Warren Zevon – PowerPop… An Eclectic Collection of Pop Culture

Hindo Love Gods – Raspberry Beret

I first found this band because of this song. This is my favorite Prince song by a long shot. They do a super cover of it with the rawness I like. They weren’t a band in the traditional sense, no tours, just a one-off gathering of talented artists who happened to be in the right studio at the right time.

The beginning of Hindu Love Gods started in the mid-1980s Athens scene, where REM were quickly rising. Michael Stipe, Peter Buck, Mike Mills, and Bill Berry often participated in jam sessions with other local players. One of those orbiting figures was Warren Zevon. With REM, he found collaborators.

The name Hindu Love Gods first surfaced around 1984 when members Buck, Berry, and Mills backed up a local singer named Bryan Cook. That version fizzled, but the name stuck. When Zevon began working with REM’s rhythm section in the late ’80s, the name resurfaced, this time attached to something much more intriguing.

This song was written by Prince, and his version was released the year I graduated in 1985. This version came out in 1990 on the self-titled album. This song peaked at #23 on Billboard’s Modern Rock Tracks. The album peaked at #168 on the Billboard 100.

Warren Zevon on Letterman

Raspberry Beret

I was workin’ part-time in a 5-and-dime
The boss was Mr. McGee
He told me several times that he didn’t like my kind
‘Cause I was a bit too leisurely
I always was busy doin’ somethin’ close to nothin’
But different than the day before
That’s when I saw her, oh, I saw her
Walk in through the out door, out door

She wore a raspberry beret
The kind you’d find in a second-hand store
Raspberry beret
When it was warm, she didn’t wear much more
Raspberry beret, I think I love her, love

I’m built the way she was, she had the nerve to ask me
If I meant to do her any harm
So I put her on the back of my bike and
We went riding down by Old Man Johnson’s farm
Now rainy days never turned me on
But something ’bout the way the clouds and her mixed
She wasn’t too bright, but you know the way she kissed me
I knew she knew how to get her kicks, yeah

She wore a raspberry beret
The kind you find in a second-hand store
Raspberry beret
And when it was warm, she didn’t wear much more
Raspberry beret, I think I love her, yeah!

Raspberry beret
The kind you find in a second-hand store
Raspberry beret
And when it was warm, she didn’t wear much more
Raspberry beret, I think I love her
A raspberry beret
The kind you find in a second-hand store
Raspberry beret
And when it was warm, she didn’t wear much more
Raspberry beret, I think I love her
A raspberry beret
The kind you find in a second-hand store
Raspberry beret

…

Warren Zevon – Lawyers, Guns and Money

I went home with a waitress the way I always doHow was I to know she was with the Russians, too?

This song is for Song Lyric Sunday for Jim Adams’s blog. This week’s prompt is (drum roll please…) A song with a great opening line suggested by Max of PowerPop.

By the time Zevon was recording Excitable Boy in late 1977, he’d already built up a reputation in Los Angeles as a brilliant but different character. He’d been Linda Ronstadt’s piano player, he was pals with Jackson Browne, and he was that rare songwriter who could write a melody that would stick, but it would have a line that would make you laugh nervously. The sessions were stacked with heavy hitters—Danny Kortchmar on guitar, Waddy Wachtel as the sonic glue, Russ Kunkel on drums, and Leland Sklar on the bass. Basically, the best of the 1970s L.A. session scene.

Zevon wanted grit, menace, and the feeling that the whole thing could go off the rails at any second. That’s exactly why this song ended up as the closer; it wasn’t made for a radio single, but it was played quite a bit. The track closes the record with a bang after the short story songs of Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner and Werewolves of London. Where those songs work like short stories, Lawyers, Guns, and Money plays like a situation in escalating panic.

Zevon once stated in an interview that this was based on a true story. Zevon and his manager were partying in Mexico when the party decided to take to the road, and it looked like it was “about to hit the fan.” Zevon’s manager feigned a phone call: “Send lawyers.” Zevon jumped in: “And guns… and money.”

I’ve always liked Zevon’s dark songs with a sense of humor. His universe contains a lot of colorful characters. Zevon would go on to write subtler, more introspective songs, but this one, like Werewolves of London, made sure no one could ever mistake him for another singer-songwriter.

This song is on the great album Excitable Boy, released in 1978. The album peaked at #8 on the Billboard Album Charts and #12 in New Zealand. It was Zevon’s highest-ranking album.

Lawyers, Guns, and Money

I went home with a waitress the way I always doHow was I to know she was with the russians, too?

