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BODHISATTVA Lyrics
Artist: Steely Dan
Album: Countdown To Ecstacy
Bodhisattva
Would you take me by the hand
Bodhisattva
Would you take me by the hand
Can you show me
The shine of your Japan
The sparkle of your china
Can you show me
Bodhisattva
Bodhisattva
I'm gonna sell my house in town
Bodhisattva
I'm gonna sell my house in town
And I'll be there
To shine in your Japan
To sparkle in your China
Yes I'll be there
Bodhisattva
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Comments/Interpretations
Awesome song. Definitely the the catchiest song Steely Dan ever released.
This is a '50s jitterbug! But yes, those bands you mentioned also occasionally pariodied older sounds.
Hands down the best Steely Dan song
CATCHY TUNE !!
Man, the talent of these geniuses simply transcends time. Catch the version from 'Alive in America' ... brilliance!
If you want to hear the band they lifted allot of their sound from listen to any old Spirit album. Try Fresh Garbage or Clear.
Oh, cool, I had to have these lyrics. I am walking a smoking piano bass line and the middle part going E-b, A, Dm, B-b, is sooo...
Oh, cool, I had to have these lyrics. I am walking a smoking piano bass line and the middle part going E-bM7, A7, Dm7, B-b9, is sooo...
That ONE word is soo catchy Bodhisattva, what does it mean?
toot
Thank you Greg. Justin's thoughts are sadly representative of far too many people these days. Does anyone care about knowing anything anymore?
Brilliant tune! The lyrics could be about anything. But I'm sure I hear Fagin's cynicism at work here. "The more I learn, the less I know. The more I know, the less I understand.)
Bodhisattva is actually referring to the "Bodhissatva" vow of compassion, which is a vow that followers of certain Kinds of Buddhism take, that states that you won't reach enlightenment without everyone else reaching it as well (or loosely, helping others to reach enlightenment) someone who is enlightened is in "nirvana" or "moksha" and i guess technically, becomes nothing
its rightly joyful because bodhisattva means someone that participates joyfully in a world of sorrow (amor fati).
I can't stop listening to it. The best guitar leads ever recorded.....hands down!
Yes, the song is about enlightenment, and ridding yourself of earthly objects; but it is also about drug use, and the state of being high. Come on guys, the Dan was always about drugs...it was the f...in' 70's !
Catchy song, but I like "King of the World" and "Razorboy" much better.
this is a great song. the guitar and keyboard duel back and forth is awesome. wish i could have seen it live!
this is a great song. the guitar and keyboard duel back and forth is awesome. wish i could have seen it live! the live version from santa monica with the intro from the wasted guy in the beginning not knowing who the band was he was introducing and hearing either becker or fagen say steely dan was hilarious to my 15 year old son and i listening to it in our car! great stuff!
do your homework Justin
indeed rockbandplaya i want to get this song on expert, but i have to settle with completion on hard (nice language justin, by the way!)
Sqdel... not everyone is perfect. And although they might have taken drugs that doesn't mean the song involes drugs. And at least getting the word out about being enlightened will maybe help other people become better. I mean I've done research projects about nirvana and that stuff but I reasearch bodhisattva and learned about it. Some people are really dumb. At least there were only a handful of stupid ppl who posted on this. Btw song is amazing!
Justin has no soul
The guy introducing them in Santa Monica is Dr. John
I just read all the comments above but no got the sexual end of the song. Come on!!! "Can you show me the shine of your Japan, the sparkle of your china?" And then at the end he sings, "and I'll be there, to shine in your Japan, to sparkle in your China, yes I'll be there." Wake up already.
There is a live version of this on the Hard to find album "Steely Dan - Gold" that rocks the house. This is an awesome album to find too, ass every track is musically on the mark. Hard to pick a favorite Steely Dan Track, but "Gold" has all the best.
Arrrrrggggghhh!!! Love this song but it has been stuck in my head for 2 weeks!!!! It's there when I wake up, there all day, and there when I go to sleep!
This is the most awesome song ever! I used to make it on the beach and on the sailboat by moonlight with my sweetie listening to the Dan! Grow up little boys......this is love makin' music!!!
I like how many comments there are here, starting 'This song is about what I think, not what you think'...
This Song SUCKS, I hate this song!!!
