Song of the Day 2/21: Steely Dan, “Kings”

Was this tune from Steely Dan’s debut LP, “Can’t Buy a Thrill,” about Richard the Lionhearted or Richard Nixon? The album cover claimed the song contained “no political significance.” The record came out just months before Nixon’s 49-state wipeout of George McGovern, and Donald Fagen and Walter Becker are the most unreliable of unreliable narrators, so few believe there’s no connection, but the actual point might be how unreliable history is. Richard Lionheart is considered a wonderful king of England, even though he didn’t speak English and spent eight of his nine years on the throne away from the country “plundering far and wide.” King John, who replaced him, is considered an abject failure, but his acceptance of the Magna Carta laid the foundation for wresting absolute power from the monarchy. Raise up your glass indeed.

The guitar solo, BTW, is by neither Denny Dias nor Skunk Baxter, the band’s nominal guitarists, but by guest soloist Elliott Randall, kicking off the Dan’s career-long habit of outsourced guitar solos.