I was gambling in havana, I took a little riskSend lawyers, guns, and moneyDad, get me out of this, hiyah!

An innocent bystanderSomehow I got stuck between a rock and a hard placeAnd I’m down on my luckYes, I’m down on my luckWell, I’m down on my luck

I’m hiding in Honduras, I’m a desperate manSend lawyers, guns, and moneyThe shit has hit the fan

Send lawyers, guns, and moneySend lawyers, guns, and money

Send lawyers, guns, and money, hiyah!Send lawyers, guns, and money, ow!

…

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…

Sports Songs

CB mentioned a song on this list and this list came to life…so thanks CB. Some songs about sports or sports figures. I managed to get in baseball, boxing, and even Cricket. I can see a part II in the future.

The songs I know the most about are Baseball theme songs because that is the sport I follow the most.

John Fogerty – Centerfield

Along with “Talkin’ Baseball” and “Take Me Out To The Ballgame,” this quickly became one of the most popular baseball songs ever. It’s a fixture at ballparks between innings of games and plays at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York.

Fogerty mentions 3 huge baseball stars…”So say, Hey Willie, tell Ty Cobb and Joe DiMaggio.” He was influenced by Chuck Berry’s Brown Eyed Handsome Man with the lyrics “Rounding third he was heading for home, it was a brown eyed handsome man,” which is lifted from Berry’s song “Brown Eyed Handsome Man.”

John Fogerty: “I’d hear about Ruth and DiMaggio, and as my dad and older brothers talked about the Babe’s exploits, their eyes would get so big. When I was a little kid, there were no teams on the West Coast, so the idea of a Major League team was really mythical to me. The players were heroes to me as long as I can remember.”

Paul Kelly – Bradman

I’ll be the first to admit I know ~~little~~ nothing about Cricket but the song is great. It’s about Sir Donald Bradman, arguably…. the greatest ever cricketer (and definitely the greatest ever Australian cricketer). This one peaked at #51 in Australia in 1987 and was part of a double A-sided single along with the song Leaps and Bounds.

Chris Gaffney – Eyes of Roberto Duran

This song was written by Tim Russell and it’s covered here by Chris Gaffney. Gaffney had a terrific voice and I discovered him when I covered The Hacienda Brothers last week. This song was on the 1995 album Loser’s Paradise.

Roberto Durán, a Panamanian boxer, is widely regarded as one of the greatest fighters of all time. Known as “Manos de Piedra” (Hands of Stone) for his punching power, Durán’s career lasted from 1968 to 2001. That is a long long career for a boxer.

Durán has talked about an incident from his childhood that left him with a unique trait. As a young boy, he was hit in the eye with a rock, resulting in a permanent droop in his left eyelid. This injury gave Durán a distinctive look, contributing to his fierce ring presence. Despite this, his vision was not significantly impaired.

Bob Dylan – Hurricane

Hurricane is a protest song by Bob Dylan co-written with Jacques Levy, released in 1976 on Dylan’s album Desire. The song tells the story of Rubin “Hurricane” Carter, a middleweight boxer who was wrongfully convicted of a triple murder in Paterson, New Jersey, in 1966. Dylan’s song played a huge role in bringing Carter’s case to public attention.

Warren Zevon – The Ballad of Bill Lee

This song is about one of the most colorful baseball players ever. Bill Lee was called Spaceman because of his views on the world. He was from the 1960s counterculture when most baseball players were straight-laced. When asked about mandatory drug testing, Lee said “I’ve tried just about all of them, but I wouldn’t want to make it mandatory.”

This is from Warren Zevon’s 1980 album “Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School.” The song is a tribute to Bill “Spaceman” Lee.

…

Max Picks …songs from 1978

1978

I remember this year well. The Dodgers repeated a World Series trip but also repeated losing to the Yankees.

Great song by The Who on their last album with Keith Moon. Keith was not in the best shape by this time but his drumming on this is still fantastic. The song is about real events that happened to Pete Townshend down to being passed out drunk at night and asking a policeman that knew Pete’s name, Who the F**k are you? You can still hear Daltrey sing the expletive on classic radio stations.

This one was always a favorite of mine of the Rolling Stones. Keith Richards wrote this, but a lot of the lyrics were improvised in the studio. While the band played, Jagger came in with different lines to fit the music.

This song is a good example of the Rolling Stones tapestry of guitars. Keith and Ron Wood weave their guitars in and out until the two guitars are almost indistinguishable from each other.

Warren Zevon was a very clever songwriter. He went were other songwriters don’t often go. 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.

