Album: Damn The Torpedoes (1979)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • In "Casa Dega," Tom Petty tells the story of a mystical experience with a palm reader.

    Oh baby now I think I'm starting to believe the things that I've heard
    Cause tonight in Casa Dega I hang on every word

    That she said to me as she holds my hand
    And reads the lines of a stranger
    Yeah and she knows my name yeah she knows my plan
    In the past in the present and for the future


    In the song, he goes there without great expectations but finds himself becoming a full believer in the woman's psychic powers. The experience shocks him and broadens his perspective of reality.
  • Petty sings the song as if it were a real experience, which is interesting because "Casa Dega" is about a real place in Petty's home state, but Petty was never there.

    Cassadaga (Petty misspells it in the song) is an unincorporated community in Volusia County, Florida, founded in 1875. It's home to the Cassadaga Spiritualist Camp and has been called the Psychic Capital of the World.

    Petty read a New York Times article about Cassadaga while on an airplane. "There are all kinds of psychics and fortune tellers," he explained of the town. "It's this really small place. And I wrote that by putting myself in the mind of someone who went to Cassadaga. Though I spelled it wrong... Poetic license, I guess."
  • "Casa Dega" was the B-side to the "Don't Do Me Like That" single, recorded for Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers' third album, Damn the Torpedoes, but it didn't make the tracklist. Petty later added it onto a bonus disc included in the Damn the Torpedoes 2010 deluxe edition.
  • During his 1978 New Year's Eve concert in Santa Monica, California, Petty introduced "Casa Dega" by saying, "This is a song about this town in Florida that has like 35 acres of weird people."
  • This is one of three Damn the Torpedoes songs Petty cowrote with his guitarist, Mike Campbell. The others are "Refugee" and "Here Comes My Girl."

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Hawksley Workman

Hawksley WorkmanSongwriter Interviews

One of Canada's most popular and eclectic performers, Hawksley tells stories about his oldest songs, his plentiful side projects, and the ways that he keeps his songwriting fresh.

U2 Lyrics

U2 LyricsMusic Quiz

How well do you know the lyrics of U2?

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce Pavitt

Experience Nirvana with Sub Pop Founder Bruce PavittSong Writing

The man who ran Nirvana's first label gets beyond the sensationalism (drugs, Courtney) to discuss their musical and cultural triumphs in the years before Nevermind.

The Girl in That Song

The Girl in That SongFact or Fiction

Billie Jean, Delilah, Sara, Laura and Sharona - do you know who the girls in the songs really are?

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary Machine

The Untold Story Of Fiona Apple's Extraordinary MachineSong Writing

Fiona's highly-anticipated third album almost didn't make it. Here's how it finally came together after two years and a leak.

Petula Clark

Petula ClarkSongwriter Interviews

Petula talks about her hits "Downtown" and "Don't Sleep In The Subway," and explains her Michael Jackson connection.