Apologies to Pearly Lyrics

Lyric discussion by dave688626 

Cover art for Apologies to Pearly lyrics by ZZ Top

I think the title may come from the fact that the Reverend Willy G. is not playing his Les Paul, "Pearly Gates" on this song--sounds more like a Telecaster to me.
He doesn't play it much any more, but in the old days that guitar featured on nearly every song.