This song is one of the best pop singles of the 1970s. It was on the album City To City. This was Rafferty’s first release after the breakup of his former band Steeler’s Wheel. Gerry Rafferty had been unable to release any material due to disputes about the band’s remaining contractual recording obligations, and his friend’s Baker Street flat was a convenient place to stay as he tried to remove himself from his Stealers Wheel contracts. It was his second solo album, the first being Can I Have My Money Back? released in 1971.

The album and song were about life on the road in all its glory and squalor. To emphasize this notion even further, Jackson Browne literally recorded the album on the road, in hotel rooms, on buses, and, in the case of “Running On Empty,” on stage.

Linda Rondstadt – Poor Poor Pitiful Me ….Under the Covers Tuesday

I’ve always liked Linda Rondstadt and the songs she covers. I know I’m in the minority with this song but I prefer the original version. Not because Linda did a bad job…on the contrary…she did great and made it popular. I’m just a huge Warren Zevon fan and she left out a verse that I fell in love with because it was so out there.

The lyrics would not really fit her so I understand but Zevon’s version is my go-to version. Ronstadt’s cover is a cleaned-up version with the gender-reversed. Her character still fails at suicide, but the S&M references (“I met her at the Rainbow Bar, she asked me if I’d beat her…”) are gone.

Zevon’s version came out in 1976 and Rondstadt’s was released in 1977. This song helped Zevon to get noticed. His Excitable Boy album came out a few months later and Werewolves of London was his first hit.

Linda Ronstadt was in the middle of a run of hits when she released this song on her eighth album, Simple Dreams. Her producer was Peter Asher, who also worked with James Taylor. Asher figured out that Ronstadt was more than just a singer, and he valued her input. When he started working with her a few years earlier, that’s when the hits started coming.

Peter Asher was one part of the Peter and Gordon pop duo that was part of the British invasion. Paul McCartney was going out with his sister Jane Asher and would give Peter songs to record with Gordon. After that was over he became part of Apple Records and then left to manage and produce James Taylor.

Ronstadt’s version peaked at #31 on the Billboard 100, #26 in Canada, and #46 on the Billboard Country charts in 1977. I was surprised actually…I thought it would have been higher in the charts.

Linda Rondstadt: “To me that song seemed like the purest expression of male vanity. Step on you, be insensitive, be unkind and give you a hard time, saying can’t ya take it, can’t ya take it. Then if you tease men in the slightest bit, they’ll just walk off with their feelings hurt, stomp off in a corner and pout. I mean that’s the way men are, I swear. I thought the verse turned around to a female point of view was just perfect. The gender change works perfectly.”

Poor Poor Pitiful Me

Well, I lay my head on the railroad track
Waiting on the double E
But the train don’t run by here no more
Poor, poor pitiful me

Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Oh, these boys won’t let me be
Lord, have mercy on me
Woe, woe is me

Well, I met a man out in Hollywood
Now I ain’t naming names
Well he really worked me over good
Just like Jesse James

Yes, he really worked me over good
He was a credit to his gender
Put me through some changes, Lord
Sort of like a waring blender

Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Oh, these boys won’t let me be
Lord, have mercy on me
Woe woe is me

Well, I met a boy in the Vieux Carres
Down in Yokohama
He picked me up and he threw me down
He said, “Please don’t hurt me, mama”

Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Oh, these boys won’t let me be
Lord, have mercy on me
Woe woe is me

Poor, poor, poor me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor, poor me
Poor, poor pitiful me
Poor, poor, poor me
Poor, poor pitiful me

Warren Zevon – Poor Poor Pitiful Me

I love this song. Not many songs deal with a failed suicide, domestic abuse, and a brush with sadomasochism. I’m a huge Warren Zevon fan. His songs tend to be on the dark side…and anyone who has listened to Excitable Boy will testify to that.

When I heard Zevon’s version of this song for the first time I was sold. I first heard the Linda Ronstadt version and I loved it. I’m a Linda Ronstadt fan but something about Zevon’s version draws me in. It’s raw and crude and I love the way he sings it.

Zevon wrote and recorded the song and it appeared on his self-titled album in 1976. It became a hit when Linda Ronstadt covered it the next year. She cleaned up the song a little. Ronstadt’s cover was a cleaned-up version with the gender reversed. Still, her character fails at suicide, but the S&M (sadomasochism) references are gone.

Like other Zevon songs this is a pretty crude and risqué song. His character is such a disaster that he can’t even kill himself: he puts his head on the railroad tracks, but the train doesn’t run anymore.

