The Caves of Altamira by Steely Dan

Album: The Royal Scam (1976)

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Songfacts®:

The Cave of Altamira is a cave in Spain containing paintings and drawings made by Neanderthals. The song is about early man's call to be creative and expressive. Early in life he recognizes that "busy world was not for me so I went and found my own." His imagination was sparked in his solitude studying, reading, imagining and creating. The story of the caves of Altamira show this instinct: "Before the fall when they wrote it on the wall when there wasn't even a Hollywood they heard the call." Man answered his creative call and we are ever grateful. >>>
Suggestion credit:
Jo - South Texas
In a 2000 BBC Online chat with Donald Fagen and Walter Becker of Steely Dan, they shared their thoughts on the meaning behind this song. Becker called it "A story about the loss of innocence." Fagen said it's "a pretty straightforward story about a guy who visits the caves of Altamira which have famous drawings by prehistoric men or women as the case may be, and he registers his astonishment."

Comments: 6

Pam from Topeka, KsThe Cave is timeless, so too Steely Dan's music
Miguel from CantabriaYeah! It's probably that. I'm from the region that Altamira is in, I was very surprised when I discovered the song, as I'd been there multiple times. I think the beginning of the song in particular is a reference to the cave's discovery, which was done by a lad that worked for an amateur archeologist (it was by accident; his dog got lost and the guy was looking for him when he found the cave!). I've always thought that the "Can it be this sad design could be the very same?" part is a reference to the new cave. The original cave was closed to the public in the '70s, but they opened a facility that contains exact replicas for the public to see. I am not sure that they went that far into the cave's lore, but I've always felt that I was missing something when visiting it but not seeing the real thing. I'd like to go one day but it's very difficult to get into the real thing. Anyway, hope you all found this interesting!
Semperfish from PhiladelphiaOP analysis (Jo- South Texas?) missed or ignored the entire first verse. Young loner finds a cave and discovers universal truths from long ago that are still relevant today...
Tom from ChicagoJo - The early man is not the one who sings, "the busy world was not for me so I went and found my own." It's the narrator of the song who's a small boy who remembers how he used to "climb a garden wall with a candle in my hand" and "hide inside a hole of rock and sand." It was there that he discovered the thousands of years old primitive art that he sings about.
Daniel from Arcata, CaSpence, I have a double disc of Android Where house and if dan fans want to hear raw steely dan they should try to find it. Well worth it
Spence from Brooklyn, NyI think this song was previously named "Android Warehouse" before they put it on the Royal Scam album.

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