By Steve Newton
I’ve been listening to a Steely Dan greatest hits CD in the car for a coupla months now, and certain verses have just stuck with me for one reason or another. Maybe they stuck with you too.
You were Lady BaysideThere was nothing that I could doSo I pointed my car downSeventh AvenueLonnie swept the playroomAnd he swallowed up all he foundIt was forty-eight hours tilLonnie came around
–“The Boston Rag”, from Countdown to Ecstasy, 1973
Katy tried, I was halfway crucifiedI was on the other side of no tomorrowYou walked in, and my life began againJust when I’d spent the last piaster I could borrow
–“Doctor Wu”, from Katy Lied, 1975
Smoky SundayHe’s been mobilized since dawnNow he’s crouching on the lawnHe’s a third world man
–“Third World Man”, from Gaucho, 1980
Light the candlePut the lock upon the doorYou have sent the maid home earlyLike a thousand times beforeLike the castle in its cornerIn a medieval gameI foresee terrible troubleAnd I stay here just the same
–“Dirty Work”, from Can’t Buy a Thrill, 1972
On the hill the stuff was laced with keroseneBut yours was kitchen-cleanEveryone stopped to stare at your technicolor motor homeEvery A-Frame had your number on the wallYou must have had it allYou’d go to L.A. on a dare and you’d go it alone
–“Kid Charlemagne”, from The Royal Scam, 1976
Now they lay his body downSad old men who run this townI still recall the way he led the charge and saved the dayBlue blood and rainI can hear the bugle playin’
–“Kings”, from Can’t Buy a Thrill, 1972
I remember the 35 sweet goodbyesWhen you put me on the Wolverine up to AnnandaleIt was still September when your daddy was quite surprisedTo find you with the working girls in the county jail
–“My Old School”, from Countdown to Ecstasy, 1973
When the joker tried to tell meI could cut it in this rube townWhen he tried to hang that sign on meI said take it downWhen the dawn patrol got to tell you twiceThey’re gonna do it with a shotgunYes, I’m cashing in this ten-cent lifeFor another one
–“Night By Night”, from Pretzel Logic, 1974
Now you swear and kick and beg us that you’re not a gamblin’ manThen you find you’re back in Vegas with a handle in your handYour black cards can make you money so you hide them when you’re ableIn the land of milk and honey, you must put them on the table
–“Do It Again”, from Can’t Buy a Thrill, 1972
This is the night of the expanding manI take one last drag as I approach the standI cried when I wrote this songSue me if I play too longThis brother is freeI’ll be what I want to be
–“Deacon Blues”, from Aja, 1977
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