Lyrics for Desperado as interpreted by Demau Senae

Desperado Lyrics
Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now
Oh, you're a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow
Don' you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of heats 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 youger
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

Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the night time from the day
You're loosin' all your highs and lows
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?

Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you, before it's too late

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hannahbanana1234
11-01-2009

Rated 0 
ahhhh i love the eagles.
and this song. awesome.

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KingProcrastinator
10-04-2009

Rated 0 
To me this song is about craving what you can't have, in this case the song is about a man who wants a woman who doesn't love him back. He's head over heels for her and is blinded by his infatuation with her that he can't see that she only wants him for money (Hence queen of diamonds) or is just toying with him. Instead of settling for the girl that loves him (queen of hearts) he just keeps chasing after the other girl and hence why he is doomed for a "prison" of loneliness unless he relinquishes the other girl and "let's somebody love him, before it's too late".

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Austimatic
09-24-2009

Rated 0 
It's about a man, he's referring to the cards as girls. The Queen of Diamonds is every hot thing that struts by

The queen of Hearts is the woman who loves you that you don't dare fall for because you are holding out for... The Queen of Diamonds. Because of that you've been out riding fences - Sleeping around not in a serious relationship = Things that are pleasing you could hurt you somehow.

"Some fine things have been laid up on your table" = The Queen of Hearts

"You only want the ones that you can't get" = The Queen of Diamonds

You ain't gettin' no younger so you better settle with the Queen of Hearts. "before its too late"

"The sky won't snow, and the sun won't shine. It's hard to tell the night time from the day. Losing all your highs and lows, and it funny how the feeling goes away" - A loose reference of burning out from too much drinking/partying random hookups that make you numb to your feelings.

"Freedom oh freedom, that's just some people talkin" -Your buddies telling you, 'dude don't settle down, that's stupid.'

***I think that this particular singer actually lost someone that he cared about and who loved him back, but he lost her because he was too busy doing the rockstar thing***

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matt4444
07-22-2009

Rated 0 
Come on, it's nothing to do with addiction. For those who said it is - perhaps something in your own lives is affecting your views?

The Queen of Diamonds is money or material things. The Queen of Hearts is love and personal relationships.

It's from the Desperado album, which as a whole is concerned with outlaw gangs, and so at one level the song is about a gang member trapped in a life of crime, and predicting an unhappy end unless he gives up bank robberies (chasing after the money) and settles down to a life with a loving partner.

It can also be generalised to apply to anyone following a lifestyle of pursuit after material things instead of focusing on relationships.

And then, when you get to the end of the album, you learn from the Reprise that the Desperado didn't follow the advice and is doomed to a life of unhappiness. "You sealed your fate a long time ago / Now there's no time left to borrow / Only stardust / Maybe tomorrow..".



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falcon215
06-26-2009

Rated 0 
this song is about psychological addiction. it is nicely camouflaged. however if you have been an addict or are close to someone who is or has been, the meaning becomes quite clear. when i was younger i thought it was all about searching for love blah blah blah. it isnt, it is about someone who is avoiding life, avoiding decisions, avoiding responsibilities by sinking into their addiction. stay on the fence, dont take any risks, dont see anything but the bad sides (there is a rainbow there even though it is raining) and in the meantime get older and wander through your life alone with whatever addictive thing/behaviour it happens to be.

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thomas99
06-22-2009

Rated 0 
Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
You been out ridin' fences for so long now

*This says that this person will not theirself love or be loved at any cost


Oh, you're a hard one
I know that you got your reasons
These things that are pleasin' you
Can hurt you somehow

* the person has been hurt very badly and they try to substitiute loving somebody with doing something that is self destructive.



Don' you draw the queen of diamonds, boy
She'll beat you if she's able
You know the queen of heats is always your best bet

*a queen of diamonds: a woman who is of material things and may be of great beauty on the outside but she has a cold heart.

*a queen of hearts: a woman who is forgiving and loves blindly. She could not be very attractive, but her heart is truly caring.

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

*The person is so afraid of getting hurt that they will not let themselves love anyone below perfect. The person is searching for a woman who does not exist...the person refuses to acccept it and longs for the "queen of diamonds"...even though she would drain him of his hope and everything he has.






Desperado, oh, you ain't gettin' no youger
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

*the person is NOT going to find a perfect person without faults. The person is so alone that they may give up. The part about freedom is mocking the people who say that, because they do not know true love.



