Hauntingly great pedal steel, have loved this tune for decades. As far as I'm concerned this tune has the world of the strip club written all over it. Race of angels -- stripper sorority, Bound with one another -- Their shared profession, dish of dollars laid out for all to see -- ever seen their leg band and/or the stage floor? As far as the male figure in this lyric (tower room at Eden Rock, golf at noon) I'd be willing to bet that Fagan and friends were watching some one fairly prominent's (Steely D was at the top of their game at this time and living large) wife/girl friend riding the pole while he was on the back nine. I'd also go as far as to say that she's possibly someone that's been on the screen (TV/movies) "a face we all have seen". The refrain "Brooklyn owes the charmer under me" is brilliant play on phrase --- Brooklyn (knows) (owes) -- in other words this woman was possibly known from that area and was also corrupted by the street there (hence the borough "owes" her) and "charmer under me" (I would say he was doing her after she seduced him). Daily preaching where she wants to be -- Don't most strippers long for something better? Case of aces -- her pocketbook full of singles. Whole time we gain or lose and power to choose -- I believe was his philosophical conundrum with his/her plight (theme of the album-- Can't buy a thrill) Or maybe I'm just too drunk and full of shit. Thanks for reading.
@UncleNeal I think this is the best interpretation yet because I enjoyed reading it so much.
@UncleNeal I think this is the best interpretation yet because I enjoyed reading it so much.
If this song is really just about the longings of their downstairs neighbors in Brooklyn...would people griping about their lot in life really be sophisticated enough to want to stay in a tower room in an exotic locale and hobnob with celebrities? I don't think so...
If this song is really just about the longings of their downstairs neighbors in Brooklyn...would people griping about their lot in life really be sophisticated enough to want to stay in a tower room in an exotic locale and hobnob with celebrities? I don't think so...
Let's back off from the stripper analogy for a minute to something similar but different..."a race of angels bound with one another" -- I think this describes the groupies that surround a successful rock band. See the...
Let's back off from the stripper analogy for a minute to something similar but different..."a race of angels bound with one another" -- I think this describes the groupies that surround a successful rock band. See the movie "Almost Famous" set in the early 70s (with a very cute Kate Hudson). "The charmer under me" could picture one of the groupies he is sleeping with. Brooklyn "owes" her in the sense she fled her humble beginnings in search of bigger and better things. She is pressuring him to take her on an exotic Caribbean vacation at Eden Rock in St. Barth's -- this elegant resort was built in the 1950s, unlike Miami it can be described as "a piece of island cooling in the sea" and of course golf would be included. "An evening with a movie queen"... the girl is not the movie queen, she wants to do some social climbing. I think the dish of dollars and the case of aces are references to casino gambling which of course you would find in a resort in the French Caribbean.
Being a rockstar (or a groupie attached to a rockstar) is a "gain or lose" proposition, but all that remuneration gives you "power enough to choose".
Hauntingly great pedal steel, have loved this tune for decades. As far as I'm concerned this tune has the world of the strip club written all over it. Race of angels -- stripper sorority, Bound with one another -- Their shared profession, dish of dollars laid out for all to see -- ever seen their leg band and/or the stage floor? As far as the male figure in this lyric (tower room at Eden Rock, golf at noon) I'd be willing to bet that Fagan and friends were watching some one fairly prominent's (Steely D was at the top of their game at this time and living large) wife/girl friend riding the pole while he was on the back nine. I'd also go as far as to say that she's possibly someone that's been on the screen (TV/movies) "a face we all have seen". The refrain "Brooklyn owes the charmer under me" is brilliant play on phrase --- Brooklyn (knows) (owes) -- in other words this woman was possibly known from that area and was also corrupted by the street there (hence the borough "owes" her) and "charmer under me" (I would say he was doing her after she seduced him). Daily preaching where she wants to be -- Don't most strippers long for something better? Case of aces -- her pocketbook full of singles. Whole time we gain or lose and power to choose -- I believe was his philosophical conundrum with his/her plight (theme of the album-- Can't buy a thrill) Or maybe I'm just too drunk and full of shit. Thanks for reading.
This is one of my favorite SD songs and I think your interpretation is fantastic!
This is one of my favorite SD songs and I think your interpretation is fantastic!
@UncleNeal I think this is the best interpretation yet because I enjoyed reading it so much.
@UncleNeal I think this is the best interpretation yet because I enjoyed reading it so much.
If this song is really just about the longings of their downstairs neighbors in Brooklyn...would people griping about their lot in life really be sophisticated enough to want to stay in a tower room in an exotic locale and hobnob with celebrities? I don't think so...
If this song is really just about the longings of their downstairs neighbors in Brooklyn...would people griping about their lot in life really be sophisticated enough to want to stay in a tower room in an exotic locale and hobnob with celebrities? I don't think so...
Let's back off from the stripper analogy for a minute to something similar but different..."a race of angels bound with one another" -- I think this describes the groupies that surround a successful rock band. See the...
Let's back off from the stripper analogy for a minute to something similar but different..."a race of angels bound with one another" -- I think this describes the groupies that surround a successful rock band. See the movie "Almost Famous" set in the early 70s (with a very cute Kate Hudson). "The charmer under me" could picture one of the groupies he is sleeping with. Brooklyn "owes" her in the sense she fled her humble beginnings in search of bigger and better things. She is pressuring him to take her on an exotic Caribbean vacation at Eden Rock in St. Barth's -- this elegant resort was built in the 1950s, unlike Miami it can be described as "a piece of island cooling in the sea" and of course golf would be included. "An evening with a movie queen"... the girl is not the movie queen, she wants to do some social climbing. I think the dish of dollars and the case of aces are references to casino gambling which of course you would find in a resort in the French Caribbean.
Being a rockstar (or a groupie attached to a rockstar) is a "gain or lose" proposition, but all that remuneration gives you "power enough to choose".
@UncleNeal - A brilliant analysis! Your insight into this one proves you are one sharp cookie - drunk or sober....
@UncleNeal - A brilliant analysis! Your insight into this one proves you are one sharp cookie - drunk or sober....