Steely Dan's "Third World Man" The first time I heard this song, I thought I knew the meaning, and after all these years, I still like my interpretation. Becker and Fagan write them, then we get to give our opinions of what the heck they are writing about. Johnny is not a man. He is a boy. War has forced him to be a Third World MAN. He has been conscripted into the military. He no longer gets to have a child's playroom. His playroom is now a bunker. He's forced to "mobilize" at dawn or whenever he is told to do so. He is crouching like the soldier he is to avoid being shot. Soon, he will throw down his disguise, the disguise of a soldier. Then we will see he is just a child. We will see behind those bright eyes (the eyes of a child). Then by and by (we hope), the sidewalks will be safe for the "little guy." (the children). Fireworks are the rockets, bombs, etc. used in a war. When he is crying out (like a child), I have to just (sadly) sing "He's a third world man." There are countless war-torn countries that have conscripted children into the military. Ghana may be one. A rondo is a musical form that has been explained very well by others on this website. It is a sad, haunting song that is one of my favorites from The Dan. RIP Walter Becker
Steely Dan's "Third World Man" The first time I heard this song, I thought I knew the meaning, and after all these years, I still like my interpretation. Becker and Fagan write them, then we get to give our opinions of what the heck they are writing about. Johnny is not a man. He is a boy. War has forced him to be a Third World MAN. He has been conscripted into the military. He no longer gets to have a child's playroom. His playroom is now a bunker. He's forced to "mobilize" at dawn or whenever he is told to do so. He is crouching like the soldier he is to avoid being shot. Soon, he will throw down his disguise, the disguise of a soldier. Then we will see he is just a child. We will see behind those bright eyes (the eyes of a child). Then by and by (we hope), the sidewalks will be safe for the "little guy." (the children). Fireworks are the rockets, bombs, etc. used in a war. When he is crying out (like a child), I have to just (sadly) sing "He's a third world man." There are countless war-torn countries that have conscripted children into the military. Ghana may be one. A rondo is a musical form that has been explained very well by others on this website. It is a sad, haunting song that is one of my favorites from The Dan. RIP Walter Becker