Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician and songwr… Read Full Bio ↴Donald Jay Fagen (born January 10, 1948) is an American musician and songwriter, best known as the co-founder, lead singer, and the principal songwriter (along with partner Walter Becker) of Steely Dan.
Fagen is known for his use of complex jazz harmonies, elaborate arrangements, and exacting attention to detail and launched his successful, if sporadic solo career in 1982.

Fagen penned a group of songs based on his experiences as a young man in 1950's America, and the resulting album, The Nightfly, was released in 1982, and is one of the first albums to be recorded entirely digitally. The album has been certified platinum by the RIAA. After a quiet time musically (he is reported to have suffered from writers block) for the rest of the 80s he returned in 1993 with Kamakiriad, which is a conceptual album based on a car journey. The album was produced by Walter Becker and represented the first collaboration between the two since Gaucho.

This collaboration reignited Steely Dan and they released two more albums, the Grammy award winning "Two Against Nature" in 2000, and "Everything Must Go" in 2003.

In 2006, Fagen released his third solo album Morph the Cat, which is partly based on old age and death, and was well received by fans.

Fagen's fourth solo album, Sunken Condos, was released in 2012, an event not added to this Wiki until 2018; some of Fagen's fans believe that he would approve.

Snowbound
Donald Fagen Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

At Nervous Time
We roll downtown
We've got scenes to crash
We're gonna trick and trash

We're gonna find some fun
We hit the street
With visors down

With our thermasuits

Sealed up tight
We can beat the freeze
And get saved tonight
Let's stop off at the Metroplex

That little dancer's got some style
Yes she's the one I'll be waiting for
At the stage door

[Chorus]
Snowbound
Let's sleep in today
Wake me up
When the wolves come out to play
Heat up
These white nights
We're gonna turn this town
Into a city of lights

We take the tube
To Club Hi Ho
It's about deadspace
It's a marketplace

And a party house too
Something new
From Charlie Tokyo
It's a kind of pyramid

With a human heart
Beating in an ion grid
A critic grabs us
And says without a smile

The work seduces us with light
Eviva laughs and we step out
Into the blue-white night

[Chorus]

We sail our icecats on the frozen river
Some loser fires off a flare, amen
For seven seconds it's like Christmas day
And then it's dark again
And then it's dark again

[Chorus]

Overall Meaning

The lyrics to Donald Fagen's "Snowbound" depict a group of individuals on a wild and unpredictable night out in the midst of a blizzard. The intense excitement and feeling of rebellion is conveyed through the lines "We're gonna trick and trash...We're gonna find some fun...We're gonna turn this town into a city of lights." The group is relentless in their search for entertainment and adventure during the "nervous time" of the night. They shield themselves from the freezing temperatures with "thermasuits" and hit the town despite the weather.

As the song continues, the group ventures to the Metroplex where they encounter a dancer who catches their eye. Fagen sings "That little dancer's got some style, yes, she's the one I'll be waiting for at the stage door." This line seems to indicate the singer's interest in the dancer and the possibility of a future encounter. The chorus suggests that the group wants to "sleep in" and wait for the "wolves" to come out to play, emphasizing their desire to live recklessly and indulge in spontaneous decisions.

As the night progresses, the group visits Club Hi Ho, a location that is described as a "marketplace and party house too" that has a "human heart beating in an ion grid." Finally, the song ends with an interesting image of the group sailing icecats on a frozen river while someone fires off a flare. This 7-second moment is likened to Christmas day but is quickly followed by the realization that it's dark once again.

Line by Line Meaning

At Nervous Time
At a time of anxiety and excitement

We roll downtown
We make our way to the city center

We've got scenes to crash
We have some parties to gatecrash

We're gonna trick and trash
We're planning to cause some mischief

We're gonna find some fun
We're looking to have a good time

We hit the street
We start walking down the road

With visors down
With the protective coverings of our suits down

With our thermasuits
Wearing our specially designed protective gear

Sealed up tight
Fully enclosed and protected from the cold weather

We can beat the freeze
We can handle and survive the harsh winter conditions

And get saved tonight
We will be safe from the effects of the cold night

Let's stop off at the Metroplex
Let's take a break at the Metroplex building

That little dancer's got some style
The female dancer is impressive

Yes she's the one I'll be waiting for
I want to meet her at the stage door

Snowbound
Trapped inside due to the snowfall

Let's sleep in today
Let's stay in bed and relax today

Wake me up
Only wake me up

When the wolves come out to play
When things get exciting

Heat up
Make things exciting

These white nights
All the night activities because of the snow

We're gonna turn this town
We're going to make this town

Into a city of lights
Full of life and excitement

We take the tube
We take the subway

To Club Hi Ho
To the Hi Ho club

It's about deadspace
It's a place with no life or energy

It's a marketplace
A place to exchange goods or information

And a party house too
Also a place to party and have fun

Something new
Something different from what we have experienced before

From Charlie Tokyo
Charlie Tokyo came up with this new concept

It's a kind of pyramid
It has a pyramid shape to it

With a human heart
It has a center that drives its energy and liveliness

Beating in an ion grid
The energy source that powers the pyramid

A critic grabs us
A person critical of the pyramid and its concept stops us

And says without a smile
And delivers this message with no desire to be friendly

The work seduces us with light
But the pyramid is appealing because of its light display

Eviva laughs and we step out
Eviva finds the situation amusing and we leave the critic behind

Into the blue-white night
In the midst of the snowy winter night

We sail our icecats on the frozen river
We ride on our iceboats on the cold and icy river

Some loser fires off a flare, amen
Someone randomly fires a flare

For seven seconds it's like Christmas day
For a brief moment, it's like a festive celebration

And then it's dark again
But then the moment of excitement passes and everything returns to being quiet and dark

And then it's dark again
And everything is still dark again