Thoughts

6 Comments

sort form View by:
  • +2
    General Comment

    This song is completely mystifying.

    EN1GMAon May 24, 2012   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    I am assuming this is a New York song like so many other SD efforts. The only question is Medicine Park which seems to be in Oklahoma, so I don't get that. However, some of the rest is fairly clear. The "early resigned" seems to me to be someone who has lost their job, is "scrapin' bottom" and now has time on their hands in the mean streets. So he decides to head out of town to "Blues Beach" but his luck is so bad he can't even get the bus. He consorts with various other losers on the way, and they can try a few sad distractions like a "paranymphic glider", but basically his luck has run out and he is doomed to a fairly cold, sad existence.

    rogercarton March 25, 2015   Link
  • +1
    General Comment

    This song is about going into rehab and drug withdrawal (this was pointed out by an astute individual on the fever dreams website - it may be archived somewhere...). The rehab centre - blues beach - is in a warm idyllic-seeming location but you will have to suffer the blues of withdrawal. 'beat the mean streets of Medicine Park' is a way of saying getting off drugs, there are references to chilling, frying, freezing etc. the hot/cold sweats of withdrawal (and needing a 'blanket' to keep warm), the hypothetical friend is only a 'friend' while in rehab (it would be unwise to hook up with him/her on the outside). In the final verse the addict considers going back to his old ways 'pull some strings' is tightening the tourniquet before injecting. Typical Steely Dan genius of setting such dark subject matter to such a bright infectious uplifting song.

    DonBergison July 09, 2019   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    I think it's about beach bums, basically. Society drop-outs who hang out on the beaches around Venice; etc. drink, take drugs, and "wander"

    MusicLover517on July 05, 2013   Link
  • 0
    My Interpretation

    It's about retirees, and these young people scurrying about. Unrealized dreams of people who have surrendered to age and irritability. Manatee bar? Sounds like a bar packed with fat old people on the beach haha.

    Kal5150zon April 24, 2020   Link
  • 0
    General Comment

    Mr Bergis is right, I think, about the rehab. In the brilliant Vegas taxi ride video promo for Everything Must Go (m.youtube.com/watch), Becker, talking about this song says, 'Down the dark ladder'. That's a quote from Joni Mitchell's song, Cold Blue Steel And Sweet Fire, about James Taylor's heroin addiction (jonimitchell.com/music/song.cfm).

    mrmeaningon January 02, 2021   Link

Add your thoughts

Log in now to tell us what you think this song means.

Don’t have an account? Create an account with SongMeanings to post comments, submit lyrics, and more. It’s super easy, we promise!

More Featured Meanings

Album art
Mental Istid
Ebba Grön
This is one of my favorite songs. https://fnfgo.io
Album art
Dreamwalker
Silent Planet
I think much like another song “Anti-Matter” (that's also on the same album as this song), this one is also is inspired by a horrifying van crash the band experienced on Nov 3, 2022. This, much like the other track, sounds like it's an extension what they shared while huddled in the wreckage, as they helped frontman Garrett Russell stem the bleeding from his head wound while he was under the temporary effects of a concussion. The track speaks of where the mind goes at the most desperate & desolate of times, when it just about slips away to all but disconnect itself, and the aftermath.
Album art
Page
Ed Sheeran
There aren’t many things that’ll hurt more than giving love a chance against your better judgement only to have your heart crushed yet again. Ed Sheeran tells such a story on “Page.” On this track, he is devastated to have lost his lover and even more saddened by the feeling that he may never move on from this.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.
Album art
Plastic Bag
Ed Sheeran
“Plastic Bag” is a song about searching for an escape from personal problems and hoping to find it in the lively atmosphere of a Saturday night party. Ed Sheeran tells the story of his friend and the myriad of troubles he is going through. Unable to find any solutions, this friend seeks a last resort in a party and the vanity that comes with it. “I overthink and have trouble sleepin’ / All purpose gone and don’t have a reason / And there’s no doctor to stop this bleedin’ / So I left home and jumped in the deep end,” Ed Sheeran sings in verse one. He continues by adding that this person is feeling the weight of having disappointed his father and doesn’t have any friends to rely on in this difficult moment. In the second verse, Ed sings about the role of grief in his friend’s plight and his dwindling faith in prayer. “Saturday night is givin’ me a reason to rely on the strobe lights / The lifeline of a promise in a shot glass, and I’ll take that / If you’re givin’ out love from a plastic bag,” Ed sings on the chorus, as his friend turns to new vices in hopes of feeling better.