What we have here is failure...to get my weekly post on time....
My introduction to this week's tune was the 1977 release of the album that featured it. It was one of those albums that, if you were a white kid in 1970s America, you heard it on the radio and heard it plenty. I actually loved the first single that was released from the album, but through the years our song of the week overtook it. Which isn't to say that that first single won't show up on Friday Night Jukebox at some point in time....
I wrote about Steely Dan way back in 2016, in Vol. CII, and other than continuing to tour (their last LP release was in 2003), there really is nothing new to report concerning their music. Sadly, one half of the duo that was Steely Dan, Walter Becker, passed away in 2017 from esophageal cancer. Donald Fagen, the other half of the aforesaid duo, "reluctantly" agreed to continue the band after Becker's death. I should also note that, for whatever reason, Steely Dan is one of those bands that I still listen to quite regularly and still enjoy quite thoroughly.
"Deacon Blues" was the third single from their sixth album, the rather I Have No Clever Play on Words for This One entitled Aja. The single would reach #19 (with a bullet!), while the album would peak at #3. The album also was ranked #63 on Rolling Stone's most recent list of the five hundred best albums of all-time.
Fun Fact: While writing the song, the duo wanted to come up with a name for losers to juxtapose with Crimson Tide for Alabama. Though not football fans, they liked the name of Rams defensive lineman Deacon Jones and somehow turned his first name into "Deacon Blues" (though in fairness, Jones was hardly a loser, eventually reaching the Pro Football Hall of Fame).
"Deacon Blues" deftly weaves the tale of a man who's going to walk away from the life he's leading and try to make it as a saxophone player. Becker and Fagen even put him up there on the stage. Instrumentally it's a laid-back groove with too many instruments to name, but there's a nice sax solo and lots of horns, and some funky ass drums. Fagen sings it in the first person and captures all the determination and dreams of the man who wants to blow his sax perfectly. A couple of nice moments are the a) "I, I..." stutter in the chorus and the b) backing vocal repeat of "Deacon Blues" also in the chorus. Both Becker and Fagen have stated that they think the wannabe sax player eventually fails, but sometimes the dream is enough. A beautiful song about the power of hope, especially relevant in the era of Trump.
Lyric Sheet: "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..."
Enjoy:
Fuck Donald Trump
Peace,
emaycee
