Lyrics to
Black Cow

This version of Black Cow was released by Steely Dan in 1977.

Our Decade Lyrics Steely Dan profile has all of the Black Cow lyrics from 1977 and many more songs from the Steely Dan discography that we have on file.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Steely Dan or about the 1970s in general.

In the corner
Of my eye
I saw you in Rudy’s
You were very high
You were high
It was a cryin’ disgrace
They saw your face

On the counter
By your keys
Was a book of numbers
And your remedies
One of these
Surely will screen out the sorrow
But where are you tomorrow

I can’t cry anymore
While you run around
Break away
Just when it
Seems so clear
That it’s
Over now
Drink your big black cow
And get out of here

Down to Greene Street
There you go
Lookin’ so outrageous
And they tell you so
You should know
How all the pros play the game
You change your name

Like a gangster
On the run
You will stagger homeward
To your precious one
I’m the one
Who must make everything right
Talk it out till daylight

I don’t care anymore
Why you run around
Break away
Just when it
Seems so clear
That it’s
Over now
Drink your big black cow
And get out of here

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Steely Dan has released many songs over the years besides Black Cow. Steely Dan released songs from 1972 to 2000 spanning across albums like Can't Buy A Thrill, Countdown To Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja, Gaucho, and Two Against Nature. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Steely Dan.

If you're a fan of lyrics from 1970s songs looking for more songs from 1977 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and Black Cow by Steely Dan

The lyrics to Black Cow are the words, verses and chorus for the song released by Steely Dan in 1977. Elements of the lyrics to Black Cow are both direct in meaning and also metaphorical with the real meanings of the song only known by Steely Dan and any collaborating writers working on the lyrics for Black Cow back when it was created.

Some people have an interest in the etymology behind words and phrases. You can take apart the lyrics to Black Cow by Steely Dan in a number of ways. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to Black Cow" means the words set to the music of Black Cow, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Steely Dan. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to Black Cow and the lyrics to Black Cow are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Steely Dan who came here looking just for the lyrics to Black Cow, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

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