Only a Fool Would Say That
| "Only a Fool Would Say That" | |
|---|---|
| File:OnlyAFoolWouldSayThat.jpg US b-side vinyl label | |
| Song by Steely Dan | |
| from the album Can't Buy a Thrill | |
| A-side | "Reelin' In the Years" |
| Released | March 1973[1] |
| Genre | Soft rock |
| Length | 2:57 |
| Label | ABC |
| Songwriter | Donald Fagen • Walter Becker |
| Producer | Gary Katz |
| Official audio | |
| "Only a Fool Would Say That" on YouTube | |
"Only a Fool Would Say That" is a song by the American rock band Steely Dan from their 1972 debut album Can't Buy a Thrill, written by Donald Fagen and Walter Becker.
Background
[edit | edit source]"Only a Fool Would Say That" is a song with lyrics rumoured to mock John Lennon’s 1971 song "Imagine".[2] In 2024, American Songwriter claimed that the lyrics were chiding Lennon for "being out of touch with reality."[3]
The track ends with the phrase "Solamente un tonto diría eso", Spanish for "only a fool would say that", spoken by Jeff "Skunk" Baxter.
Release
[edit | edit source]"Only a Fool Would Say That" was released in March 1973 as the B-side to the single "Reelin' In the Years".[4]
Reception
[edit | edit source]Mojo magazine ranked it number 25 in their list of Steely Dan's 30 greatest songs.[5] The British broadcast service BBC called it "quintessential Dan: mellifluous yet mordant, easy on the ear but as caustic as any dissection of the American dream."[6]
Personnel
[edit | edit source]Steely Dan
[edit | edit source]- Jeff "Skunk" Baxter – guitar, pedal steel guitar, spoken Spanish
- Walter Becker – electric bass guitar, backing vocals
- Denny Dias – guitar
- Donald Fagen – piano, electric piano, lead vocals
- Jim Hodder – drums, percussion, backing vocals
- David Palmer – co-lead vocals, backing vocals
Production
[edit | edit source]- Gary Katz – producer
- Roger Nichols – engineer
- Tim Weston – assistant engineer
- Doug Sax – mastering engineer
Cover versions
[edit | edit source]References
[edit | edit source]- ^ Joel Whitburn's Top Pop Singles 1955–1990 - Lua error in Module:Citation/CS1/Configuration at line 2172: attempt to index field '?' (a nil value).
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