That's Steely Dan with their #11 smash hit from their debut album! We haven't heard from Donald Fagen and Walter Becker in quite a while. In fact, it's been 6 years since we brought Steely Dan into the Tuesday's Musical Notes family. That introduction came in a "twisted" way on July 9, 2013:
Like "Pretzel Logic", and so many of Steely Dan's songs, "Reelin' in the Years" is very much an introspective song. It hit the pop singles chart in 1973 and is the second single from Can't Buy a Thrill album. Readers of Guitar World Magazine ranked Elliot Randall's guitar solo as the 40th best of all time. Not too bad for a studio musician who was never an official Steely Dan member but played on three of their nine studio albums, as well as a host of other well known artists records.
The song has become a staple on classic rock radio, some would say its popularity now is even better than when it charted. "Reelin' in the Years" was also prominently featured on the soundtrack of my favorite movie about baseball, Kevin Costner's For Love of the Game. https://www.youtube.com/
"Reelin' in the Years" posits several questions, the most prominent being "are you reelin' in the years, stowin' away the time?" While the song is directing the question towards a broken relationship, this is a question that everyone ponders from time to time. Have we lived a full life up to this point? Are we moving forward or are we living in the nostalgia of our past, which is always seems better than the reality of our past? Are we attempting to maximize our time so we've lived our best life? Have we had enough tears, especially our own?
The Creator of time has much to say on these subjects:
In "Reelin' in the Years", Steely Dan also confesses to not understanding a few things about the person to which the relationship is ending. They convey they don't understand what the person considered precious, what the person passes for knowledge, and what is deemed useless by their former love.
We live in a world of things we don't understand. Even today, one man's trash is another man's treasure. The things they teach as knowledge in high school and colleges...well, speak for themselves (ever heard of Common Core?) While they may be enjoyable classes to take, they are lacking in preparing students to take on the challenges of a world that is ready to devour them intellectually and otherwise. Entire populations of people are considered useless as dictators continue to commit genocide around the world. These are all things that are hard for me to understand, how about you?
Our perfect guide to life, the Bible, does provide some simple advice. From The Message paraphrase of the wisest man to ever live, Solomon:
Trust God from the bottom of your heart;
don’t try to figure out everything on your own.
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
a father’s delight is behind all this. - Proverbs 3:5-12 The Message paraphrase
Listen for God’s voice in everything you do, everywhere you go;
he’s the one who will keep you on track.
Don’t assume that you know it all.
Run to God! Run from evil!
Your body will glow with health,
your very bones will vibrate with life!
Honor God with everything you own;
give him the first and the best.
Your barns will burst,
your wine vats will brim over.
But don’t, dear friend, resent God’s discipline;
don’t sulk under his loving correction.
It’s the child he loves that God corrects;
a father’s delight is behind all this. - Proverbs 3:5-12 The Message paraphrase
Far too many times we attempt to have understanding by our finite minds. True understanding of ANY situation can only come from the God who created us and knew us in the womb. Comprehension of the machinations of this world can only be seen through the lenses of the God who holds EVERYONE as useful and full of purpose. Cognizance of the situations we encounter DAILY can only be attained through study of the guidebook that God has written for our consumption.
In this world, we won't understand everything. A restored relationship to God, through Jesus, His Son, however, allows us to navigate the understood things of this world by His peace that passes all understanding.
AND it does help the everlasting summer not fade away so fast...
When you grab THAT kind of something, you can know it's gonna last...
'Til Tuesday,
Serving HIM by serving You,
randy
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