Walter Carl Becker (born February 20, 1950 in Queens, New York) is an American musician, songwriter and record producer. He is best known as the co-founder, guitarist, bassist and co-songwriter in Steely Dan.
Becker met his future songwriting partner Donald Fagen while studying at Bard College. After a brief period of activity in New York, the two relocated to California in 1971 and formed the nucleus of Steely Dan, who enjoyed a critically and commercially successful ten-year career. Following the group's disbanding, Becker relocated to Hawaii and reduced his musical activity, working primarily as a record producer.
Becker and Fagen reformed Steely Dan in 1993 and have remained active, most notably including their 2000 Two Against Nature album, which won four Grammy Awards. Becker has also released two solo albums, 1994's 11 Tracks of Whack and 2008's Circus Money.
Becker was born in Queens, grew up in Westchester County and Forest Hills, Queens, and graduated from Stuyvesant High School in Manhattan in the class of 1967. After starting out on saxophone, he switched to guitar and received instruction in blues technique from neighbor Randy Wolfe.
Dark horse is a term used to describe a little-known person or thing that emerges to prominence, especially in a competition of some sort or a contestant that seems unlikely to succeed.
The term began as horse racing parlance. A dark horse is a race horse that is not known to gamblers and thus is difficult to place betting odds on.
The earliest-known use of the phrase is in Benjamin Disraeli's novel The Young Duke (1831). Disraeli's protagonist, the Duke of St. James, attends a horse race with a surprise finish: "A dark horse which had never been thought of, and which the careless St. James had never even observed in the list, rushed past the grandstand in sweeping triumph."
The term has been used politically in such countries as Peru, Philippines and United States.
Politically, the term reached America in the nineteenth century when it was first applied to James K. Polk, a relatively unknown Tennessee Democrat who won the Democratic Party's 1844 presidential nomination over a host of better-known candidates. Polk won the nomination on the ninth ballot, and went on to win the presidential election.
My man Stanley
Suave but manly
Taking cover from the mark within
Now he's hiding
Pretty soon he's sliding
Looking for a lonely heart to take refuge in
Down the alley
My gal Sally
A little bruised and battered maybe from a couple times
before
Hold her steady
You know I think she's ready
To climb into the ring and do it all once more
Does it hurt when I do this
Can you laugh when I go like this
All right keep it down
This one's cool for maybe one more round
Just look for big pieces when we sweep up tonight boys
Nobody's going to blame you
Scratch 'em right off that list
You know medical science is helpless
Helpless in a case like this
I know you're gonna thank me later
For giving this one a miss
'Cause medical science is helpless
Helpless in a case like this
Ivory Eddie
Half dead already
But too dumb to lie down or even let a brother know
Trouble's cruising
You know Ed's still using
Never known for passing on a chance to just say "Yo"
Little Leroy
Eddie's homeboy
Still too wet behind the ears to know his right from
his wrong
And what big E's sporting
Little Lee is snorting
Guess Ed stopped on his way down to drag the kid along
And all the jiveasses and the true believers
The bullshit givers and receivers
Here today tomorrow gone
To the triage tent in the great beyond
Wherein the angel tangoes with the infidel
Normally I'd be angry
Normally I'd be pissed
But medical science is helpless
Helpless in a case like this
Better make mine a double
Serve it up with a twist
'Cause medical science is helpless
Helpless in a case like this
Do you remember the scene
Remember the scene of the crime?
The scene of the crime of a love
A crime of a love gone down
Do you remember the time
Remember the time of the year?
The time of the year was the spring
The year was the spring of our ruin
Let's assume that some folks may be expendable
The better is the enemy of the good
Don't'cha ask perfection of your trophy wife
Don't'cha take no chances with your trophy life, your trophy life
Do you remember the one
Remember the one in a million?
The one in a million affair
The one with the glorious prospects
Do you remember the shade
The shade of the sky which is burning?
Black was the shade in retreat
Blue was the color returning
Let's imagine some guy driving a coffee truck
Yet he dares to dream the impossible dream
Better have some answers for your trophy wife
Better not get cozy with your trophy life, your trophy life
Do you remember the face
The face of such graceful dimension?
