Any news was good news
And the feeling was bad at home
I was out of mind and you
Were on the phone
Lonnie was the kingpin
Back in nineteen sixty-five
I was singing this song
When Lonnie came alive

[Chorus]
Bring back the Boston Rag
Tell all your buddies
That it ain't no drag
Bring back the Boston Rag

You were Lady Bayside
There was nothing that I could do
So I pointed my car down
Seventh Avenue
Lonnie swept the playroom
And he swallowed up all he found
It was forty-eight hours til
Lonnie came around

[Chorus]


Lyrics submitted by AbFab

Boston Rag Lyrics as written by Walter Carl Becker Donald Jay Fagen

Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group

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The Boston Rag song meanings
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    My Interpretation

    The Curative Powers of the Song within a Song

    Lonnie's OD is the crisis at the center of the action. The order might be a little jumbled, but the protagonist / singer variously tries to get help from "you" [Lady Bayside?], tries to leave town (via 7th avenue), and playing music for the catatonic Lonnie.

    The Boston Rag, the song-within-a-song, is what finally awakens Lonnie. If it can do that, we should indeed bring it back. The singer makes his case.

    briandashhansenon September 15, 2014   Link

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