| Steely Dan – Charlie Freak Lyrics | 11 years ago |
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This is a wonderfully haunting song. We can deduce several things from the lyrics and arrangement. First, the speaker is an - the? - angel of death, telling a person who has just died (Jack, perhaps that name is just for the rhyme...) about how he came to be in his current situation. The speaker is telling about the time when he was a meth dealer (meth being one of the two meanings of "chicken feed") and he sold meth to Charlie Freak, a druggie, homeless, college graduate (because of the ring) whose life has been ruined by drugs. He is poor, wasting all his money on drugs. The speaker seems to recognize him, and refers to him by a nickname (I'm assuming that "Charlie Freak" is not his real name), so was can deduce he has been in his current situation for a while. He is desperate for drugs, so desperate that he will sell his most prized possession, his 3 ounce ring. The speaker knows how desperate Charlie Freak is and takes his ring for a small amount of drugs (the second meaning of chicken feed). Charlie Freak takes his drugs and ODs. The speaker is told of this and seeks him out. He sees Charlie Freak's body and is immediately struck with guilt of both having cheated Charlie Freak and having killed him with his product. He takes the ring and places it on Charlie Freak's corpse's finger, in hopeless atonement for his sins. The last two lines, "Now come my friend I'll take your hand/And lead you home" is addressed to the person the speaker is telling the story, the dead soul. The speaker has confessed, and now is going to take this soul home. Perhaps Jack is his own soul? I don't think so, but food for thought. The bells ringing at the moment of death give this song an hymnlike feel, and form the basis for the spiritual nature of my interpretation. It was at the moment of Charlie Freak's death that the speaker's soul was condemned. Thanks for reading, and above all, enjoy the song! |
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| Steely Dan – With A Gun Lyrics | 13 years ago |
| This is one of the best songs ever - not just one of the best Steely Dan songs, the best ever! This is about a crooked man who started a medical clinic with his friend but he became crooked and stole money from the clinic. His friend caught him and was going to turn him into the authorities but he killed him before he could. But the police caught him and he runs to the teller of the story who remembers him and refuses to help him. The murderer flees town, and is hunted down and has a standoff with the police. He is arrested and sent to jail, "I understand you will soon be leaving town" and again asks the speaker for help, but he only says to warn him when he gets out of jail. | |
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