The whole song about a man who ran guns, drank a lot, and died in a car crash while driving under the influence. I have several reasons that point to this conclusion.
Point 1: Look at the lines...
Driving like a fool out to Hackensack
Drinkin' his dinner from a paper sack
He says "I gotta see a joker and I'll be right back"
What was a routine run to a client, which he did while driving maniacally and drinking, turned out to be a fatal crash.
Point 2: Steely Dan often uses music to help emphasize a point. Right after singing this line, there's a heavier guitar riff that appears nowhere else in the song.
Point 3: Right after this line, the repeated lyric has an emphatic "no" added to it (No, my daddy don't live in that New York City no more").
Point 4: The whole song is mostly dealing with both his Eldorado (Cadillac) and his heavy use of alcohol.
@ImaniOU Yes, it seems he meets his demise during the bridge. My take is that he goes to see a joker to settle some debt or other kind of entanglement he might have with a mobster or shark, and ends up in the trunk of that Eldorado he don't drive no more. The hits at the end of the bridge sound to me like they're intended to be four gunshots.
@ImaniOU Yes, it seems he meets his demise during the bridge. My take is that he goes to see a joker to settle some debt or other kind of entanglement he might have with a mobster or shark, and ends up in the trunk of that Eldorado he don't drive no more. The hits at the end of the bridge sound to me like they're intended to be four gunshots.
The whole song about a man who ran guns, drank a lot, and died in a car crash while driving under the influence. I have several reasons that point to this conclusion.
Point 1: Look at the lines...
Driving like a fool out to Hackensack Drinkin' his dinner from a paper sack He says "I gotta see a joker and I'll be right back"
What was a routine run to a client, which he did while driving maniacally and drinking, turned out to be a fatal crash.
Point 2: Steely Dan often uses music to help emphasize a point. Right after singing this line, there's a heavier guitar riff that appears nowhere else in the song.
Point 3: Right after this line, the repeated lyric has an emphatic "no" added to it (No, my daddy don't live in that New York City no more").
Point 4: The whole song is mostly dealing with both his Eldorado (Cadillac) and his heavy use of alcohol.
My case rests.
I have to agree your case seems more likely then the one I commented on above that was higher rated. He was driving drunk and driving like a fool.
I have to agree your case seems more likely then the one I commented on above that was higher rated. He was driving drunk and driving like a fool.
Yes, the bridge (into a soloing verse) is always a great place to put something lyrically that you are trying emphasize. Well done.
Yes, the bridge (into a soloing verse) is always a great place to put something lyrically that you are trying emphasize. Well done.
@ImaniOU Good theory.
@ImaniOU Good theory.
@ImaniOU I agree - and he's either a sugar daddy or a pimp or both.
@ImaniOU I agree - and he's either a sugar daddy or a pimp or both.
@ImaniOU Yes, it seems he meets his demise during the bridge. My take is that he goes to see a joker to settle some debt or other kind of entanglement he might have with a mobster or shark, and ends up in the trunk of that Eldorado he don't drive no more. The hits at the end of the bridge sound to me like they're intended to be four gunshots.
@ImaniOU Yes, it seems he meets his demise during the bridge. My take is that he goes to see a joker to settle some debt or other kind of entanglement he might have with a mobster or shark, and ends up in the trunk of that Eldorado he don't drive no more. The hits at the end of the bridge sound to me like they're intended to be four gunshots.