The one that you wore in the world
It was such a lovely invention
Do you remember the name
Remember the name of the man?
The name of the man who tried hard
Well, you came on like some blazing supernova
With a flame that burned so brightly in the sky
Then you woke up and your long white night was over
And you cursed the world that dared to pass you by
So now you blame the ones who love you for your sorrows
Dealing dirty while you steal the higher ground
But you cheated and you lied and life took you for a ride
Now you?re standing on the upside looking down
And O, the hero in disguise
Believing his own alibis
You run so scared, you?re standing still
I know you are, I know you will
Be the first to call it quits and run for cover
While your little world is crumbling all around
But you punked out on yourself, you can?t blame nobody else
And now that you?re standing on the upside looking down
And O, the heartache of the thief
Strung out on his own stash of grief
A line for you, a flake for me
But now it?s ancient history
As the sky is turning black and glassing over
As you drift so high above the lights of town
All at once it seems so clear, you can see it all from here
Earthbound to Johnny boy just picked up your message
'Bout those Balinese ikats you thought I might buy
Now your voice on my machine is more alive than what
you are
Since your daredevil hang glider fell out of the sky
Now Armand's looked all over but he can't find your car
keys
Were they under the tire? Were they under the seat?
Because as it stands now your beloved white Aires
Is fair game for the vandals up on Makapuu Street
And your grandmother's number, we know it's here
somewhere
But Suze can't seem to find it, now she's losing
control
And so what about her, and little Eldon and Layla
And that hypothetical spectre, your gilt-edged soul
Which defied many perils, in the face of all reason
And in so many settings and for all your young years
Insisting on pure freedom for it's too-short season
Riding high on it's ration of enchantment and fear
Over the hill and into the next meadow and on and on
and on
In a near random universe there are still certain
combinations
Picked out from all other possible ones
Which, when given some time and the just-right
circumstances
Not too far from the earth or too close to the sun
They will dance and they'll spin in the embrace of the
trade winds
Playing havoc with the hearts and the upturned faces
down below
Until the laws of curved spacetime, susponed without
warning
Kick back in with a vengeance for the last act of the
show
Going too far too fast in that final wing over
As your glider comes tumbling out of the clouds
And you clutch at your chest but the chute never opens
And they find you there tangled in that white nylon
shroud
When we get Grandma's number I think I'll just say to
her
Your Johnny's home for Christmas, it was a hell of a
ride
And I
I'm workin' hard from mornin' to night
My shoulder bent into the wheel
I get home, you start to run me down
How do you think it makes me feel?
Your lashing tongue, it hurts my soul
I start to think and then I lose control
I'm not movin' like I know I should
But feelin' like I like to feel
And I spent my days just foolin' around
I can't function, honey, when you run me down
Oh, darlin' don't you run me down
I gotta make a little fortune
So I can bring it on home to you
You're only hurtin' yourself, my friend
Treatin' me the way you do
My hands are tied behind my back
I'm drinking dinner from a paper sack
Everyday is the fourth in July
And I'm nothin' but an April Fool
Well, I spent my days just cruising around
I can't function, honey, when you run me down
Oh, darlin' don't you run me down
I'm half a man with half a heart
I hear you laugnin' then I fall apart
I'd like to put it on the table
But I'm lost before I even start
You do me wrong and it's bringin' me down
My idle ways are the talk of the town
You make me feel like a do nothing clown
I can't function, honey, when you run me down
Oh, darlin' don't you run me down
Oh, darlin' don't you run me down
Yea, don't you run me down, darlin'
It's not polite in public, public
Down here in front of Abraham and his brother
I was a W now, I'm an L
Something wrong with my playin' drums
He was right
I cracked the code and I knew what it's all about
We found the loft on Greene Street, swept that bad boy out
Alsatian wine, playing records way past four
Making some crazy soulful love on the hard wood floor
Where did our love go?
