Ricky don't lose that urban myth

One of the great urban myths is about the real meaning behind Ricky Don’t Lose That Number.

Released in 1974. By Steely Dan. It still works.

The song is about a friend wishing Ricky well on their adventures. Realising there’ll be times when Ricky gets overwhelmed by the world. Reassuring Ricky there will always be someone there to help them cope.

And, to prove it, they give Ricky their number.

Well. A number.

Rikki don't lose that number

You don't want to call nobody else

Send it off in a letter to yourself

Rikki don't lose that number

It's the only one you own

You might use it if you feel better

When you get home

It’s a delightful piece of music. Even if chorus didn’t really seem to make much sense. Why is Ricky sending off a number in a letter?

But it was successful. Number 4 in the Top 100.

It’s a typically laid-back Steely Dan ear worm. A better version of what hundreds of bands of that era were putting out. Their slightly goofy lyrics were the very thing that helped make it memorable. Wrapped inside a piece of music which is great, but on its own might not stack up against Take Five or Green Onions.

It was a song you couldn’t not remember.

The myth was this. It’s not a phone number. A number, as your once-wild aunt can tell you, is what the hipsters used to call a joint. And mailing it was a simple way, back then, of getting your stash to where you wanted to be without having to explain to the cops what was in the bag.

It‘s a song about getting mellow and forgetting about your existential angst for an evening

Of all the similar sounding songs, this was the one the world remembers.

The thing is, the myth is just a myth.

It is actually a song about a guy giving a girl (named Rikki) his number.

It’s so simple, people made up stories about it to make it more interesting.

So they concentrate on the lyrics without thinking it might be the music which makes the thing memorable.

Which made me think about AI and the promises AI is making.

(Maybe it’s the whole existential threat piece. Or maybe it’s just smoke.)

Don’t get me wrong. I love the promise of AI. As a writer, if we can solve the privacy thing and find an affordable but secure library, I’m well up for what it promises.

The simple promise is it does things so fast. So fast.

Which is exactly what 99.99% of people who use it will be after. It makes things faster. And as long as you don’t mind how much like everyone else’s thing it looks like, it works. It’s fast. It answers the brief. It’ll do. I have deadlines to meet.

I think this is great news for people who want to be remembered.

Think back to Walter Becker and Donald Fagen – the songwriting core of Steely Dan – and think of what they did.

Yes, it’s a lovely lyric.

But it’s arguably the dropped minor third in Esus2 chord and the marimba sound that makes the whole thing stick to the roof of your mind like an intellectual peanut butter sandwich.

Whatever the reason, it stays in your mind.

Long after the mass-produced numbers are forgotten.

And being remembered is, as the song says, “The only thing you want.”