Damn, I am jealous. Steely Dan is my all time favorite band, hands down, no competetion, not even close. There is never a time when I don't have SOMETHING of theirs in my car CD changer.
I always assumed 'the fine Columbian' was a reference to something quite popular around the time of the album release. And that is just a VERY nice surprise to hear it's not. Although their entire discography is rife with double entendres and hidden meanings (listen to 'Everyone's Gone to the Movies' a few times... ), so I guess it's still not ruled out.

My favorite tracks have to be 'Kid Charlemagne', 'Don't Take me Alive', 'Western World', 'Dr. Wu', and 'Aja'. I also think 'Hey Nineteen' and 'FM' are GREAT party tunes.
stinkyattic Reviewed by stinkyattic on . Steely Dan Concert in NY I caught a Steely Dan show last night at the Beacon Theatre. Tickets were very expensive but worth every cent. The lyrics of their song, Hey Nineteen, released in 1980, include, "The Cuervo Gold, the fine Columbian, make tonight a wonderful thing." I've always wondered whether "the fine Columbian" was a reference to weed or something stronger. Walter Becker did a cryptic spoken intro to the song and described the drink (Cuervo), and "cigarettes that you roll yourself with something that Rating: 5