Wow, you just love opening cans of worms.
Toph wrote:Let's take a look at Monker's hypothesis that the third verse of Cold War is all about Dennis DeYoung. Never have seen this is any article, interview, or book, but since Monker says so (and we know how accurate and truthful he is), I guess we are just to assume that it is correct.
So, let's take a look at it.
"Well, blind faith put you where you are now
You're a selfish old cow gettin' high on society's milk.
We pay your bills, life should be so tough.
You'd better watch your fat ass, 'cause we've had enough!"
Looking at the first line, "blind faith put you where you are now"..this implies that there is no work involved that just by "blind faith" the individual who the lyric is directed to is "where he is now." Given that many reports and interviews I've read about the history of the band talk about Dennis's dogged determination and his perfectionism tendencies in the studio to ensure that everything was correct and his temper tantrums on the road if someone made a mistake, this doesn't exactly fit.
Blind faith in Dennis in Styx' early days made him a selfish old cow because the band went along with his control and built his ego up to astronomical proportions to the point where he felt like he did everything, that he alone was responsible for their success, that his decisions were the only correct ones, and he should not have to - and didn't - listen to anybody else.
The second line "You're a selfish old cow getting high on society's milk." That would be true for a welfare recipient maybe or someone who takes from society and others. Seems to me the opposite is in effect here. Dennis wrote most of the hit songs, sacrificed a big portion of the royalties given the equal distribution of publishing rights, and essentially let JY, Chuck, and John ride him to riches.
"Selfish old cow" is tied to the first line. "Getting high on society's milk' is in reference to the success Styx achieved which the selfish old cow refused to give due credit to the rest of his bandmates.
The third line. Again, "We pay your bills, life should be so tough..." Again, not sure what Monker is smoking or snorting here, but its probably very similar to what Tommy was snorting back in 1983 when the band was paying for his cocaine habit... so again, it makes it hard to fathom this line is about Dennis.
As I said before, Dennis needed the band just as much as the band needed Dennis. However, Dennis' ego and selfishness refused to admit this and even give them the courtesy of listening to their opinions and complaints. Instead, the selfish old cow who was spoiled by past success plowed ahead ignoring everybody else.
The fourth line. Ok, the one line on this entire thread that could potentially be aimed at Dennis. And I'd offer only the second half of it is relevant. Dennis has never been a fat ass. That being said, its generic enough to be applicable to anybody and given the previous three lines, in reality, has no linkage to Dennis DeYoung whatsoever.
Yes, "you better watch your fat ass because we've had enough" is pointing out that the band, and Tommy personally, had been pushed to the breaking point and were not going to take any more. And, because of that he was going to find out that the band was a partner in the success that helped him enjoy the high life, the selfish old cow was going to be on his own to try to pay the bills by himself, and they were no longer going to put blind faith in a leader who couldn't care less of the opinions and complaints of the rest of the band. Dennis is still paying the price for this today.
And, BTW, "fat ass' is heard as "bad ass' by many people...so if you can't deal with one, use the other if it makes more sense to you..