Song of the Week - Reelin' In The Years by Steely Dan

I have 8,068 songs on iTunes. This is one of them.

I can't believe that I haven't featured a Steely Dan song before. They were one of my favorite bands of the 1970s. They released 7 albums in the decade and everyone of them was great. Steely Dan is really two guys, Walter Becker and Donald Fagen. Although the first 7 albums had a core of steady musicians, Becker and Fagen were the driving force. In their early years the were really just a studio band but gradually have become a good stage act. Since the 70s, Becker and Fagen have put out a lot of music, either solo, together or as Steely Dan. I like a lot of their later stuff but to me, the Steely Dan sound will always be those great albums from the 70s. Can't Buy A Thrill, Countdown to Ecstasy, Pretzel Logic, Katy Lied, The Royal Scam, Aja, and Gaucho.

This track is from Can't Buy A Thrill. Fagen is the guy on keyboards and Becker is the long-haired guy on guitar.



Your everlasting summer and you can see it fading fast
So you grab a piece of something that you think is gonna last
Well, 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 gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine

You've been telling 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
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine

I've spent a lot of money and I've spent a lot of time
The trip we made to 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
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine
Are you reelin' in the years
Stowin' away the time
Are you gatherin' up the tears
Have you had enough of mine