Steely Dan - Third World Man Lyrics

true perfectionists.

My favorite Larry Carlton, evah.

Is this your favorite Steely Dan song?

I always believed in common sense this song seals it.

The fade out is sublime, it wraps you up and takes you away off into the unknown and dark blue night-time distance. I used to set this album on and listen all the way through, it would take me off into a deep sleep...the guitar work is just amazing, and of course Steve Gadd and his musicality.

Is this your favorite Steely Dan song?

In this world there are two kinds of people: People who like Steely Dan, and people I'd rather not talk to.

YES! YES! YES!

I think a lot of people might miss the metaphor in the lyric Johnnys playroom is a bunker filled with sand, hes been mobilized since dawn now hes crouching on the lawn, they may have been talking about a Professional Golfer.

i don't think so........ This is the real world and soon we may all hiding from what is going on........

Nothing John Lennon was ever this good NOTHING WALTER AND DONALD will go down as the greatest writting team in history

Steely Dan, one of the most complex, talented and mesmerizing bands of all-time.

Both Gaucho and Aja albums are masterpiece's.

1000th like was from me )))

me too!

There will never be another group like the one that Donald Fagen and Walter Becker put together.

Steely Dan, they strove for perfection in the studio which made their music sound so naturally beautiful.

One world not three

Does anyone know what this song is about?

these days , it may about a father with his children in detention camps on the border.

gorgeous lush in all dimensions

Will never cease to listen to old Steely Dan...

Donald Fagen and Walter Becker were national treasures.

Song is a lullabuy

Yes!!! THE BEST!!!!

One could say since Can't Buy a Thrill to the present day: The very best.

why do i listen to Third World Man almost every night??????

Aja & Gaucho are the best 2 Steely Dan albums of all time
NO Question

I can't argue with that statement.

The Royal Scam is right up there amongst the best.

This became a wake up call to all who find todays violence sickning.

Immaculate

As with all of Steely Dan's work.

No idea what these cats gave . Oh man huge!

This has all the qualities of the best Steely Dan songs - a relaxing, haunting melody that always seems to trip you up just as you think you have figured it out, and lyrics that you almost sort of understand, even though you have actually no idea what it's all about.

me too! However - the changes, the fantastic musicians & make this an unforgettable song - Why isn't there a place on YOUTUBE to say "YES! i am listening to this for the 600+ time??????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

Yes, their melodies would always go in a direction that would surprise me.

much has been said about the Carlton solo here. To me, it pales in comparison to his solos in Kid Charlemagne, Don't Take Me Alive, and even Daddy Don't Live in that NYC No More, his first appearance on a Steely Dan record.

Larry Carlton is an American hero.

Truly beautiful song from an album that’s with me always.

Well spoken.

WOW!!!!!!! not the first or 100th to listen to this - -so scary and so on point..........................

Cannot get this song out of my head, it plays over and over. The guitar work is magnificent and unparalleled, puts chilly bumps on my arms every time I hear it.

The song has political implications that are very relevant in the world of today

You otta listen to the alturnative version of this just as good when you go blind ..it's called that Gaucho outtakes

outtakes? Are they on youtube? more than one song? or what? Steely Dan is known from lots of takes, LOTS!, for getting everything just like they wanted>>>

Big time studio musician Steve Gadd is playing drums...........Going to see him tonight in NYC at the Iridium! He played on several hits for Steely Dan and Paul Simon.

lucky you.....i just wish

Perfect for these steadily troubled times....Unfortunately.....

OMG , I've been listening to Steely Dan since 1976. THIRLD WORLD MAN ! ONE OF MY FAVOURITES!!! WOW ! LARRY CARLTON SOLO IS SUBLIME!!!
No words , just tears flowing from my eyes, DEEP RESPECT to STEELY DAN & everyone who contributed musically to ALL OF THEIR ALBUMS!
RIP WALTER.

So far ahead of their time

Larry Carlton is a genius guitar player. "steely dan" would never have been as good without Him!! simply masterful. He grabs each note and beautifies it.. One of my favorites. synchronisity with the trumpets is superb!! song about a veteran who served in the "sand box"!!

Got this cassette when it first  came out1980.   PUre masterpiece.

Sublime. There's just nothing else that describes it for me better than that word.

who rips that guitar, its wow wonderful, thanks for the song dudes

Larry Carlton.Bad MFer.

Got the Chords and Jamming all the time.. Old one but never loved it like now.>! 2019................go Donald.n RIP Walter..!

It's often said Larry "Delivers the shivers". No better evidence than the unbelievably tasty notes in his solo. Just phenomenal.

A first world guitar solo

This song! Words can't begin to describe it's beauty! ❤️

Donald Fagen is performing the entire Gaucho album in November of 2019 and my father is attending.  I need to find a way there or my life will not be complete.

Exquisite!

A masterpiece. Really more like a requiem.

You articulate the word (requiem) that unconsciously fills the mind as the song plays.

My youth flashes back at me. I was lucky to have found and appreciated these guys at a young age.,.. When my friends listened to zep and Sabbath.

total guts on your part.......all are good, this is another dimension!!!!!!!!

If anyone (like me) were looking for the lyrics --- they are in the uploader's description area.

Only 148k views?? Come on SD fans this is possibly the best musical group at their absolute best,

NAUGHTY BY NATURE - Live Or Die

a 10/10 composition

Intoxicating....

