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Deacon Blues Lyrics

Artist: Steely Dan

This is the day of the expanding man
That shape is my shade
There where I used to stand
It seems like only yesterday
I gazed through the glass
At ramblers, wild gamblers
That's all in the past

You call me a fool
You say it's a crazy scheme
This one's for real
I already bought the dream
So useless to ask me why
Throw a kiss and say goodbye
I'll make it this time
I'm ready to cross that fine line

I'll learn to work the saxaphone
I play just what I feel
Drink Scotch whiskey all night long
And die behind the wheel
They got a name for the winners in the world
And I want a name when I lose
They call Alabama the Crimson Tide
Call me Deacon Blues

My back to the wall
A victim of laughing chance
This is for me
The essence of true romance
Sharing the things we know and love
With those of my kind
Libations
Sensations
That stagger the mind

I crawl like a viper
Through these suburban streets
Make love to these women
Languid and bittersweet
I'll rise when the sun goes down
Cover every game in town
A world of my own
I'll make it my home sweet home

(refrain)
This is the night of the expanding man
I take one last drag
As I approach the stand
I cried when I wrote this song
Sue me if I play too long
This brother is free
I'll be what I want to be

Comments/Interpretations

by Sarah on 6/3/2008 6:40am
i lol to this song it is so true but its supposed be gin not wiskey

by GJL on 6/19/2008 12:00pm
What are you talking about, gin not scotch whiskey? Get a clue and a life...

by TheGamerr on 6/22/2008 3:12pm
Yeah, the dumbass who said it was supposed to be gin needs to stop listening to Steely Dan.

by tom on 11/16/2008 1:49pm
lets get all pissed and overworked by somebody making mistakes... there is no room for mistakes in life, come on now people... seriously

by JIM on 12/23/2008 3:45pm
Someone says something after every time they sing "I want a name when I lose". Anyone know anything about this?

by Occam's Razor on 8/2/2009 11:49pm
Demon Deacons was the name of the always losing Wake Forest team---counter to 'Bama. Hence, Deacon Blues.

The reference to 'BAMA is supposed to be sarcastic, as the boys went to Bard. However, in a brilliant counter to this, the song is now part of the Alabama Marching Bank usual repertoire. Ignoring sarcasm is the best revenge.

by Incisor on 9/3/2011 2:34am
..This is a song about personal change, no longer fitting into "Societal expectations', and becoming re-formatted and ...free in the process,(ie. This Brother is free..) Yeah, it is a slam at Alabama...as a Homogenous place espousing "societal Norms".

What is your name going to be once you cognitively "cross that line" --you get to choose your name--society doesn't ---is the key to the song.

by thedude on 1/12/2012 11:39am
I like what Incisor has to say; very perceptive.... that and any song about Scotch can't go wrong.

by Ironic Science Vessel on 7/22/2012 9:40am
You're all idiots