The late Walter Becker of Steely Dan was born on February 20th, 1950. The song “Kid Charlemagne” on the Royal Scam contains the stupidest line ever written in a song — at least according to one New York cabbie. Donald Fagen and the late Walter Becker have said their lyrics to “Kid Charlemagne” were inspired by the adventures of LSD chemist Owsley Stanley. But that’s not what Walter wanted to talk about.
“I was in a cab in New York City and the cab driver picked me up in front of the rehearsal hall, so he knew who I was, right? And he started telling me, ‘Yeah, those Steely Dan, y’know, those guys wrote the stupidest line of any song I ever heard.’ And I said, ‘No kidding, what was that?’ And he said, ‘Y’know, in “Kid Charlemagne” where the guy goes “Is there gas in the car?/Yes, there’s gas in the car.”’ I guess that’s quite a distinction for us, to have written the stupidest line in any song that’s ever been written.”