Haven't heard this in so long. There was a time when I felt this was the quintessential Steely Dan song. It left me with a lingering melancholic hole in my stomach.

There are so many form s of comunications,this is true,

to this day, I am a 3rd world man

A true gem. Vastly underappreciated.

Miss u already.

"Johnny's playroom is bunker filled with sand..." That describes my only son to a tee. When he was little he was always "playing army" with his toy guns, pointing them at his older sisters who pissed him off. Ironically, he ended up joining the United States Air Force as a mechanic on F-15E jet fighters. No guns necessary, just a tool kit.

"I saw the fireworks I believed that I was dreaming till the neighbors came out screaming..." reminds me of new years eve reactions that came from muslim refugees that have flooded Europe. They were freaking out when the sky lit up instead of celebrating the new year.

Thank your son for his service to his country.... I see he took the smart way, lol-not a Marine like my boy. ;-)

Larry Carlton's soulfully crunchy outro on this song could go on forever and I'd still not get enough.

Bought or stole this cassette as soon as it came out 1980. Played it so many times it's etch in my brain

My friend in Sacramento CA is a third world man. Black as night speaks Spanish. Forever homeless. More comfortable sleeping on the ground than in a bed. Always asking me "Who got da good chit, man! I mean da GOOOOD chit, man.".

..mm Yes had it new....almost wore it out in6 months...Love Lps....Old guy in Oregon...still a fan...Happy halloween..

no words......

Don't get me wrong guys i love the man & i'm a fan
But who thinks Donald sounds like Mr. Burns here?

At one point Donald Fagen sings a line in Italian: "E' l'era del terzo mondo" which means "It's the 3rd world era"

Thanks for the tid-bit of Italian nostalgia....

@Scott Clute My pleasure...I'm Italian living here in Italy...Visited the States lots in the past, though.....Met Great and Good People for the most part....

Meravigliosa

For some reason I have always thought the lyrics were about a guy with PTSD but their lyrics are hard to discern. And yes the Carlton solo is one of the greats so much emotion in a solo

The song is about a mercenary.

aren't all their songs like that? maybe that is why i love them so much......

I have NEVER heard ANY OTHER music... TRUE music... that has anywhere near the depth, dimension, and soul that is Steely Dan.
It is unfortunate that Steely Dan recordings were not on "The Golden Records".

"The Golden Records" are mounted on both "Voyager spacecraft probes" launched in 1977 to travel the galaxy that contains music, speeches, photographs, etc. of life on Earth, as well as a "map" on where Earth is located.

Donald Fagen and the crew make the music to where Its like you would of wrote it.

This beat is so loose and slimey! I love it. Man

your comment is famous on tumblr

Best vocal performance that Fagen has ever recorded.

world class dan!

Is it just me but does this song bring anyone else to tears?

'til the neighbors came out screaming: 'he's a third world man!' Oh, the horror. [chuckles] Great stuff.

I love the whole song, but the last couple of minutes are serious bliss

è l'era del terzo mondo. w l'Italia

Clearly a song about Stewie Griffin("."_".")

There is no match for this music anywhere. And in my opinion, nobody can measure up to Donald Fagen as a singer. He breathes life into these songs.

I'M SO fucking glad there are people out there who appreciate this band (and their not so famous songs) as much as I do

Such a haunting, beautiful song! This was during Donald's "harmony phase" in the early-80s, experimenting with harmonizing his vocals to a deep richness that he would soon "outgrow" in future tracks. For more of this harmony, try "True Companion" on the Heavy Metal soundtrack.

The band can break through so many barriers,although as encrypted that they are.

This song hinted at domestic terrorism long before it became a common place reality.  Gotta love the Dan!!!

This always scared me. It reminds me of Maddie Clifton, murdered through her neck, after the baseball bat treatment...Third World kind of man.. Whacked. for no reason.

still worth hearing. nice one.

What a sad yet beautiful song. Makes me think of others in this vein: "Caroline, No" by the Beach Boys, or "Try not to Breathe" by REM.

Steely Dan likes Milwaukee. They average a visit every 8 years. I've seen them. 3 times, but without Becker would not be the same.

For those wondering about the lyrics, at least the stanza which repeats twice, "Soon you'll throw down your disguise We'll see behind those bright eyes By and by...." is an allusion to the Goddess, Athene, in the Odyssey, who would disguise herself to mortals in the poem, at times, and was referred to as, " Bright eyes". " By and by", is a term used as well in the poem.

thank you.....

Something about this song makes me cry and I'm a grown man. So hauntingly beautiful. Carlton's guitar is OMG!

Feels romantic.

of all the studio hands Becker and Fagen brought in for guitar work ..... and there were several , Carlton was the cream of the crop .   Years later Drew Zingg added great chops on tour and finally Jon Herrington .

Perfection!

1980 classic

absolutely superb!!!!!!!!!

New songs trying to copy these older songs lol..

naughty by nature also sampled this. great song

The WORDS were Dan and Walters. The Studio musicians made it all come ALIVE. Walters last wife. Is there no CURE for these BITCHE$....yes. there is.

??????????

Such a beautiful, perfect song. Great way to end one of their best albums (maybe THEE best).

R.I.P., Mr. Becker.

Yes, beautiful song.

@rueben cristobal "Royal Scam" and "Gaucho," the two best for me.