A world become one of salads and sun
Only a fool would say that
A boy with a plan, a natural man
Wearing a white Stetson hat
Unhand that gun begone
There's no one to fire upon
If he's holding it high
He's telling a lie
I heard it was you
Talking 'bout a world where all is free
It just couldn't be
And only a fool would say that
The man in the street dragging his feet
Don't wanna hear the bad news
Imagine your face there is his place
Standing inside his brown shoes
You do his nine to five
Drag yourself home half alive
And there on the screen
A man with a dream
I heard it was you
Talking 'bout a world where all is free
It just couldn't be
And only a fool would say that
Anybody on the street
Has murder in his eyes
You feel no pain
And you're younger than you realize
Only a fool would say that
Only a fool
I heard it was you
Talking 'bout a world where all is free
It just couldn't be
And only a fool would say that
Only a fool would say that
Only a fool would say that
Only a fool would say that
A boy with a plan, a natural man
Wearing a white Stetson hat
Unhand that gun begone
There's no one to fire upon
If he's holding it high
He's telling a lie
I heard it was you
Talking 'bout a world where all is free
It just couldn't be
And only a fool would say that
The man in the street dragging his feet
Don't wanna hear the bad news
Imagine your face there is his place
Standing inside his brown shoes
You do his nine to five
Drag yourself home half alive
And there on the screen
A man with a dream
I heard it was you
Talking 'bout a world where all is free
It just couldn't be
And only a fool would say that
Anybody on the street
Has murder in his eyes
You feel no pain
And you're younger than you realize
Only a fool would say that
Only a fool
I heard it was you
Talking 'bout a world where all is free
It just couldn't be
And only a fool would say that
Only a fool would say that
Only a fool would say that
Lyrics submitted by AbFab, edited by larry10289
Only a Fool Would Say That Lyrics as written by Walter Carl Becker Donald Fagen
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Royalty Network
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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Am I the only one here who sees this song as an ironic (Steely Dan ironic ... who'd 'a thunk it?) comment on cynicism itself?
This is my favorite 'Dan song (I love the remake by Ivy too), and maybe I have been taken in by the irrepressibly upbeat melody. Despite the exhausted working man counterpoint in the lyrics, I always kind of put some mental quotation marks around "fool", with the idea that we should all be such "fools."
As for the idea that Lennon or Dylan are being called out for hypocrisy of some sort, that just seems way more overt than the Becker and Fagen I have experienced. They might allude to the contradictions in a situation and let listeners draw their own conclusions, but directly going after individuals is not their MO.
Check out the article I have on my journal; it concerns interesting tidbits about Steely Dan and even mentions some band references found within S.D.'s lyrics. It's really a good read. As for the artist, I've never liked S.D.'s music, and now that a someone (ie. author of article) lumps it in with a couple of other bands), I understand why.
In case I accidentally (or intentionally:) delete my journal entry, here is a link to the article. Just change the (dot) to an actual dot;) www (dot) smellslikepop (dot) com/2011/09/five-unusually-disconcerting-things-about-steely-dan/