Darelle Holden

Vocals

Lyrically speaking Steely Dan use dark and subversive themes along with a lot of satire and clever wordplay. They make you think, question, delight and cringe all at the same time. Haitian Divorce is a favorite of mine. The song is about the “quickie” divorce industry in Haiti in the 1970’s.

The woman in the song goes for a quickie divorce, hooks up with a local, then comes back to the states pregnant by her fling but still married. “Some babies grow in a peculiar way”, the baby looks like a Haitian not like her husband. “Who’s this kinky so - and - so”?

Again a dark theme and satire but with an infectious groove. Oh, and I love the film reference, “now we dolly back, now we fade to black”, just like in an old movie. Brilliant!!