Jascha Heifetz plays…

One of my favourite Bob Dylan songs…
And my favourite lines are
“She knows there’s no success like failure
And that failure’s no success at all.”

My love she speaks like silence,
Without ideals or violence,
She doesn’t have to say she’s faithful,
Yet she’s true, like ice, like fire.
People carry roses,
Make promises by the hours,
My love she laughs like the flowers,
Valentines can’t buy her.

In the dime stores and bus stations,
People talk of situations,
Read books, repeat quotations,
Draw conclusions on the wall.
Some speak of the future,
My love she speaks softly,
She knows there’s no success like failure
And that failure’s no success at all.

The cloak and dagger dangles,
Madams light the candles.
In ceremonies of the horsemen,
Even the pawn must hold a grudge.
Statues made of match sticks,
Crumble into one another,
My love winks, she does not bother,
She knows too much to argue or to judge.

The bridge at midnight trembles,
The country doctor rambles,
Bankers’ nieces seek perfection,
Expecting all the gifts that wise men bring.
The wind howls like a hammer,
The night blows cold and rainy,
My love she’s like some raven
At my window with a broken wing.

Copyright © 1965; renewed 1993 Special Rider Music

Like a Hurricane – Neil Young
This is just too beautiful to forget.

Once I thought I saw you in a crowded hazy bar,
Dancing on the light from star to star.
Far across the moonbeam I know that’s who you are,
I saw your brown eyes turning once to fire.

You are like a hurricane
There’s calm in your eye.
And I’m gettin’ blown away
To somewhere safer
where the feeling stays.
I want to love you but
I get so blown away.

I am just a dreamer, but you are just a dream,
You could have been anyone to me.
Before that moment you touched my lips
That perfect feeling when time just slips
Away between us on our foggy trip.

You are like a hurricane
There’s calm in your eye.
And I’m gettin’ blown away
To somewhere safer
where the feeling stays.
I want to love you but
I get so blown away.

This has got to be one of my most favourite bands of all time, across all genres of music. I discovered them when I was around 17 or 18 I think. And it has been one growing love affair! I have heard a lot of music from multiple cultures and genres and styles, and I can safely say that I have never heard a band as unique as Steely Dan.

To quote Wikipedia,
“Their music is characterized by complex jazz-influenced structures and harmonies, literate but sometimes obscure or ambiguous lyrics filled with dark sarcasm, and their adroit musicianship and studio perfectionism.”

The name of the band comes from a dildo in the William Burroughs novel Naked Lunch! Donald Fagen and Walter Becker, the two guys who are The Steely Dan were both fans of Beat Literature.

For an interesting site which gives one a idea of how obscure their lyrics are, visit The Steely Dan Dictionary.
“The creative genii behind Steely Dan (Walter Becker and Donald Fagen) have long been fond of peppering their lyrics with arcane literary and cultural references, the meaning of which can be murky at best (given the duo’s legendary reticence). After searching in vain for an explanatory lexicon, I decided to create my own.”

Here is a live version of one of their hits, “Do it again”. This is probably one of their most popular tracks due to its peppy beat and apparently simple ‘rockish’ format. It reached #6 on the US charts in 1973.

In the mornin you go gunnin’
For the man who stole your water
And you fire till he is done in
But they catch you at the border
And the mourners are all singin’
As they drag you by your feet
But the hangman isn’t hangin’
And they put you on the street

You go back Jack do it again
Wheel turnin’ ’round and ’round
You go back Jack do it again

When you know she’s no high climber
Then you find your only friend
In a room with your two timer
And you’re sure you’re near the end
Then you love a little wild one
And she brings you only sorrow
All the time you know she’s smilin’
You’ll be on your knees tomorrow

You go back Jack do it again
Wheel turnin’ ’round and ’round
You go back Jack do it again

Now you swear and kick and beg us
That you’re not a gamblin’ man
Then you find you’re back in Vegas
With a handle in your hand
Your black cards can make you money
So you hide them when you’re able
In the land of milk and honey
You must put them on the table

You go back Jack do it again
Wheel turnin’ ’round and ’round
You go back Jack do it again

…it’s better to burn out than to fade away.
Click on the image for a transcript