I'm a little surprised that nobody has caught on to the fact that the second chorus is sung by Franny. It's Franny that is saying it was just a rumor about her being the next big thing and that she just got out of rehab. The narrator sings the first chorus and Franny sings the second. The song is cleverly summed up by the final two lines which is "it's a shame about me" repeated twice, inferring that it's a shame about BOTH of them. The "ghost" reference by the narrator is merely a reference that he is all but a semblance of what he once was, just as she is as well. The song is a story about two lives that took very different paths but in the end resulted in being equally unhappy. - Jim Cuccarro
@sheisler51 I have to disagree with about the second chorus. The narrator already establishes in the beginning that they talked about her films and shows and CDs. She is clearly successful and well-known. It has to be her referring to him as "you were gonna be the next big thing" and him responding, "Now that was just a rumor." With her, there is no rumor. She's a star.
@sheisler51 I have to disagree with about the second chorus. The narrator already establishes in the beginning that they talked about her films and shows and CDs. She is clearly successful and well-known. It has to be her referring to him as "you were gonna be the next big thing" and him responding, "Now that was just a rumor." With her, there is no rumor. She's a star.
@sheisler51 You're completely wrong about that. The song is very simple (most of Fagen's are simpler than Becker's) and it is the girlfriend first of all reciting all the success stories of their old friends before telling him that 'back in the Eighties' he was going to be the next big thing. I can't imagine that boosted his confidence much.
@sheisler51 You're completely wrong about that. The song is very simple (most of Fagen's are simpler than Becker's) and it is the girlfriend first of all reciting all the success stories of their old friends before telling him that 'back in the Eighties' he was going to be the next big thing. I can't imagine that boosted his confidence much.
@sheisler51 I don't think you're right about the 2nd verse being the female. . Not when she had already said Hollywood's been good to me. But I guess you didn't need to hear that from a 3rd person
@sheisler51 I don't think you're right about the 2nd verse being the female. . Not when she had already said Hollywood's been good to me. But I guess you didn't need to hear that from a 3rd person
I'm a little surprised that nobody has caught on to the fact that the second chorus is sung by Franny. It's Franny that is saying it was just a rumor about her being the next big thing and that she just got out of rehab. The narrator sings the first chorus and Franny sings the second. The song is cleverly summed up by the final two lines which is "it's a shame about me" repeated twice, inferring that it's a shame about BOTH of them. The "ghost" reference by the narrator is merely a reference that he is all but a semblance of what he once was, just as she is as well. The song is a story about two lives that took very different paths but in the end resulted in being equally unhappy. - Jim Cuccarro
@sheisler51 I have to disagree with about the second chorus. The narrator already establishes in the beginning that they talked about her films and shows and CDs. She is clearly successful and well-known. It has to be her referring to him as "you were gonna be the next big thing" and him responding, "Now that was just a rumor." With her, there is no rumor. She's a star.
@sheisler51 I have to disagree with about the second chorus. The narrator already establishes in the beginning that they talked about her films and shows and CDs. She is clearly successful and well-known. It has to be her referring to him as "you were gonna be the next big thing" and him responding, "Now that was just a rumor." With her, there is no rumor. She's a star.
@sheisler51 You're completely wrong about that. The song is very simple (most of Fagen's are simpler than Becker's) and it is the girlfriend first of all reciting all the success stories of their old friends before telling him that 'back in the Eighties' he was going to be the next big thing. I can't imagine that boosted his confidence much.
@sheisler51 You're completely wrong about that. The song is very simple (most of Fagen's are simpler than Becker's) and it is the girlfriend first of all reciting all the success stories of their old friends before telling him that 'back in the Eighties' he was going to be the next big thing. I can't imagine that boosted his confidence much.
@sheisler51 I don't think you're right about the 2nd verse being the female. . Not when she had already said Hollywood's been good to me. But I guess you didn't need to hear that from a 3rd person
@sheisler51 I don't think you're right about the 2nd verse being the female. . Not when she had already said Hollywood's been good to me. But I guess you didn't need to hear that from a 3rd person