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Wharf Rat Lyrics
Old man down, way down, down, down by the docks of the city
Blind and dirty; asked me for a dime, a dime for a cup of coffee
I got no dime, but I got some time to hear his story
"My name is August West, and I love my Pearly Baker best more than my wine
More than my wine; more than my maker, though he's no friend of mine
Everyone said I'd come to no good. I knew I would, Pearly, believe them
Half of my life I spent doin' time for some other fucker's crime
The other half found me stumbling around drunk on Burgundy wine
But I'll get back on my feet again someday
The good Lord willin', if He says I may
I know that the life I'm livin's no good
I'll get a new start; live the life I should
I'll get up and fly away. I'll get up and fly away, fly away
Pearly's been true; true to me, true to my dyin' day." he said
I said to him, I said to him, "I'm sure she's been."
I said to him, "I'm sure she's been true to you."
I got up and wandered, wandered downtown; nowhere to go but just to hang around
I've got a girl named Bonnie Lee, I know that girl's been true to me
I know she's been, I'm sure she's been true to me
Blind and dirty; asked me for a dime, a dime for a cup of coffee
I got no dime, but I got some time to hear his story
"My name is August West, and I love my Pearly Baker best more than my wine
More than my wine; more than my maker, though he's no friend of mine
Everyone said I'd come to no good. I knew I would, Pearly, believe them
Half of my life I spent doin' time for some other fucker's crime
The other half found me stumbling around drunk on Burgundy wine
But I'll get back on my feet again someday
The good Lord willin', if He says I may
I know that the life I'm livin's no good
I'll get a new start; live the life I should
I'll get up and fly away. I'll get up and fly away, fly away
Pearly's been true; true to me, true to my dyin' day." he said
I said to him, I said to him, "I'm sure she's been."
I said to him, "I'm sure she's been true to you."
I got up and wandered, wandered downtown; nowhere to go but just to hang around
I've got a girl named Bonnie Lee, I know that girl's been true to me
I know she's been, I'm sure she's been true to me
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I think this is the one of the saddest stories ever told. Like the person above me said, purley baker is a double entendre, referring to both the woman in the song and her relation to the wharf rats alcoholism. I dont know why but I always assume the pleas at the end of the song are in vain. The last two lines are the story teller showing that he was quite shaken by his experience, and thus he is reassuring himself that his woman has been true to him. Anyhow this one of the most beautiful, epic tales ever told. REST IN PEACE JERRY.
when the narrator says "I know she's been, I'm SURE she's been true to you..." you know he's telling the derelict a harmless lie. He doesn't really believe she's been, but this guy is so near the end, he's gonna throw him a beautiful dream as he checks out of his existence. and then he's wandrin' around, thinking, I don't even know that for my own self. I'm in as dire straits as this guy. We're all the same and we don't know how to find out what we think we need to believe in. Truly epic song.
@orphan_yachts you hit the nail on the head my friend.. .. beyond EPIC..this song got me rediscovering the Dead.
@orphan_yachts you hit the nail on the head my friend.. .. beyond EPIC..this song got me rediscovering the Dead.
@orphan_yachts you hit the nail on the head my friend.. .. beyond EPIC..this song got me rediscovering the Dead.
@orphan_yachts you hit the nail on the head my friend.. .. beyond EPIC..this song got me rediscovering the Dead.
@orphan_yachts you hit the nail on the head my friend.. .. beyond EPIC..this song got me rediscovering the Dead.
@orphan_yachts you hit the nail on the head my friend.. .. beyond EPIC..this song got me rediscovering the Dead.
I always thought it had something to do with a pearly baker being a crack pipe, and the wharf rat trying to quit and get back on his feet again. Thats why they called the sober deadheads "wharf rats" at concerts back in the day.
i doubt it. i could be considered a wharf rat, even tho i dont consider myself one. but it is most likely used in that context all because of the folling lines (and that is all).... The other half found me stumbling around drunk on Burgundy wine But I'll get back on my feet again someday The good Lord willin', if He says I may I know that the life I'm livin's no good I'll get a new start; live the life I should
i doubt it. i could be considered a wharf rat, even tho i dont consider myself one. but it is most likely used in that context all because of the folling lines (and that is all).... The other half found me stumbling around drunk on Burgundy wine But I'll get back on my feet again someday The good Lord willin', if He says I may I know that the life I'm livin's no good I'll get a new start; live the life I should
I think there is a strong correlation to On the Waterfront (Marlon Brando, dir. by Elia Kazan)
Also the Rev. Purley Baker was the head of the Anti-Saloon League of America. This group lead the fight for prohibition in America.
Could draw a strong correlation to alcoholism struggles
It only took me a hundred times listening to this that I realized the narrator is in the same boat as the wharf rat. "I got no dime, but I got some time to hear his story", "wandered downtown, nowhere to go but just to hang around". He assures the wharf rat that his girl has been true to him because he has to believe that his own girl has been true to him.
fanTASTIC. i think so too : )
fanTASTIC. i think so too : )
Wharf = dock/pier; Rat: as in someone always hanging around; referring to the old man mentioned. that's where the name comes from. my fav. dead song <3
This is my favorite Dead tune.
floppywoknoodle is right, Purley Baker is indeed a double entendre. Rev Purley Baker was head of the anti-saloon league in the days of prohibition.
Jerry Garcia did a charcoal artwork entitled "August West:" http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/garciawharfrat.jpg
The image is as haunting as the song itself.
Robert Hunter and Jerry lived homeless for a short while( very early) in an old 50's junker Caddy somewhere around san fran....possibly the tenderloin fisherman's wharf, where they undoubtably encountered many August West characters...in fact, Jerry's mother ran a saloon there......Jerry always had a thing for the bums, and always gave a handout or a hug to one he met on the street ....the "Purley Baker" was a fancy whiskey in the depression (Bakers whiskey is still around)...it was called "Purley" because the drunks were poking fun at the Rev. Purley Baker ( who hated booze and drinking). Kind of like calling a five - dollar bill a "stinkin lincoln".....Hunter, who wrote the words, grew up in this era: the post depression...he knew of the slang and habits of the drunk culture and portrays it so well in this tune.
Could this be the greatest story ever told?
the greatest indeed. not many people commenting on the dead eh?