Artists
Musicians featured in this piece are:
Donald Fagen – lead vocals, keyboards, horn and rhythm arrangements
Walter Becker – bass guitar
Written by Donald Fagen. Produced by Walter Becker. Released as the third track (5:06/5:07) on Kamakiriad (Reprise Records, May 21, 1993).
“Springtime” is described by reviewers as one of the funkier, horn-driven tracks on Kamakiriad, with a Classic Rock Review write-up singling out Walter Becker‘s funky bass line and the song’s blend of strong backing horns and evocative keyboards. It fits into the album’s larger concept — an eight-song cycle following a narrator’s road trip in a futuristic, eco-friendly car called the Kamakiri — with promotional copy for the album’s audiophile reissues describing the track’s theme as revisiting old romances through virtual reality. Kamakiriad marked the first full collaboration between Fagen and Becker since Steely Dan’s 1980 album Gaucho, and helped spark both their reunion as a duo and Steely Dan’s first tour in nearly 20 years.
Donald Fagen – Springtime Lyrics
Here at Laughing Pines where the party never ends
There’s a spicy new attraction on the Funway
You can scan yourself for traces of old heartaches
The details of desire shimmering, shimmering
Yowie! It’s Connie Lee
At the wheel of her Shark-de-Ville
We’re cruisin’ at about a thousand miles an hour
But the car is standin’ still
So good to hear that crazy laugh
To hear her whisper “hold me tight”
To learn to love all over again
On that warm wet April night
Swing out to Lake Nostalgia
Take Route 5 to Laughing Pines
Get off at Funway West
Drive into Springtime
Drive into Springtime
Easter Break – ’66
A shack on Cape Sincere
Mad Mona bakin’ gospel candy
It was a radical year
We get a little silly
And fall into microspace
It’s even better this time around
With Coltrane on the K.L.H.
Swing out to Lake Nostalgia
Take Route 5 to Laughing Pines
Get off at Funway West
Drive into Springtime
Drive into Springtime
It’s you and me, honey, in a crowded booth
At the Smokehouse in the Sand
I’m dragging out some bad old gag
When you touch my hand
At 5 a.m. we go out of this place
You look absurdly sweet
We hike downtown to Avenue A
Like we own the street
Swing out to Lake Nostalgia
Take Route 5 to Laughing Pines
Get off at Funway West
Drive into Springtime
Swing out to Lake Nostalgia
Take Route 5 to Laughing Pines
Get off at Funway West
Drive into Springtime
Drive into Springtime
Drive into Springtime
Drive into Springtime
Drive into Springtime
Drive into Springtime
To listen to other songs from the Teleskop 17 program and the full program, click here.