The song Steely Dan wrote to mock John Lennon

Elton John sent a Christmas card to the Lennons in New York, where they occupied an entire floor of the Dakota Building. He inscribed: "Imagine six apartments/It isn't hard to do/One is full of fur coats/Another just for shoes".

They didnt "model themselves on the Beatles". They just didnt like touring.

To this day I still use Steely Dan tunes to demo stereo gear. Not many better bands to do this with, and the songs are still fresh today.

Aja is one of the best albums of all time

A multi millionaire rock star telling me to have no possessions has never sat well with me and I applaud Donald Fagan for writing the song. See I'm not the only one.

"Imagine no possessions..." John left his son, Julian, out of his will.

I'll always be grateful I got to see these legends in a live performance. They were doing one of their rare tours, and were at Irvine amphitheater c. 1997, normally I really dislike crowds and lines but to see these two greats, I felt like I was walking on air while cold sober. Becker was dressed in jeans like an every man, which he wasn't of course, but Donald Fagen proceeded to take over the show dressed in 90's dark casual suit with no tie that was the style. Fagen's performance was effortless and it was obvious we were watching a master at work; watching him and Becker perform as Steely Dan for one of the last times, was an experience I remember with reverence. Sadly Walter Becker left us in 2017 - but I'll always remember the time I saw two legends of music perform live.

I agree.' Imagine' is an atheistic, utopian song by a man whom only saw the world from a balcony. He wrote some great stuff with McCartney, but his solo work was angry. He had no peace in his life until Sean, and even then, look how he treated Julian. Here is a life who missed God, imho.

The older you get as a man in this world, the more you understand and appreciate Steely Dan

"Imagine there's no money, it easy if you're rich."

Lennon's son Julian called him a hyprocrite. Lennon actually beat his first wife and once he hooked up with Yo-yo Oh-No he totally cut Julian out of his life, his will and all. Sad that so many people worshipped him as a world man of peace when he was no better than anyone. Just a rich jaw flapper...

I remember someone doing a one line review of the song at the time "Imagine John with no possessions"

Nearly every Steely Dan song has a message you can spend a lifetime trying to decipher.

The older I get the more I like Steely Dan.

I was a DJ at a small station in central Vermont in '72. Went to Baltimore to visit my very hip cousin who turned me on to SD ("Do It Again"). Bought a copy of the album and played the vinyl on air, for the first time in that area, I suspect. Was that really half a century ago?

I hated John Lennon. Didn’t wish him dead but he was a cruel human being. Narcissist .cruel to any woman no matter what age. Always loved Ringo and George. I’m 73 so this is my history.

Hmmm. It's possible to see "Only a Fool" as an answer to "Imagine," but in this video I didn't hear any real connection showing Fagan and Becker intended that. On the other hand, Costello's line--"Wasn't it a millionaire who said imagine no possessions?" --leaves no doubt as to the target of his skepticism.

Really good to hear that somebody pushed back against the most overrated song of all time!

Lennon treated his son like shit. That's enough for me.

Only a Fool Would Say That! Is my absolute favorite DF song. I always thought Lennon was a self absorbed nasal gazing asshole and Fagan an introspective self aware genius!.