Don't your feet get cold in the winter time?
The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine
It's hard to tell the night time from the day
You're loosin' all your highs and lows
Ain't it funny how the feeling goes away?

The person is so alone that they are shutting off their emotions....the person begins to lose feeling...he has not felt anything in so long that he starting to wither away and die within himself



Desperado, why don't you come to your senses?
Come down from your fences, open the gate
It may be rainin', but there's a rainbow above you
You better let somebody love you, before it's too late


the person is afraid to get wet (hurt)
it is raining (could get hurt)
rainbow (worth the risk)

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dynamite0fistfull
06-04-2009

Rated 0 
the way i look at this song, i think its about a guy who doesn't want to settle down, "now it seems to me some fine things have been laid upon your table" refering to the girls he has been with but still he didn't want any of 'em, "you only want the ones that you cant get", and the singer is wondering how this guy can survive being aloner " don't your feet get cold in the winter time, the sky won't snow and the sun won't shine", and at the end he advises that deperado "you better let somebody love you before its too late", the singer is addressing that guy as a desperado though the guy himslef doesn't consider himself a one,

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convince
02-19-2009

Rated 0 
the last comment was good. The lyrics are excellent. I love the 2nd verse how Don explains how his freedom in reality has turned out to be a prison. To me it can be taken a different way as well: his future lover may be his prison, and she is walking through the world all alone. It really has two meanings. Great line.

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TheUnforgiven6488
01-21-2009

Rated 0 
This song is about a man who has spent his life with one night stands, and too many lovers that have let him down. This by far is my favorite Eagles song. He only wishes that he can find someone to love him, and all of his friends are telling him "Hey man. Just give it one more shot. This time you'll find happiness for sure." But he is afraid to even try. So he sits up on the fence, and roams around continuing to go on with the one night stands. He gambles his life away searching for his Queen of Hearts, but keeps getting the Diamonds.

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hungry4guppy
10-13-2008

Rated 0 
i think the writer is talking about himself from a third person point of view. when he was younger he rebelled andwent against society, its what the young people consider freedom. but this man went through life only seeking money.
"Don' 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"
but ignored his true feelings hiding behind a very egotistical attitude towards life thinking he was above everyone else around him.
his third person aspect of the song though is him trying to tell himself how lonely this life has been for him and how unhappy he is with his fake ideals. being very closed off

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lvmyshur
10-04-2008

Rated 0 
Have heard this song many times before and today it just kind of hit me. This song so relates to my current situation.

This cowboy who has been really hurt by love, chooses to close that gate to his heart forever. He will only go out with women who are emotionally unavailable and attracted by money, the queen of diamonds. However. his hunger for love draws him close to a very loving woman who didn't even know he had money. She is younger, beautiful and falls very much in love with him. At the same time he realizes he is developing feelings as well, his friends tease him about how he always said he was not going to fall for a woman again. He get scared of his own feelings for her and pulls away from the woman who loves him. When he puts time and distance between his heart and hers, so he will be able to suppress his feelings. But guess what cowboy? You are going to be 51 next week and not getting any younger. Need to come to your senses, and let this 36 year old woman into your heart to love you before she walks away too.

Swear it, this is my life right now. Seems word for word like this song.

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abangbear
09-14-2008

Rated 0 
The song is about a man who is alone, and is offered some advice by a friend. "Riding fences," is a metaphor for not committing to one thing or another. In this case, it refers to being in a serious relationship. "Drawing the Queen of Diamonds" vs. the "Queen of Hearts" is a metaphor for marrying for money vs. marrying for love. "Don't your feet get cold in the wintertime, The sky won't snow and the sun won't shine...." etc., refers to being human, like everyone else, but going through life alone you experience the highs and lows alone, and soon you have no reason to be with anyone.

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deltabean
09-03-2008

Rated 0 
There's a definite frustration in this song. To me, this song makes more sense from my perspective when I hear the Linda Ronstadt cover... But none-the-less, it seems to be about a love that will never happen because there's a guy who refuses to grow up. And really, we've all got to let somebody love us...

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purpletouch
09-02-2008

Rated 0 
oh i forgot to add..since that person had a horrible experience.."this things that are pleasing you, cud hurt you somehow"..it could be either getting even with who ever caused that person pain..or because since this person would have most likely been betrayed by someone he really trusted..he finds comfort and security in only trusting himself...