I think y'all might be missing the play on words that makes "the shine of your Japan the sparkle of your china" so fun. jaPAN, CHINA = nice clean dishes to show off.
I liked the song growing up....I still like the song now.....shine the china/nurds selling their houses/well said everybody.....lets hear it again steely...""
I love Steely Dan. i don't count this is as their 'best' as some of you do, but it's very catchy. Fagen actually dismissed the song. As for the guys who says they "lifted" a "lot" of their sound from Spirit, I have to disagree. I have most all of Spirits studio and live releases, and bootlegs, and there's plenty of Steely Dan you won't hear in Spirit; and vice versa.
I love vintage Steely Dan. countdown to ecstasy is virtually perfect. whose hand is that on the control board anyway? I've always thought the song was mocking somebody, maybe even me. And I love the band for that. if you want to hear the boys playing out of respect check out parker's band.
To all of you that commented on the above. I am Buddhist, And Bodhisatva means enlightenment and these lyrics are so far removed from the real interpretation of Bodhisatva, its hurting my heart.
Probably the only girl in my highschool who knows this song, not to mention can't get enough of it!! "rikki don't loose that number" is still my favorite, but this song is great :)
quan yin - please dont take it as a misinterpretation by fagen/becker. it is more of an indictment of those who think they are enlightened by reading a book, taking drugs, or following a religious leader. it is more a cynical look at trend-followers than it is about the truly enlightened.
Becker and Fagan loved to goof on the Nuveau Riche Hip and this one is the tops along with "Hey Nineteen". Two things make this song so good: (1)the Becker/Baxter solos and the work of Fagan on the Oberheim and piano and (2) the silly and hypermanic lyrics. That four chord resolving bridge is right tasty, ain't it?
Blair, you may be on to something with the Fagan & Becker tongue in cheek, sardonic tone. My interpretation of Japan and China reference is purely sexual.
The Idiot who suggested that eastern religions are Superior to Western, really needs a REAL STEELY DAN PLACED LIKE HIS MOMMA'S THERMOMETER........ - You don't have to be a Christian to recognize that JC/Emmanuelle has no EQUAL.....
You might be confused, Cjdesmosedici. Isn't Emanuelle some porno girl? Oh well, you can worship how you please. And why all the hippie-bashing? They were a bit pretentious, but basically harmless. At least they rarely shot people (unless drafted).
Take me by the hand
Saw The Dan at the Wang in Boston last night. Hearing/seeing Bodisattva live was unbelievable! And they kept the tempo; the drummer was exceptional!
Charlie Freak is one of the saddest songs ever written. Haitian Divorce,the funniest!
Justin, it may be that it does not make a lot of sense and yes you could have put some senseless lyrics to a blues riff and made a ton of money but YOU didn't! Steely Dan did and it was a hit and still is. Senseless or not! BTW - Bodhisattva means enlightened one
Good song
It means finishing last at The Preakness.
Greg wrote, "Justin, you are an idiot." I take issue with this. You're not an idiot, Justin. You're Justinidiot, but at least you're not THE Idiot. (That's Dostoevsky.) Thanks, all, for the bestowment of these rich interpretative dances on the pathway of/to/by/for the Ever-Grinning Bodhisattva, Steely Dan, or...not.
I guess I always thought it was about having a crush on an Asian woman. I never heard of anyone getting that excited about Buddhism. The singer is willing to give up all his worldly possessions to go off with her in the hope of sharing her sparkle. But maybe I'm wrong. Look at the lyrics for "Aja," another great Steely Dan song, which also has a spiritual tone. On the other hand, Aja can be a woman's name and ties in well with the Asian woman on the album cover (remember those?). The sense of yearning for something profound (either spirituality or the love of a woman) is wonderful in both of these songs.
We can't know the intention of the lyricist when the lyrics are as full of metaphor as these are. One of the marks of a Steely Dan lyric is that exact interpretation is not the desirable end, at least in terms of regergitating the lyricist's intent. The lyricist provides a scaffold, and framework, but the audience throws up the Sheetrock and paint. Audience is not passive, and must become involved in the process and protocol of the artistic experience unfolding while the song develops.
This is, no doubt, their best song, in my opinion. The lyrics are just as mystical as the song title.