"Janie Runaway" is the fourth single from Steely Dan

Steely Dan

Steely Dan is an American rock band; its core members are Donald Fagen and Walter Becker. The band's popularity peaked in the late 1970s, with the release of seven albums blending elements of jazz, rock, funk, R&B, and pop...

's 2000 album Two Against Nature

Two Against Nature

Two Against Nature is the eighth album by Steely Dan, released in 2000. The album won the group four Grammy Awards including Album of the Year, and marked the first Steely Dan studio album in 20 years, following 1980's Gaucho. It has been certified 2x platinum in the US.Two Against Nature marked...

.

At first glance the lyrics read like an optimistic love song

Love song

A love song is about falling in love and the feelings it brings. Anthologies of love songs often contain a mixture of both of these types of song. A bawdy song is both humorous and saucy, emphasizing the physical pleasure of love rather than the emotional joy...

, with the narrator singing the praises of his new love "Janie"; but a closer examination reveals a relationship between a female (and likely underage) runaway youth

Runaway youth

A runaway is a minor or a person under an arbitrary age, depending upon the local jurisdiction, who has left the home of his or her parent or legal guardian without permission, or has been thrown out by his or her parent and is considered by the local authorities to lack the capacity to live under...

 and a jaded wealthy New York City

New York City

New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...

 roué

Rõue

Rõue is a village in Kehtna Parish, Rapla County in northern-central Estonia....

 who, by song's end, alternately threatens and bribes Janie into joining him for an out-of-state 'threesome

Threesome

A threesome is a group of three engaged in the same activity. In relation to a sexual activity a threesome refer to the activity involving three people of any gender or sexual orientation...

' weekend with another young woman. The song makes a reference to the Mann Act

Mann Act

The White-Slave Traffic Act, better known as the Mann Act, is a United States law, passed June 25, 1910 . It is named after Congressman James Robert Mann, and in its original form prohibited white slavery and the interstate transport of females for “immoral purposes”...

with the line, "Or would that be a federal case?"