"My Old School" is a single drawn from Steely Dan's 1973 album ''

Countdown to Ecstasy ''Countdown to Ecstasy'' is the second studio album by the American rock band Steely Dan, released in July 1973 by ABC Records. It was recorded at Caribou Ranch in Nederland, Colorado, and at The Village Recorder in West Los Angeles, Californi ...

''. It reached number 63 on the

Billboard Hot 100 The ''Billboard'' Hot 100 is the music industry standard record chart in the United States for songs, published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine. Chart rankings are based on sales (physical and digital), radio play, and online streamin ...

. The song's lyrics tell the story of a May 1969 drug bust at

Bard College Bard College is a private liberal arts college in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York. The campus overlooks the Hudson River and Catskill Mountains, and is within the Hudson River Historic District—a National Historic Landmark. Founded in 1860, ...

, referred to in the lyrics by its location, Annandale. The incident happened while both Donald Fagen and

Walter Becker Walter Carl Becker (February 20, 1950 – September 3, 2017) was an American musician, songwriter, and record producer. He was the co-founder, guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter of the jazz rock band Steely Dan.Russonello, Giovanni,Listen t ...

were students there, and the song mentions how a female acquaintance had betrayed them to "Daddy Gee" (

G. Gordon Liddy George Gordon Battle Liddy (November 30, 1930 – March 30, 2021) was an American lawyer, FBI agent, talk show host, actor, and convicted felon in the Watergate scandal as the chief operative in the White House Plumbers unit during the Nixon admi ...

), then the local prosecutor. According to a 2014 ''

Pittsburgh Post-Gazette The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the first newspaper published west of the Alle ...

'' article, 44 people were arrested, including Fagen, whose long hair was cut off at the

Poughkeepsie Poughkeepsie ( ), officially the City of Poughkeepsie, separate from the Town of Poughkeepsie around it) is a city in the U.S. state of New York. It is the county seat of Dutchess County, with a 2020 census population of 31,577. Poughkeepsie ...

jail. The upshot in the song is that the singer vows he is "never going back" to the college until "California tumbles into the sea". '' 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."

Personnel

* Donald Fagen – piano, lead vocals, backup vocals *

– bass *

Denny Dias Dennis Dias (born December 12, 1946) is an American guitarist, best known for being a founding member of Steely Dan. Career Dias was working with his own band out of his basement in Hicksville, New York, when he placed an ad in ''The Village Vo ...

– rhythm guitar *

Jeff Baxter Jeffrey Allen "Skunk" Baxter (born December 13, 1948) is an American guitarist, known for his stints in the rock bands Steely Dan and The Doobie Brothers during the 1970s and Spirit in the 1980s. More recently, he has worked as a defense cons ...

– lead guitar * Jim Hodder – drums, percussion * Sherlie Matthews, Myrna Matthews, Patricia Hall,

Royce Jones Royce Jones (born December 15, 1954) is an American musician best known for his work as a touring vocalist with the bands Steely Dan (in 1973 and 1974) and Ambrosia (joined 1978).

– backup vocals * Ernie Watts – saxophone * Johnny Rotella – saxophone * Lanny Morgan – saxophone * Bill Perkins – saxophone

Key signature and composition

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

Legacy

Fagen went back on his "never going back" promise. He returned to Bard College when he received an honorary Doctor of the Arts degree in 1985.

References

1973 songs Steely Dan songs ABC Records singles 1973 singles Songs written by Walter Becker Songs written by Donald Fagen Song recordings produced by Gary Katz Songs about school {{1970s-rock-song-stub