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.
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.