You hung the picture of young Dizzy on the wall
According to me that was the best day of them all
Sweet, sweet words like honey from the tongue
Yes, there was magic then in every song we sung
Hey, don't let 'em kid you, stay cool it'll be all right
Don't trade today for tomorrow, tomorrow for tomorrow night
You chop wood, carry the water, sometimes it be that way
No lie, the downtown canon so wild so fresh so free
Stand by the downtown canon, I say that it's got to be
Chasing sensation to remind us who we are
You met that half-crazed painter fool in some damn bar
Cocaine dreams and chiba-chiba nights
You had to share his world in shades of black and white
Did'nt'cha baby?
Yes, I, it's a real good theory, can you live with the day to day?
Sure thing, no problemo, sometimes it be that way
You go girl, it's now or never, no one holds out that long
Says here in the downtown canon keep it real, it'll be okay
Right here, the downtown canon, could it be any other way?
Packed up the Dylan and the Man Ray and the Joyce
I left a note that said, well, I guess I got no choice
Excuse me, girl, while I'm kickin' it to the curb
I'm leaving with all I need but less than I deserve
She says, ?Poor everybody, never mind for me and you?
Too bad she don't remember, too bad that I still do
It all goes wrong in a hurry, you know it's the second law
Writ large in the downtown canon, it goes up and it must come down
Here she stands in the doorway
Her face is framed in golden light
With creamy thighs and bedroom eyes
Call it, ?Urchin with an appetite?
My favorite shirt, my terry towel
A bowl of cherries in her hand
It?s breakfast and some head shots
That she?s bringing for her brand new man
It?s a one, it?s a two, it?s a three
It?s a three picture deal
I said a one, it?s a two, it?s a three
It?s a three picture deal
Her new house on the hillside
Some blocks above the Sunset Strip
The yoga den is megazen
The vibey lighting ultra hip
She?s gushing on her cellphone
The trainer?s on eternal hold
Producer X is talking film
But the bottom line is solid gold
With a one, maybe two, even three
Yes, a three picture deal
Yes, it?s a one, even two or a three
Yes, a three picture deal
Well, she?s leaving in the Limo
She?s sorry but they?re running late
The night is here, the big premiere
It?s ?The lady and the reprobate?
Now a man like me should never be
Where a man like me does not belong
But I know they?re gonna need a soundtrack
I know they?re gonna need a song
For the one
(One, two, three, yeah)
Three picture deal
I said the one
(One, two, three, yeah)
Three picture deal
I said the one
(One, two, three, yeah)
Three picture deal
I said the one
(One)
(Two)
Three
(Three)
Three picture deal
I said a
(One, two, three)
Three picture deal
(One, two, three)
It's a three picture deal
I said a one
Oh, two
May be three
Well, a three picture deal
I said a one
May be two
Even three
Yes, a three picture deal
I said a one
Or two
Yes, three
Well, a three picture deal
Yes, a one
And two
And three
Somebody?s Saturday night seems pleased to meet you
Slouched in a booth at Pamela?s Pistol Dawn
Drink, drink cigarette, talkie talk
Drink, drink, smoke, smoke cigarette
Up to the room with the beddie-bye goin? on
Somebody?s Saturday night says, oh, I get it
You want to go where no man?s ever been
Down in the coal mine, goin' down
Turn around, push, push, turn around
Digging up the gold and carrying it back again
She looked good in the available light
She was somebody?s Saturday night
She said it ain?t wrong but it?s not quite right
I guess it's somebody's Saturday night
Somebody?s Saturday night says, hey, it's raining
You wouldn?t kick a good girl out on a night like this
He says, she says the demon in me says just you watch me
Pucker up, darling, for my legendary good night kiss
She?s no fool but she?s none too bright
She?s just somebody?s Saturday night
She stays cool if not watertight
Such is somebody?s Saturday night
Only a girl, one more is up and gone
Leaving nobody to blame the whole thing on, baby
Somebody?s Saturday night is walking in the moonlight
Playing on the beads of her beatnik Rosary
Thinking nobody gives it exactly the way that you want it
No one ever gets it with a money-back guarantee
But I've been born with the second sight
Now I?m looking in the mirror at somebody?s Saturday night
I get along, in fact I do all right
Being somebody?s Saturday night
But I've been born with the second sight
Now I?m looking in the mirror at somebody?s Saturday night
I get along, in fact I do all right
Sweet little baby from the hills somewhere
Here's a pretty lovebud for your hair
Itty bitty girl, sippin? Grenadine
Look who's talking to selfish Gene
There's a place way down in Brentwood
Out to Georgio's we all g'wine
The maitre 'd's gonna take care of everything
He?s a personal friend of mine, what a prize you are?
