The song was written by
Donald Fagen and
Walter Becker and is in the key of
G major. Unusual for a song released as a single, the original studio track features four guitar solos. Though at the time Steely Dan had two guitarists,
Denny Dias and
Jeff Baxter, and frequently used session guitarists as well, all four solos on "My Old School" were played by Baxter. Baxter built the
Stratocaster he played on the song himself, cutting the body from a piece of maple, fretting the neck, and winding the pickups. He finished assembling it three hours before the recording session for "My Old School", in the parking lot of Valley Sound, and plugged it directly into the console for the recording. approximately 10% of the school's enrollment. According to a 2014
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette article, among those arrested was Fagen, whose long hair was cut off at the
Poughkeepsie jail. Fagen's landlord, Beau Coggins, accused Fagen of trying to sell him
marijuana (a charge Fagen still denies), which led to Walter Becker and Fagen's girlfriend Dorothy White being arrested as well. Bard College arranged bail for their current and former students, but since White did not fit that category, Fagen had to call his father in Ohio to arrange bail for her. The lines "I'm never going back to my old school" and "California tumbles into the sea / That'll be the day I go back to Annandale" refer to Fagen's promise immediately following the incident to never return to Bard College. Fagen reneged on this promise at least twice, first for his graduation, and second to receive an honorary
Doctor of Arts degree in 1985. Though the lead vocal for the song was performed by Fagen on the album, during the supporting tour Baxter usually sang lead instead. ==Reception==