My Old School (song)

"My Old School" is a song by American rock band Steely Dan. It was released in October 1973, as the second single from their album Countdown to Ecstasy, and reached number 63 on the Billboard Hot 100.^[2]

"My Old School"
Single by Steely Dan
from the album Countdown to Ecstasy
B-side	"Pearl of the Quarter"
Released	October 1973
Genre	Rock[1]
Songwriter(s)	Donald Fagen, Walter Becker
Producer(s)	Gary Katz
Steely Dan singles chronology
"Show Biz Kids" (1973) "My Old School" (1973) "Rikki Don't Lose That Number" (1974)
Music video
"My Old School" on YouTube

Content

The song's lyrics tell the story of a May 1969 drug bust at Bard College in Dutchess County, New York, referred to in the lyrics by its location, Annandale. The singer vows he will never go back to the college until "California tumbles into the sea".^[3] The song also makes a reference to the Wolverine rail service, which stopped at Rhinecliff, New York, near to Bard College, the alma mater of Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.

The incident happened while both Fagen and Becker were students there, and the song recounts how a female acquaintance betrayed them to "Daddy Gee" (G. Gordon Liddy), then a local assistant district attorney. Contemporary news reports noted that 44 people were arrested,^[4] approximately 10% of the school's enrollment.^[5] According to a 2014 Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, among those arrested was Fagen, whose long hair was cut off at the Poughkeepsie jail.^[6] A contemporary newspaper article mentioned the arrest of Donald Fagan [sic] for "the sale of a dangerous drug" with bail set at $5,000.^[7]

Cash Box described the song as a "departure from the group’s usual fare, but definitely a track that’s going to have programmers and listeners buzzing."^[8]

Key signature and composition

The song was written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker^[9] and is in the key of G major. The original studio track features a guitar solo by Jeff Baxter.

Legacy

Fagen reneged on his promise of never going back, when he returned to Bard College to receive an honorary Doctor of Arts degree in 1985.^[10]

Personnel

• Donald Fagen – piano, lead vocals, backup vocals
• Walter Becker – bass
• Denny Dias – rhythm guitar
• Jeff Baxter – lead guitar
• Jim Hodder – drums, percussion
• Sherlie Matthews, Myrna Matthews, Patricia Hall, Royce Jones – backup vocals
• Ernie Watts – saxophone
• Johnny Rotella – saxophone
• Lanny Morgan – saxophone
• Bill Perkins – saxophone
• Jimmie Haskell – horn arrangement

References

1. Dickson, Jamie (2005). "Steely Dan – Countdown To Ecstasy". In Dimery, Robert (ed.). 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die. London: Cassell Illustrated. p. 301.
2. "Billboard Hot 100 – Week of December 1, 1973". Billboard. Retrieved June 16, 2022.
3. Stewart Mason. "My Old School – Steely Dan – Song Info". AllMusic. Retrieved September 5, 2017. "My Old School" is the pair's most overt song about their alma mater, a sarcastically chipper-sounding remembrance of the time Becker and Fagen, along with several dozen other students, found themselves caught up in a trumped-up drug raid during an election cycle.
4. "Drug Raid Nets 44 At Bard College". The Buffalo News. AP. May 8, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved July 5, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
5. "44 Students Arrested In Dope Raids". The Times Record. Troy, New York. AP. May 8, 1969. p. 1. Retrieved July 5, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
6. Mervis, Scott (August 21, 2014). "Uncovering the mysteries of Steely Dan". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Retrieved July 29, 2021 – via detroitnews.com.
7. Schuster, Tim; Reynolds, Hugh (May 8, 1969). "45 Drug Arrests at Bard". Daily Freeman. Kingston, New York. p. 1. Retrieved July 5, 2023 – via newspapers.com.
8. "CashBox Record Reviews" (PDF). Cash Box. October 13, 1973. p. 18. Retrieved 2021-12-11.
9. "MusicNotes". Musicnotes. 4 January 2011. Retrieved November 28, 2014.
10. "Donald Fagen & Walter Becker". Bard Makes Noise. Retrieved 2022-02-11.