Funny how easy it is to get into discussions of the meaning of Eagles' songs...
I'm surprised no one has mentioned that this song was on side one of Desperado (the Eagle's BEST studio album, IMHO) which was a "a concept album, based on the Dalton gang and the Old West." (Thank you Wikipedia, I couldn't have said it better myself.)
Ranch hand, Old West saloon, saloon 'lady', unrequited love, longing for something more, another ineffective shot of tequila for courage to say the right words to her (strong, silent type), dealing friends like dealing cards (?)-- you don't know what hand Fate will deal you (in this case, the 'just friends' hand) drinking all night and stumbling out at dawn: big Western sky with huge vistas and swirling colors of the sunrise on the clouds like the swirling colors of a 'Tequila Sunrise' cocktail (do a Google image search).
BTW, again c/o Wikipedia: "The Tequila Sunrise is a cocktail... originally served at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, the cocktail is named for the way it looks after it has been poured into a glass. The denser ingredients (cassis or grenadine) settle, creating gradations in color that mimic a sunrise."
Remember, the next song was 'Desperado' which complements this song perfectly.
Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet
Now it seems to me, some fine things
Have been laid upon your table
But you only want the ones that you can't get
Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger
Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home
And freedom, oh freedom well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone
Funny how easy it is to get into discussions of the meaning of Eagles' songs...
I'm surprised no one has mentioned that this song was on side one of Desperado (the Eagle's BEST studio album, IMHO) which was a "a concept album, based on the Dalton gang and the Old West." (Thank you Wikipedia, I couldn't have said it better myself.)
Ranch hand, Old West saloon, saloon 'lady', unrequited love, longing for something more, another ineffective shot of tequila for courage to say the right words to her (strong, silent type), dealing friends like dealing cards (?)-- you don't know what hand Fate will deal you (in this case, the 'just friends' hand) drinking all night and stumbling out at dawn: big Western sky with huge vistas and swirling colors of the sunrise on the clouds like the swirling colors of a 'Tequila Sunrise' cocktail (do a Google image search).
BTW, again c/o Wikipedia: "The Tequila Sunrise is a cocktail... originally served at the Arizona Biltmore Hotel, the cocktail is named for the way it looks after it has been poured into a glass. The denser ingredients (cassis or grenadine) settle, creating gradations in color that mimic a sunrise."
Remember, the next song was 'Desperado' which complements this song perfectly.
Don't you draw the queen of diamonds, boy She'll beat you if she's able You know the queen of hearts is always your best bet
Now it seems to me, some fine things Have been laid upon your table But you only want the ones that you can't get
Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no younger Your pain and your hunger, they're drivin' you home And freedom, oh freedom well, that's just some people talkin' Your prison is walking through this world all alone
Thanks @BluesRaven for the background tidbit.