Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London

He’s the hairy-handed gent who ran amuck in Kent
Lately he’s been overheard in Mayfair
Better stay away from him
He’ll rip your lungs out, Jim
I’d like to meet his tailor

I’ve heard this song so many times, but it does not get old to me. Zevon was one of the darkest songwriters I’ve ever heard, but kept a sense of humor about it. His vocal delivery is more spoken than sung, dry as gin and twice as sharp. The way he tosses off lines like “I saw a werewolf drinking a piña colada at Trader Vic’s — and his hair was perfect” is pure poetry.

Warren Zevon was a very clever songwriter. He went where other songwriters don’t often go. This song was off his critically acclaimed album Excitable Boy released in 1978. The song peaked at #21 on the Billboard 100, #18 in Canada, and #87 in the UK. It’s simply a great album with tracks like this one, Excitable Boy, Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner, and one of my favorites, Lawyers, Guns, and Money. 

Zevon was working with the Everly Brothers in their backup band. He had just hired Robert “Waddy” Wachtel on guitar. The song started as a joke.  Phil Everly tossed out the title during a casual songwriting session, half-daring Zevon to write a song called “Werewolves of London.” Phil had just watched Werewolf of London and thought Warren could make it into a dance craze. 

Zevon thought about it and took it up with his musicians, guitarist Waddy Wachtel and bassist Leroy Marinell. When Wachtel heard the idea, he mimicked a wailing wolf, “Aahoooh,” which became part of the howling chorus. What came out of that session was a Frankenstein’s monster stitched together from old horror flicks.

This track was produced by Jackson Browne. The songwriters were LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel, and Warren Zevon. John McVie and Mick Fleetwood played on this song.

Werewolves of London

I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand
Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain
He was looking for a place called Lee Ho Fook’s
Gonna get a big dish of beef chow mein

Aaoooooo!
Werewolves of London!
Aaoooooo! (Repeat)

If you hear him howling around your kitchen door
Better not let him in
Little old lady got mutilated late last night
Werewolves of London again

Asoooooo!
Werewolves of London!
Aaoooooo! (Repeat)

He’s the hairy-handed gent who ran amuck in Kent
Lately he’s been overheard in Mayfair
Better stay away from him
He’ll rip your lungs out, Jim
I’d like to meet his tailor

Aaoooooo!
Werewolves of London!
Aaoooooo! (Repeat)

Well, I saw Lon Chaney walking with the Queen
Doing the Werewolves of London
I saw Lon Chaney, Jr. walking with the Queen
Doing the Werewolves of London
I saw a werewolf drinking a pina colada at Trader Vic’s
And his hair was perfect

Aaoooooo!
Werewolves of London!
Aaoooooo! (Repeat)
Draw blood…

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Author: Badfinger (Max)

Power Pop fan, Baseball, Beatles, Alternative music, old movies, and tv show fan. Also anything to do with pop culture in the 60s and 70s... I'm also a songwriter, bass and guitar player. Not the slightest bit interested in politics at all.

35 thoughts on “Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London”

    1. Yes….that is a favorite of mine. I like picking out lyrics to highlight once in a while…and with this song I could have picked many lines.

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  2. the story behind mcvie and fleetwood being involved is interesting….it reminds me a lot of Aerosmth’s Steven Tyler being in the studio here in Canada/Vancouver at Little Mountain sound and joning in with background vocals for a Canadian band I can’t remember the name of right now, but things like that are always interesting…but saying that, yes at the time loved that song and nighttime in the switching yard but, not long before Zevon passed away saw him at the Edmonton Folk Fest, just him and a guitar, the song Keep me in your Heart, he was a great songwriter at heart, our Canadian Murray McLauchlan recorded his Carmelita (i think before Linda Ronstadt) that album excitable boy along with night moves and bat out of hell were my 12th grade soundtrack, but well, you grow

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    1. I’ve heard of that studio. A commenter here interviewed Mike Fraser and he talked about that studio.
      That is very cool that you got to see him Warren. That song you mentioned almost brings me to tears when I hear it.
      I’ll check Murray McLauchlan out.

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  3. Truly a great song, tune’s good enough to keep hearing year after year & the lyrics were amazingly clever. Only ‘Halloween’ song I like hearing any time of year. It’s too bad it came to define his career though as, like you point out, he did other good songs too & has the best musical friends California had to offer. Still …without this song, he’d be another John Prine or Nick Drake, a guy critics liked but ordinary people had never heard of (at least until after they died)

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  5. Pingback: Warren Zevon – Werewolves of London – MobsterTiger

  13. “Werewolves of London” undoubtably is a catchy song. I also find it a bit monotonous and, as such, somewhat overrated. Warren Zevon had some great songs. On “Excitable Boy,” I think I prefer “Johnny Strikes Up the Band”, the title track and the funky “Nighttime in the Switching Yard.”

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    1. This is not his best song but…it got his name out and that counts. Excitable Boy is the darkest song I’ve ever heard I believe! The song and the album. Yea man he has a lot of great ones!

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    1. The title cut along with Lawyers….are my two top cuts by him personally. This one is not but it’s fun and it made him known which is cool.

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  20. I love this song and love Warren. A few years ago when I was in London and went down to Soho to look for a place called Lee Ho Fook’s. Sadly it’s not there any more. I will let you guess what I was gonna have there for lunch!

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  21. This is a great song from someone who created quite a few.

    The problem with quoting the lyrics is that they miss stuff that ain’t words but still a necessary part of the song. The yell (what would you call it?) after “And his hair was perfect.” is as much a highlight of the song as anything else.

    Zevon wrote lots of great songs, but what will be known as his last song is in a category all its own. “Keep Me In Your Heart.” When I die I do not want a funeral, a celebration. I want to be remembered by those I love. And I want this song to be playing.

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