This story begins in 2007 (007).The song is clearly about the tragic loss of Marlene who used to be a great bowler. There are several references to bowling: roll like a pro rolls, straight or hammered (not only meaning sober or drunk), release the red ball all the pins fall down, hear the balls rumble, move to the lane, ride a moonbeam down the inside line, on a league night, her hand guiding my hand we drop the seven-ten (the most difficult spare in bowling). The night of her fatal cab accident she was drunk (throwin' back Hurricanes = cocktail) because of a broken heart. Donald Fagen is a great narrator creating marvellous sentences using slang.
This story begins in 2007 (007).The song is clearly about the tragic loss of Marlene who used to be a great bowler. There are several references to bowling: roll like a pro rolls, straight or hammered (not only meaning sober or drunk), release the red ball all the pins fall down, hear the balls rumble, move to the lane, ride a moonbeam down the inside line, on a league night, her hand guiding my hand we drop the seven-ten (the most difficult spare in bowling). The night of her fatal cab accident she was drunk (throwin' back Hurricanes = cocktail) because of a broken heart. Donald Fagen is a great narrator creating marvellous sentences using slang.