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Memorabilia Lyrics
Have you seen the memorabilia?
The dusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
Have you seen the memorabilia?
The rusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
Have you met that lovely creature?
The exceptional Ivy King
She knows just what she's after,
She's got a jones for the real thing:
For the vintage atomic trash;
For the alien breeze, the bright white flash
From the island
East of the Carolines,
Lovely island...
Have you seen the memorabilia?
The dusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
Have you seen the memorabilia?
The rusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
In a room right off the kitchen
There's an old gas centrifuge,
Color film of Castle Bravo -
Girl, you know that shot was huge
There's a crate full of lead-lined pipes,
A photo of laughing Navy types
On the island
East of the Carolines,
Lovely island...
Have you seen the memorabilia?
The junky old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
Have you seen the memorabilia?
The funky old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
There was an island
East of the Carolines,
Lovely island...
Have you seen the memorabilia?
The dusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
Have you seen the memorabilia?
The rusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
Have you seen the memorabilia?
The funky old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
The dusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
The rusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
The exceptional Ivy King
She knows just what she's after,
She's got a jones for the real thing:
For the vintage atomic trash;
For the alien breeze, the bright white flash
East of the Carolines,
Lovely island...
The dusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
The rusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
There's an old gas centrifuge,
Color film of Castle Bravo -
Girl, you know that shot was huge
There's a crate full of lead-lined pipes,
A photo of laughing Navy types
East of the Carolines,
Lovely island...
The junky old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
The funky old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
East of the Carolines,
Lovely island...
The dusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
The rusty old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
The funky old memorabilia
Have you seen the memorabilia?
Souvenirs of perfect doom,
In the back of Louis Dakine's back room.
Song Info
Submitted by
songmeanings On Oct 15, 2012
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It may not be widely known, but there are several references to U.S. weapons testing in these lyrics. For example both Ivy King and Castle Bravo were tests of large weapons in the Pacific. Probably near "an island East of the Carolines Lovely island" which to judge by the lyrics is no longer there. I don't know who Louis Dakine is/was, or where his backrooom was. Although Dakine is a brand name for upmarket sportswear. Like all Fagen/SteelyDan songs this is great, but I don't know what it means.
My interpretation is that "Louis Dakine" was a 1950's U.S.Navy type who keeps a few souvenirs of perfect doom in backroom. These are both photos and hardware from weapons tests in the Pacific. Donald Fagen's lyrics make no comment as to why these souvenirs exist, but do appear to bemoan the loss of a lovely island as a result of the tests. How does Fagen, and Steely Dan for that matter, manage to craft a terrific song out of such unpromising material?