Hardcore fans know the story of the song, "My Old School" and as a matter of fact, Fever Dreams (click the link and scroll down) goes into quite a bit of detail on the subject under the My Old School section. Since this blog is brand new and I just got a copy of Eminent Hipsters, Donald Fagen's book, I thought I would recount some of it, since he devotes a chapter to some of his experiences, while in school.
If you check Wikipedia you find out that the start of the supergroup, Steely Dan, had its very humble beginnings at Bard College. The college is located along the east side of the Hudson River, near a town called Annendale. Many rich people had their summer homes along the river and one of them was used to start this school. Donald recounts the story of walking by this room one day and hearing someone playing blues licks on guitar. That someone, was a very young Walter Becker. Though 2 years apart in age, they found out that they had so much in common, both musically and in their wry sense of humor. They began working with each other and those collaborations brought the beginnings of some of the songs that they would eventually flesh out and record, years later. They were that good, right from the start.
One of their early songs, which ended up on their second album, was "My Old School" (recorded back in 1973) recounts the tale of why Donald Fagen is never, ever going back to his old school. I believe this is the first time I have seen such detail about the story, by the way.
Donald Fagen:
"In May of '69, I was up at Bard for the weekend, working on the last draft of my senior thesis in an off-campus house I had rented with a couple of other students. At four in the morning, the house and several men's dorms on campus were raided by deputies of the local sheriff's department, along with some state cops, under the aegis of the Dutchess County DA's office."
[They were looking for any trace of marijuana. He continues.]
"By sunrise, some fifty kids had been paddy-wagoned over to jail and locked in a cell block, including me, Walter and [Donald's girlfriend] Dorothy, who were both visiting. The guys were shorn of their long, treasured locks by a trustee barber. After a day or so, the college bailed out all the students, including former student Walter. They refused to do the same for Dorothy, a nonstudent.
I called my father, then living in Ohio, who arranged bail for Dorothy and then flew in so we could consult with the school's attorney, Peter Maroulis. A month later, our cases having already been dismissed, I sat on a bench with Dorothy, my father and Maroulis, watching the graduation of the Class of '69. Because the college refused to bail out Dorothy, and because they'd let the sheriff's office place an undercover spy with the building and grounds department-he had been disguised as a janitor-I'd decided to boycott the ceremony. Yeah, good times..."
This Entertainment Weekly Article came out when Donald released Morp The Cat in 2006. It also goes into the story, which you can read, if you like. Here is a small excerpt.
"Four years later, Fagen and Becker released ''My Old School.'' While Fagen says the song is ''not literal'' (and Becker insists he ''never thought of it as an angry-sounding song; I think of it as a funny song''), he acknowledges that there was real fury behind the ''never going back'' chorus. ''I don't know how serious we were [about never returning],'' he says, ''but at the time both of us were very pissed off at the school, that's for sure.'' Fagen kept his promise for 16 years. Then, in 1985, he returned to campus for the first time, to accept an honorary doctorate. What finally made him relent and go back to Annandale? He thinks for a moment, as if pondering the question for the very first time. ''Well, you know. I'm not one to hold a grudge''." (EW March 2006)
Here are the actual lyrics to "My Old School", though still cryptic (what Steely Dan song isn't), you can definitely see some of the autobiographical parts of the song.
I remember the thirty-five sweet goodbyes
When you put me on the Wolverine
Up to Annandale
It was still September
When your daddy was quite surprised
To find you with the working girls
In the county jail
I was smoking with the boys upstairs
When I heard about the whole affair
I said oh no
William and Mary won't do
CHORUS:
Well I did not think the girl
Could be so cruel
And I'm never going back
To my old school
Oleanders growing outside her door
Soon they're gonna be in bloom
Up in Annandale
I can't stand her
Doing what she did before
Living like a gypsy queen
In a fairy tale
Well I hear the whistle but I can't go
I'm gonna take her down to Mexico
She said oh no
Guadalajara won't do
CHORUS
California tumbles into the sea
That'll be the day I go
Back to Annandale
Tried to warn you
About Chino and Daddy Gee
But I can't seem to get to you
Through the U.S. Mail
Well I hear the whistle but I can't go
I'm gonna take her down to Mexico
She said oh no
Guadalajara won't do
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