Honey don?t you scratch my new car
Selfish Gene, he?s one in a million
A safe harbor in every storm
Many call but few are chosen
Hey, pretty baby, let?s have a little fun
The Pinot is flowing and the night?s still young
Over and above and behind and between
Make a little party for selfish Gene
Steady girl, let me grab on your wig hat
Down in the corn crib we shall go
No brains, no regrets, no worries
Hidey hi, hidey hey, hidey ho, kundalini now
Baby, let me show you how
Selfish Gene, don?t lick no Manolos
He don?t argue, he don?t ask twice
Selfish Gene, don?t serve two masters
(Why)
Must every time I turn my ship around?
Some bastard come and knock my skyline down
I guess that?s everything I suppose
The play date?s over and the case is closed
Tell me momma that I didn?t do right
To have a little something on amateur night
I feel sure that we?ll meet again sometime
Don?t see why and I don?t know when
Maybe I?ll catch you down at the daily
If you haven?t moved on by then
Take a dollar from the drawer
Daddy?s got a whole lot more
Selfish Gene needs clarity and closure
This is his house and that?s your cab
You need a hug, now don?t be bashful
Do yourself and your friend a favor
You don?t bargain with selfish Gene
In the littlest hours 'tween the dusk and dawn
While the night light glows with the music on
You could climb so high in the dream time sky
And go anywhere
In that sometime place ever lost somehow
In the here and gone or the there and now
Did it all go bust, crumble down in dust
Or just slip away?
Paging Audrey, any random star
Lost and lonely, somewhere very far
Paging Audrey, come in from the cold
In the littlest hours, oh, oh
In that far-off room drenched in desert sun
Evil words were spoke, dirty deeds were done
Could we sail back there? Snatch them from the air
I dare anyone
Can I stand right here? Call them back and say
Those were never meant to be heard that way
Let the heavens crack, let the day go black
I?d give anything
Paging Audrey, somewhere very near
Safe and silent, there you are my dear
Paging Audrey, anybody home
In the littlest hours, oh, oh
In a distant room certain things were said
As the loved one lies on the love-torn bed
And the night rolls on and by light of dawn
You?re not anywhere
Paging Audrey, this is who we are
Do remember on any random star
Paging Audrey, coming strong and pure
(Last chance)
Could you make it, baby
If you only had one more one?
(Fast break)
You think the world is waiting
While you're gettin' your bikini done
(Screen pass)
Like a blind side tackle
Boiling up from way behind
(Cheap shot)
You can feel it coming
But you know it's gonna blow your mind
So you rock so and you skank so
Well, if you think so why not say so?
(Trash talk)
Now you tell your girlies
That it's nothin' but a burnout buzz
(Chump change)
When you pick up the pieces
You don't even know what it was
(Goose chase)
A little runaround action
Just to keep the background pure
(Jump cut)
To the grim conclusion
That you never can tell for sure
Well, it's the God's eye view
Better take a long, hard look
You're gonna have me right now
Like it says in the book
It's the God's eye view
Baby, it's the queen and the rook
Chasing one lonely pawn
No, it wouldn't take long
(Safe house)
Just a simulation of the
Mommy and daddy groove
(Mood swing)
When the game gets tired
And you're ready to bust a move
(Bad luck)
There are no surprises
When the best laid plans go bust
(Deal with it)
In the glaring absence
Of anything you could trust
So you rock so
(So you rock so)
It's a fact so
(It's a fact so)
Now that you know so
(Now that you know so)
Why don't you act so?
(Why don't you act so?)
