"Hey Nineteen" is a song by the band
Steely Dan from their album ''
Gaucho'' (1980).
Background
According to one reviewer's interpretation, the song "was about a middle-aged man's disappointment with a young lover".
[Layman, Will]
"Jazz Today: The Strange, Mixed Fate of Steely Dan"
(April 10, 2006). Accessed July 31, 2006.
The lyrics are about a man in his early 30s contemplating a romantic encounter with a 19-year-old with whom he has nothing in common. For example, she does not recognize a song by "
'Retha Franklin".
Allmusic
AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...
song review:
Hey Nineteen
" The song closes with the ambiguous line, "The
Cuervo Gold, the
fine Colombian, make tonight a wonderful thing," again emphasizing their age difference — when this song was written
tequila was less popular among college-aged drinkers, and Colombian
cannabis which in his college days was prized for its aroma and flavor was being replaced by
Sinsemilla varieties valued primarily for their potency — and the listener is left to decide whether the narrator is drinking and smoking with her, or if he is in fact alone and thinking of days gone by.
The song was released as the first single from the band's 1980 album ''
Gaucho''. The single's B-side is a previously unreleased 1974 live version of the song "
Bodhisattva
In Buddhism, a bodhisattva is a person who has attained, or is striving towards, '' bodhi'' ('awakening', 'enlightenment') or Buddhahood. Often, the term specifically refers to a person who forgoes or delays personal nirvana or ''bodhi'' in ...
", recorded at
Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, with an introduction by one of the band's drivers, Jerome Aniton, who is clearly inebriated.
Charts
"Hey Nineteen" peaked at number 10 on the
''Billboard'' Hot 100 chart in early 1981,
Steely Dan Chart History: Hot 100
'' Billboard''. Retrieved February 11, 2020. number 11 on the Adult Contemporary chart,[Steely Dan Chart History: Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs](_blank)
''Billboard''. Retrieved February 12, 2020. With a chart run of 19 weeks, "Hey Nineteen" is tied with " Peg" and " Rikki Don't Lose That Number" for being their longest-running chart hit.
Personnel
* Donald Fagen – lead vocals, electric piano, synthesizer
* Rick Marotta – drums
* Walter Becker – bass guitar, guitar
* Hugh McCracken – guitar
* Victor Feldman, Steve Gadd – percussion
* Frank Floyd, Zack Sanders – backing vocals
Chart history
Weekly charts
Year-end charts
References
External links
"Hey Nineteen" lyrics
at Steely Dan archive.com
* Rashida Jones talks about this song with NPR in the articl
"How Rashida Jones Found Her Inner Music Nerd"
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hey Nineteen
1980 songs
1980 singles
MCA Records singles
Song recordings produced by Gary Katz
Songs written by Donald Fagen
Songs written by Walter Becker
Steely Dan songs