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This is about Friday, September 24, 1869. It is known as "Black Friday" in the US because of a failed ploy that left many wealthy investors broke. The investors tried to corner the market on gold, buying as much of it as they could and driving up the price, but when the government found out, they released $4 million worth of gold into the market, driving down the price and clobbering the investors.

While the song is about events in the US, it mentions a town in Australia: "Fly down to Musswellbrook." Musswellbrook is a rural town 2 hours North of Sydney that is full of kangaroos (thus the line, "Nothing to do but feed all the kangaroos"). It's possible that Walter Becker and Donald Fagen selected the name of Musswellbrook from an atlas, mainly because it worked well with the next line, "I'm going to strike out all the big red words from my little black book." They also wanted a place far away from Los Angeles. (thanks, Adrian - Sydney, Australia)

Comments:

There's GOT to be more to the reason for Muswellbrook being mentioned in this song. The first verse is obviously about the market crash. "Black Friday" has sort of been used lately to refer to the day after Thanksgiving for several years now. The third verse puzzled me for a long time, until I started getting the Christ imagery: "Gonna dig myself a hole/Gonna lay down in it til I satisfy my soul," refering to Good Friday, the day Christ was killed and buried. The pronunciation of: "...if he don't come A-CROSS..." refers back to the cross, of course, and then: "I'm gonna let it roll," seems to refer to rolling the stone away from the tomb; the resurrection. I can't help thinking that there must be some more complex reason behind using Muswellbrook as a location; and I'm suspecting that it might have something to do with aborigonies, hence the "Black" of the title. Would there have been a massacre on that site at some point in Australian history? Some sort of cruel colonial bookkeeping that necessitated a striking-out of big red words?
- Tom, Pittsburgh, PA

I'll complete the story. It is told from the vantage point of one of the investors ruined by 1869's market crash. The "strike the red numbers from the little black book" refers to going to Muswellbrook (middle of nowhere) and forgetting about city life and finance completely. Taht's the hole in the gound thing too. The archbishop thing might be him retreating to one of those monk places.
- Ian, Paddock Lake, WI

It’s Satan having some fun in bad times; collecting souls that are owed him, and checking out of town before he can be blamed. Then taunting; he will be back; re-anointed as the Anti-Christ (“the Archbishop gonna sanctify me”) for another even worse round of playtime.
- Fredrick, Tampa, FL

Musswellbrook is actually mispronounced in the song. Having lived in Sydney for more than 20 years and visited the town, I can tell you that everyone calls it "Musclebrook".
- steve, Sydney, Australia

Adam - Ive always believed that the "gray men" refers to men wearing suits, i.e. business professionals, jumping from their office windows (suicide) when they learn of their financial collapse.
- Tom, Boston, MA

My previous comment about what guitar Becker used for the solo came from a Jeff Porcaro intervew. I see Walter says he used Denny Dias's Fender Telecaster.
- Baz, Johnson, VT

The guitar solo on this tune is played by Walter Becker, on an old Fender Mustang.
- Baz, Johnson, VT

I'm actually from Muswellbrook. It's about 4 hours to Sydney from here. There are alot of kangaroos around the town, but are no more common than anywhere else in country Australia. Only the dumber and injured ones get a little way in town. I heard this song playing in a shop and thought "that's pretty cool, I like this". My mother was with me and said that Muswellbrook was in this song. I though she was going mad and ignored it. I was obviously wrong but what a way to get introduced to a great band.
- Aaron, Muswellbrook, NSW, Australia

Who plays the kick ass lead on this song?? is it rick derringer? or I think two other players are listed in the credits on the "best of" I have. I am also getting into skunk baxters chops.
- tom, ann arbor, MI

Doesn't sound like Steely Dan except for the voice, they are more of a jazz band.
- Johnny, Los Angeles, CA

does the line "and catch the grey men when they dive from the fourteenth floor" show the depression in the investors or summat?
- adam, Wolverhampton, England

Also Jim Hodder played drums on all of Can't Buy a Thrill and Countdown to Ecstasy.
- Eli, Birmingham, AL

Jeff Porcaro played drums on every song on Katy Lied except for Any World (That I'm Welcome To) which the drums were played by Hal Blaine.
- Eli, Birmingham, AL

Jeff Porocaro was not the only drummer on Katy Lied. There has only been one album where they used only one drummer and that was Keith Carlock on last year's "Everything Must Go."
- John, Wilmington, NC

Jeff Porcaro on drums and in fact played on all of "Katy Lied" seldom done if at all with Steely Dan...
- ken, Leicester, NC