(Breakdown)
Of the last resistance
And the partisans fold their tent
(Mind meld)
Like a permanent picture
Of your pussy print in cement
(Big bang)
It's a Bible story
With a plot twist at the end
(History)
And whatever happened
Well, it's happening here again
It's the God's eye view
This is where the deal goes down
Girl, you better get right
With the facts on the ground
It's the God's eye view
Everything they say is so
No original sins
The house always wins
(He says)
Me and her went walking
By the river on Friday night
(He says)
And we started talking
And she says you know it don't seem right
(She says)
After all that's happened
And I end up with a prick like you
(Too bad)
Well, it's too bad darlin'
And there's nothing for a man to do
It's the God's eye view
Baby, take a long hard look
I was standing right there
When they wrote in the book
It's the God's eye view
Baby, take a long hard look
I was standing right there
Well, along in the twenty first hour
When the whole damn grid goes down
This is how a party gets started
In for a penny, in for a pound
All at once the whole joint goes quiet
And all the wavy lines go straight
One fool among fools is wondering
What happens if I die too late?
Get back with your dime store nihilism
Big daddy's on a glory run
Gettin' down on the cellular level
Just in case I got to call someone
Darkling down on a darkling plain
In the dim dank night of the pissin'-down rain
Darkling down on the balls of his ass
While he prays and waits for the storm to pass
Lemme show you where the good thing happens
It's a barbershop in Inglewood
Too bad we won't get past the bouncer
Sadly I've been banned for good
Well, there's a coffee shop right ?round the corner
The proprietor knows my name
Cup of Joe and a Vicks inhaler
Now you're ready for the big boy game
Steady son come seven come eleven
If either one of us can count that high
Muscatel if the deal gets dicey
Milk and honey in the by and by
Darkling down, it's a damn disgrace
Going round and round in a very small place
Darkling down with a hole in his soul
That he can't explain and he can't control
For the fun or for the money
For the fuck of it or just because
Listen friend, this is no damn picnic
But let's imagine for a minute that it was
Who will feast on this buzzard's banquet?
Who will render my heroic bust?
Who will choke on my lachrymose musings?
Who will eat my zero dust?
Who will wear this puke-streaked tunic?
Who shall gorge on this cup of spleen?
Who will sing about the good, bad and ugly?
And all and everything in between?
Darkling down, this is God's good man
On his hands and knees livin' God's good plan
Darkling down and we don't know still
When he'll come around if he ever will
Darkling down on a zero-G dive
And we just can't say will the fool survive
Darkling down in a seven-G turn
Tell me real, tell me true
Tell me more about door number two
Do me red, do me blue
What goes on behind door number two?
Betsy Button, she just got old
She drives to Vegas with a kid or two
She saved her nickels, it sure adds up
Now she?s got 'em in a paper cup
She needs three bars, three cherries
Three lemons, three pigs
A date with Elvis, a new car
A roll of dollars for the cookie jar
Tell me real, tell me true
Tell me more about door number two
Do me red, do me blue
What?s to do behind door number two?
Please Mr. Barker, look and see
What are the chances for a city boy?
About my age, my height and weight
What is the payout on an inside straight?
A new love, a new hairline
Fame and fortune, a square deal
High adventure in a far-off world
An assignation with a college girl
Tell me real, tell me true
Tell me more about door number two
Do me red, do me blue
What goes on behind door number two?
