Hey Nineteen
| Hey Nineteen | |
|---|---|
| Steely Dan | |
| publication | November 1980 |
| length | 4:44 (single version) 5:10 (album version) |
| Genre (s) | Jazz rock |
| Author (s) | Donald Fagen , Walter Becker |
| Label | ABC Records |
| album | Gaucho |
Hey Nineteen is a song by the jazz rock band Steely Dan , which was released in 1979 as the first single from the album Gaucho . The music and text of the composition are from Walter Becker and Donald Fagen . The song reached number 10 on the US Billboard charts . On the Gaucho album , the piece of music is the second of a total of seven.
Lyrics
The lyrics consists of two verses , a musical bridge (engl .: bridge ) and an alternating chorus . Told in the first person perspective , the first verse tells of earlier times ( “way back when in Sixty-seven” - “then, 1967”) and asks “[…] but where the hell am I?” (“But where the hell am I? ”) . The following stanzas and the chorus are addressed in a casual, direct form of address (“hey Nineteen”) to an unnamed 19-year-old young woman. The older lyric self in the lyrics indicates superiority and serenity and repeatedly emphasizes one's own need for interpersonal distance: “No, we cannot dance / talk to one another. [...] No, we have nothing in common. "According to one interpretation, the song is about" the disappointment of a middle-aged man over a young lover ":
"Hey Nineteen, this is ' Retha Franklin / She doesn't remember the Queen of Soul / Hard times for the only survivors / She thinks I'm crazy but I'm just aging."
The lyrics conclude with a hint of drug experiences, presumably with cannabis products - the varieties "Cuervo Gold" and "Colombian" are mentioned - which (should) help the lyric self to have a "wonderful evening".
occupation
- Donald Fagen - vocals, electric piano, synthesizer solo ( Prophet-5 )
- Walter Becker - bass, guitar
- Rick Marotta - drums
- Victor Feldman , Steve Gadd - percussion
- Hugh McCracken - guitar
- Frank Floyd, Zack Sanders - backing vocals
Web links
- Steely Dan: 10 Essential Songs on rollingstone.com
Individual evidence
- ↑ billboard.com: Hey Nineteen
- ↑ a b c Walter Becker / Donald Fagen - Hey Nineteen . Booklet of the album Gaucho, CD edition (MCA, 1984 - MCD 01814 / DMCL 1814)
- ↑ "No we can't dance together." […] “No we got nothing in common” - quote from the lyrics of Hey Nineteen
- ↑ Jazz Today: The Strange, Mixed Fate of Steely Dan ( Memento June 15, 2006 in the Internet Archive )