Reelin' in the Years

Listen while you read:  RIP Walter Becker

Your everlasting summer, you can see it fading fast
So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last
But you wouldn't know a diamond if you held it in your hand
The things you think are precious, I can't understand

Are you reelin' in the years?
Stowin' away the time
Are you gathering up the tears?
Have you had enough of mine?

You been tellin' me you're a genius since you were seventeen
In all the time I've known you, I still don't know what you mean
The weekend at the college didn't turn out like you planned
The things that pass for knowledge, I can't understand

Are you reelin' in the years . . . 

I spend a lot of money ad I spend a lot of time
The trip we made in Hollywood is etched upon my mind
After all the things we've done and seen, you find another man
The things you think are useless, I can't understand

Are you reelin' in the years . . . 

~ Donald Fagan and Walter Becker (Steely Dan)

This may have been the first Steely Dan song I ever heard. It's part of their 1972 release, Can't Buy a Thrill. I remember it mostly because a man that I'd dated a couple of times during a New Jersey summer came to visit me in the fall of 1971 at my college. It didn't go well. But even a year later, when this song came out, I equated the line The weekend at the college didn't turn out like you planned with that visit. Yeah, so maybe I hang on to things too long.

Nonetheless, it's probably one of Steely Dan's more known songs. Unless you've been living under a rock, you know that Walter Becker, one-half of Steely Dan, died a couple of days ago.  Unfortunately, this is not one of their favorite songs. "It's dumb, but effective," said Fagan. "It's no fun," said Becker. Oh, well. I looked into a lot of other Steely Dan songs to consider for this post, but kept coming up with the same reaction: I love those songs, but I don't "get" the lyrics. And so I came to the unsatisfying conclusion that what I like about Steely Dan is their seamless compositions and perfect execution, not necessarily their lyrics. (It's the same with Steve Winwood. I have no idea what the hell he is singing, but I love listening to him.)

I saw Steely Dan just last summer (oddly enough, on the same bill with Steve Winwood). They were perfect, despite the fact that they've been reelin' in the years. I've seen Donald Fagan several times in the last few years, as he lives in Woodstock, NY, close to Levon Helm's barn, where I've been to many concerts. (In fact, Donald Fagan's wife, mother of Amy Helm, is Levon's ex-wife.) Fagan would often sit in with the Levon Helm Band at those concerts. Walter Becker was not as accessible.

Steely Dan takes its place on the soundtrack of my life, and I thank Walter Becker for his part in that. Godspeed, Walter.

Up on the hill, they think I'm okay
Or so they say
Chinese music always sets me free
Angular banjoes sound good to me
Aja, when all my dime dancin' is through
I run to you