| The Band – Up On Cripple Creek Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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Almost forgot to add this, if it helps. It's a clip from VH1's Classic Albums on their second album that talks about the making of Cripple Creek. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wLCmxMrgfDA |
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| The Band – Up On Cripple Creek Lyrics | 13 years ago |
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I see a lot of discussion of origins and influences here. The fact of the matter is that it really doesn't matter what the nationality of the members is. If you read or listen to interviews the group they all mentioned heavy influence from Southern bluesmen folk music, in much the same way that many of the popular UK bands of the era were influenced (Cream, the Rolling Stones, etc.). When Robbie Robertson came to the states one of his first jobs was as a guitarist for Ronnie Hawkins play hardcore Rockabilly and electrified Blues and he incorporated this into much of his writing. I think the only thing that Levon's nationality lends to it all is a bit of credence and legitimacy for certain songs (not the least of which being The Night They Drove Old Dixie Down). What sets the group, as a whole, apart from many others though is that they repeatedly defy quantification. It's virtually impossible to tie down their music, or even individual songs, to any one genre of school of influence. Cripple Creek, for example, is essentially a folk song bordering on bluegrass- Flatt and Scruggs could easily pick this on banjo and six-string and it would be wonderful. The lyrics are very much in that vein- they're pretty straight forward in the story, littered with colloquialisms, and on the whole very simple (ie. the singer is a traveling man- probably a salesman, trucker, riverboat man- who is an alcoholic and who has a definite contempt for the hectic world around him. His solace comes in the form of a Louisiana woman he befriended- Bessie). What makes the song more difficult to define is the mishmash of styles that come into play during the orchestration. You have Robertson and Danko playing a very folksy/river music rhythm, Manuel's piano is definitely blues, and Helm adds a a very interesting back beat that he believed made it more "danceable". The real monkey wrench in the idea of "theory", though, comes from Hudson and his Clavinet. He mainly plays it in verses and it adds this very odd funky feel to the music that most people would identify more with, say, the work of Stevie Wonder several years later. For the choruses he shifts to the mellow organ- not dressed up, just steady and cool, which offers a reprieve and a sense of serenity (which is appropriate based on the lyrics). So, the bottom line is you have a Southern folk song fused with Motown/Funk, and a groovy (there really is no other word for it) beat. The bottom line of this being that, regardless of their influences, the Band encompassed the entirety of the American music experience, and probably more so than any other group. Not only did they refuse to stick to a single genre on the whole, they would often change styles in the middle of a single song. I think this is what allowed them to be so endearingly popular with people from all cultures and genres. Even Roger Waters from Pink Floyd has been quoted as saying that during the Post-Barrett, Pre-Dark Side period one of the albums played most while the band was at work was Music from Big Pink. I suppose this ended up being a bit off topic and for that I apologize- and no, I'm not entirely sure what the doughnut line means, but I prefer not to dissect it too much. |
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| Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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Also, as for individual references in the song: Lee Ho Fook is (or was, I think it's closed now) a popular Chinese restaurant in SoHo. They needed the name of a place that would match "Chinese Menu" and beef chow mein was chosen just because it fit the rhyming scheme with "rain" from line 2. Lon Chaney Jr., of course, portrayed the original Wolfman. His father, Lon Chaney Sr., also worked on an unfinished silent horror film called "London After Midnight", an early Vampire/Werewolf thriller. The Trader Vic's line is just a nod to 70s style. Trader Vic's was the kind of place where the elite gathered and where you saw the "in" people- the beautiful people. Saying "I saw a werewolf drinking a Pina Colada at Trader Vic's and his hair was perfect" is akin to saying, "I saw David Geffin drinking a Mai Tai at Trader Vic, and his suit was perfect". "Jim" is not a name of anyone in particular- it's simply a term used to describe a random person, like saying "man". It's more common in British slang, but Warren used it frequently, such as in My Rides Here "You said, I believe this Seraphim will gather up my pinto, and carry me away, Jim, across the San Jacinto." "Tailor" would most likely be a reference to the fact that in the movies when a werewolf transforms they always end up shredding their clothing. Obviously, the werewolves Warren is singing about are high, so logically they would have a regular tailor to patch up their Armani suits after each full moon. And of course, the lyrics changed with almost every performance, with Warren rewriting them on the fly to suit the situation or venue. Re: "and he's lookin' for James Taylor!" "I saw Jackson Browne walkin' slow down the boulevard, You know his heart is perfect" And any number of general location changes- Werewolves of Los Angeles, Jersey Toronto Etc. |