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purpletouch
09-02-2008

Rated 0 
for me this song seems like its about a person who's living life base on some horrible thing that happened to him..which is why you got the song talking about pain and hunger..
the queen of diamonds could mean worldly things to numb the person out from the pain.. then, queen of hearts wud be one's conscience..as in the saying where's your heart...
"And freedom, oh freedom well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone" its hard for this person to break away from the past..he still lives in the past..
"You better let somebody love you, before it's too late" this person trusts no one..because of that thing that happened to him before he always has his guard up..so unless he opens up his heart to someone..that's the only time he'd be able to move on from the pain..

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LesPaul2510
08-19-2008

Rated 0 
hmm. I may be way off here, but I'm thinking a little differently on this song meaning, probably due to my own life experiences. I think it's about someone who is very isolated, or wants to be at least, hence the fences and gate. They feel very comfortable in their isolationism, but the singer is trying to tell them that it'll hurt them, too much of a good thing is bad for them. I'm not too sure about the cards, but as far as the fine things on the table goes, I feel that it means basically that the person has good fortune and they don't want them, but want the more unrealistic ones. he's basically telling the person to come to reality, because it's not possible to live isolated. again, I may be way off, but that's my opinion

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bmwmusicgirl
07-13-2008

Rated 0 
I love it!

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Ryder77
06-13-2008

Rated 0 
I think this song is about a guy who has been looking for a woman who is beautiful(Queen of Diamonds) even if they didn't actually care about him they just wanted his money, when there were other women who loved him for who he was(Queen of Hearts). They are saying that people need to not worry so much about looks but more about love before it gets too late and you lose someone truly important. When they say the line about fine things being laid upon his table I think what they are trying to say is that there have been Queens of Hearts who have tried to show their love for him but he wanted the Queens of Diamonds who he couldn't get. This song is such an amazing song, very sad, and I think people need to really listen to this song and understand that love is more important than material things.

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coldpot
02-16-2008

Rated 0 
This song is about unrequited love and its futility. It is also about the mental prison that we get ourselves into because of rigidity in our thought structure. Too much quest for perfection in whatever we pursue may not necessarily enrich our lives. And if its love . it does not guraantee the dream man or woman , no matter how relentlessly we chase the dream.

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gcm
11-28-2007

Rated 0 
Desperado is probably my favorite Eagle's song of all time. I love the piano and the vocals, plus the percussion entrance.

I think this song is sung from the point of view of an older, wiser man (probably in a bar or something like that) telling a younger man (who is obviously confused about love) some tips about love and relationships.

The younger man has been spending his life chasing pretty beautiful women. The singer tells him: "Don't you draw the Queen of Diamonds, boy. She'll beat you if she's able, You know the queen of heats is always your best bet."

He then tells the younger man:"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" The singer makes the younger man realize that he has many nice girls that really love him, but they just weren't pretty enough for him.

This is an Awesome song!!!!!

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joe_fevola
11-18-2007

Rated 0 
And freedom, oh freedom well, that's just some people talkin'
Your prison is walking through this world all alone

What a line...

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limo
11-17-2007

Rated 0 
I love this song. My 2 favourite Eagles songs are Hotel California and Desperado and I'm starting to think Desperado is better...

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woozywoo
11-01-2007

Rated 0 
i think this song is about a young farther who has children, but stil wants to live out his dreams. but to do this he leaves his family. the family want him back but he only realises onces 'its to late'

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dannon205
09-27-2007

Rated 0 
Jackson Browne, a friend of Glenn Frey's, drove to the Southwest and was enchanted by the beautiful women driving pickup trucks. He began writing the song, but became frustrated and wasn't able to finish it. Soon after his return to LA, Frey asked to see it and take a crack at finishing it.

At the same time, David Geffen had just sold his label, Asylum (which the Eagles and Browne were on the artist roster), and the Eagles were a little upset w/ the music industry. The song, in part, makes somes references to the music industry--the constant pursuit and selling out.

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tcd
08-30-2007

Rated 0 
To me, this is a song about loneliness... about having an unsettled inner hunger that keeps driving someone into forever searching -- on the outside the person is tough. This person has something to prove by riding fences and going after the queen of diamonds... all the while never realizing that fine things are already laid upon the table, that there are good people all around who would share love and care about you, but first you have to let go of your pride and open the gate, and let the rainbow from above radiate to the people who care for you... before it's too late -- before the people around you get tired of the tough guy image, because it isn't really fooling anybody! (That the Desparado does not have to live in a self-made prison of being all alone -- that realize it or not, it's a choice.)

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