This old town goes on and on
It ages better than my bag of tricks
Nothing finer for the old morale
Than a tony townhouse in a swank locale
The Bahamas, the Bermudas
The Barbados or I don't know
Gin and tonic on the veranda
A firm appointment with the late, late show
Tell me real, tell me true
Tell me more about door number two
Do me red, do me blue
This old house looks just the way it was
Just a tumbledown of pine and river stone
But it's only just a shadow of the place you knew before
Because Bob's just not your uncle anymore
Winter's here and the day don't last too long
Barely thimbles full of sunshine to go on
And there's an ocean full of midnight rolling right up to the door
I guess Bob's just not your uncle anymore
And I say it without pride and without shame
That the dopey Irish Setter dog Regan's still his name
Well, he looks right glad to see you
But he might not want to be you
Even though he loves you madly from before
Before Bob was not your uncle anymore
Good old games like they play them back in town
Where the wayward daughter's luck runs strong and pure
You might feel like you're a winner but you never know for sure
Now that Bob's just not your uncle anymore
So we see that you can find your way back home
And that maybe when you get there, there's a lock on every door
Now you know for certain what the big wide world is good for
And that Bob's just not your uncle anymore
I said now you know for certain what the big wide world is good for
Take the worst of this quirky world
Roll it up in a ball
Add the hair of a go-go girl
Turn it into a dance that's called
The bloody brain tap shuffle
Lose your mind
You'll see the oceans part
You'll think you're goin' blind
You can sit there and suck your thumb
Hear the rock and roll hum
But you're just a crazy wall flower
Till you join all your friends on the floor
And do the brain tap shuffle
Lose your mind
You'll see the oceans part
You'll think you're goin' blind
You can talk about your daily grind
While she'll dish out that old soft shoe
If makin' money doesn't soothe your mind
We've got something here, here for you
You can talk about your daily grind
While she'll dish out that old soft shoe
If makin' money doesn't soothe your mind
We've got something here, here for you
Take your clothes off and start to shake
Shake rattle and roll
Watch the walls and the ceiling quake
Let it move your body and soul
And do the brain tap shuffle
Lose your mind
You'll see the oceans part
You'll think you're goin' blind
Do the brain tap shuffle
Lose your mind
You'll see the oceans part
You'll think you're goin' blind
Do the brain tap shuffle
Lose your mind
You'll see the oceans part
You'll think you're goin' blind
Do the brain tap shuffle
Lose your mind
You'll see the oceans part
Dusted down in shanty town behind a sky of red
Hoist upon some frozen dawn exploding in my head
Fast asleep in trouble deep or wide awake and burning
Stuck inside some stranger's hide whose karma keeps
returning
Where you trail that holy grail of darkness and despair
Way cross town, now up now down, as though you'd really
care
On the bus across from us seen once in silhouette
The old man's face you couldn't place that now you
can't forget
Down and dirty
There you go
Lucky Henry says hello
Burned his bridges high and low
And down the road and gone
It's raining boxcars did you know
From County Cook to Baltimore
Where ever those old jockeys go
To live out their lifelines
Burning down that two lane town the boys call Hollywood
Kicked around now lost now found now lost again for
good
Badly placed or half erased or lost in space and time
And all because the real one was the disappearing kind
Now you tumble
Now you know
Lucky Henry says hello
Scratched in verses high and low
And down to hell and gone I'm told
It's raining boxcars that's for sure
From Bakersfield to Elsinore
For all what I care anymore
For now and forever gone gone gone
Here she stands in the doorway
Her face is framed in golden light
With creamy thighs and bedroom eyes
Call it, ?Urchin with an appetite?
My favorite shirt, my terry towel
A bowl of cherries in her hand
It?s breakfast and some head shots
That she?s bringing for her brand new man
It?s a one, it?s a two, it?s a three
It?s a three picture deal
I said a one, it?s a two, it?s a three
It?s a three picture deal
Her new house on the hillside
Some blocks above the Sunset Strip
The yoga den is megazen
The vibey lighting ultra hip
She?s gushing on her cellphone
The trainer?s on eternal hold
Producer X is talking film
But the bottom line is solid gold
With a one, maybe two, even three
Yes, a three picture deal
Yes, it?s a one, even two or a three
Yes, a three picture deal
Well, she?s leaving in the Limo
She?s sorry but they?re running late
The night is here, the big premiere
It?s ?The lady and the reprobate?
Now a man like me should never be
Where a man like me does not belong
But I know they?re gonna need a soundtrack
I know they?re gonna need a song
For the one
(One, two, three, yeah)
Three picture deal
I said the one
(One, two, three, yeah)
Three picture deal
I said the one
(One, two, three, yeah)
Three picture deal
I said the one
(One)
Two
(Two)
Three
(Three)
Three picture deal
I said a
(One, two, three)
Three picture deal
(One, two, three)
It's a three picture deal
I said a one
Oh, two
May be three
Well, a three picture deal
I said a one
May be two
Even three
Yes, a three picture deal
I said a one
Or two
Yes, three
Well, a three picture deal
Yes, a one
And two
And three
Three picture deal