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| Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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I've seen bits and pieces here and there that get it straight, but let me combine it all... This is one of the few songs he wrote that Warren was very up front about where the meaning was concerned- the meaning being, it has none. It starts in 1974 long before he had even begun his first album. Phil Everly was working on a solo album after he and Don broke up their band. Warren, their former band leader and a close friend, was talking with him one evening after Don had been watching a old B-movie called Werewolf of London and mentioned the movie. They started joking about how it sounded like a good song title. Phil, probably in jest said, "Fine, make it a dance song 'The Werewolves of London,' and I'll put it on the album." In much the same fashion of Bruce Springsteen and "Jeanie Needs a Shooter," Warren took him at his word. Shortly after that Warren was song writing with his friend Roy Marinell and decided to take a crack at Werewolves. Marinell, a bassist, said he had just the riff for a dance song, and in turn played the famous bass line. It's not clear if this was a rip off Sweet Home Alabama which was released around the same time (Spring 1974) but if it is, that's Roy's look out. Waddy Wachetl happened to walk in and ask, "What are you to doing?" Warren said, "We doing the Werewolves of London," and Waddy replied, "Ah, you mean like- Awhooooooo?" And it went from there. They just started rattling off lyrics that they thought sounded funny and that fit together. Warren's wife, Crystal was there and started writing down the lyrics as they went. A few days later she and Warren went to visit Jackson Browne and he asked if Warren was working on anything new. Crystal said, "Do the new one," and Warren asked, "what new one?" She pulled out her notepad and read out the lyrics. Jackson loved it and asked if he use it in his set. Warren said he didn't care, and Jackson ended up getting bootlegged doing the song in concert. His producers asked when we was going to record it, and he said he didn't want to but he could put them in touch with the guy who wrote it. When they did the "Warren Zevon" album, Jackson urged that it be left off in favor of the deeper songs like "The French Inhaler" or "Hasten Down the Wind". He said those were too important to be left off in place of a normal pop song. Once the album established Warren with the critics though, he said it would be perfect for the second album, "Excitable Boy". In turn, it was chosen as the single from that LP, much to the chagrin of Warren and Waddy who felt jilted that a song they wrote in 15 minutes for kicks was being paid attention when deeper stuff like "Veracruz" or "Accidentally Like A Martyr" was overlooked. Of course, it was kind of insult to injury when the song became the only popular hit Warren ever had. Once he was established in his fanbase during the 90s he was asked in an interview if he ever thought about dropping it from his set list to add some of his more personal material. His response was, "Well, not really. I suppose it just wouldn't feel right without the obligatory 3 minutes of howling every night." |
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| Warren Zevon – Laissez-moi Tranquille Lyrics | 14 years ago |
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The problem with translation is that it's not actually French- it's Creole. And without a native speaker to translate, it's very difficult to get the proper meanings. Essentially, though, it pretty much does equal out to "Leave me be." which is a kind of motto for the culture along with the more well known Laissez les bon Temps Rouler (Let the good times roll). Both are incredibly accurate for Warren, obviously. |
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| Warren Zevon – My Ride's Here Lyrics | 14 years ago |
| In the interest of chronology, he didn't know he was ill when he wrote either song. As you said, My Shit's Fucked Up was released in 2000 on Life'll Kill Ya. My Ride's Here was released on May 7, 2002. It wasn't until 2 months later in August that he was diagnosed. Warren always had a kind of macabre fascination with aging and health, which is definitely evident even in his early work. In the end the two albums added up to one astounding coincidence that Warren, himself, found to be rather humorous as evidenced by his final interview with David Letterman. He's quoted as saying after his diagnosis, "I've spent 40 years creating this part- now it's time to play it." | |
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