I've always thought of it as one of the most densely obscure songs in the catalogue. Still, as with most of the really impenetrable Dan songs, you get certain impressions.
We have two characters: the narrator (who's addressing "you": a girl?) and "Lonnie." Lonnie's glory days are in the past; he's not feeling too good about things. The narrator is having issues with his girl.
At the end, the narrator decides to cut his losses and have a change of scene: he heads down 7th Ave. (this is New York, of course, not Boston, according to Becker) -- leaving the city? or maybe it's just that his other friends downtown aren't as much of a drag as Lonnie. For his part, Lonnie ODs or something.
The Boston Rag itself: who knows what it actually is, but it seems like it represents days past, which the narrator and Lonnie both miss quite a bit in their own ways.
At this site there's a bit of exegesis that tries to see this song as all about early '70s malaise regarding political and social events, etc. The "Boston rag" is no less than Old
( ... )
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We have two characters: the narrator (who's addressing "you": a girl?) and "Lonnie." Lonnie's glory days are in the past; he's not feeling too good about things. The narrator is having issues with his girl.
At the end, the narrator decides to cut his losses and have a change of scene: he heads down 7th Ave. (this is New York, of course, not Boston, according to Becker) -- leaving the city? or maybe it's just that his other friends downtown aren't as much of a drag as Lonnie. For his part, Lonnie ODs or something.
The Boston Rag itself: who knows what it actually is, but it seems like it represents days past, which the narrator and Lonnie both miss quite a bit in their own ways.
At this site there's a bit of exegesis that tries to see this song as all about early '70s malaise regarding political and social events, etc. The "Boston rag" is no less than Old ( ... )
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"Lady Bayside" refers to a community where Becker hailed from in Queens.
Interestingly enough, Lonnie had never been to Boston, and the song takes place in New York.
I still don't know what it all means.
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