I met a girl at the rainbow bar
She asked me if I’d beat her
She took me back to the hired house
I don’t wanna talk about it, hut

It’s thought that the song was a friendly swipe at Jackson Browne, whose songs such as “Here Come Those Tears Again” and “Sleep’s Dark and Silent Gate” from The Pretender could be quite dark. The album was produced by Jackson Browne and had backing vocals by Lindsey Buckingham.

Another hit cover version of the song was recorded by Canadian country singer Terri Clark in 1996. It peaked at #1 in the Canadian Country Charts and #5 in the Billboard Country Charts.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TbfQPRgcS8

Poor Poor Pitiful Me

I lay my head on the railroad tracks
I’m waiting on the double E
The railroad don’t run no more
Poor poor pitiful me

Poor poor pitiful me and poor poor pitiful me
These young girls won’t let me be
Lord have mercy on me, woe is me

Well I met a girl in West Hollywood
Well I ain’t naming names
But she really worked me over good
She was just like Jesse James

She really worked me over good
She was a credit to her gender
She put me through some changes Lord
Sort of like a waring blender

Poor poor pitiful me, poor poor pitiful me
These young girls won’t let me be
Lord have mercy on me, woe is me

Poor poor pitiful me and poor poor pitiful me
Oh these girls won’t let me be
Lord have mercy on me, woe is me

I met a girl at the rainbow bar
She asked me if I’d beat her
She took me back to the hired house
I don’t wanna talk about it, hut

Poor poor pitiful me
Poor poor pitiful me
Hut, never mind
Poor poor pitiful me
Yeah poor poor pitiful me

Warren Zevon – Play It All Night Long

Play that dead band’s song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night longYes, it’s crude and this is just the start but the words fit together really well. You then get a reference to the ill-fated southern rock band Lynyrd Skynryd.Plus…good luck finding another song with a reference to brucellosis in it! Not that you asked but here is the definition.Brucellosis – Brucellosis is an infectious disease caused by bacteria. People can get the disease when they are in contact with infected animals or animal products contaminated with the bacteria. Animals that are most commonly infected include sheep, cattle, goats, pigs, and dogs, among others.

Warren Zevon explained that the song was written “really fast” while on marijuana on the synthesizer ostinato. The song is also considered a satire/homage to the dead band’s song (Lynyrd Skynyrd’s “Sweet Home Alabama”). Warren had read a novel around the time the song was written by Newton Thornburg titled Black Angus and got the idea for the line “the cattle all have brucellosis” from it. The song was a common live favorite of Warren’s and made it many setlists subsequent to its release. It is probably the only popular song ever written which contains a reference to brucellosis.

I’ve always liked it because it’s on the strange side and one that only Zevon could have written. The song was on the album Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School. The album peaked at #20 in the Billboard Album Chart in 1980.

Play It All Night Long

Grandpa pissed his pants again
He don’t give a damn
Brother Billy has both guns drawn
He ain’t been right since Vietnam

“Sweet home Alabama”
Play that dead band’s song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long

Daddy’s doing Sister Sally
Grandma’s dying of cancer now
The cattle all have brucellosis
We’ll get through somehow

“Sweet Home Alabama”
Play that dead band’s song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long

I’m going down to the Dew Drop Inn
See if I can drink enough
There ain’t much to country living
Sweat, piss, jizz and blood

“Sweet Home Alabama”
Play that dead band’s song
Turn those speakers up full blast
Play it all night long

Warren Zevon – Keep Me In Your Heart

The song can bring tears to your eyes while watching the video. Zevon recorded this when he knew he was dying and it is a touching song. The song was off of the album The Wind which peaked #12 in the Billboard 200 album charts in 2003.

This was the final song Zevon wrote and recorded before dying of mesothelioma (a form of lung cancer) in September of 2003. This was also the only song on Zevon’s final album The Wind that he wrote entirely after learning of his terminal illness. With the exception of the cover of “Knockin’ On Heaven’s Door,” all of the remaining songs on the album were songs Zevon had already at least started writing beforehand.

Zevon saved the recording of this song for last. His deteriorating health rendered him too weak to continue commuting to the studio where the other tracks had been recorded, so he had a makeshift studio set up at his home to record this song.

Keep Me In Your Heart

Shadows are fallin’ and I’m runnin’ out of breath
Keep me in your heart for a while
If I leave you it doesn’t mean I love you any less
Keep me in your heart for a while

When you get up in the mornin’ and you see that crazy sun
Keep me in your heart for a while
There’s a train leavin’ nightly called “When All is Said and Done”
Keep me in your heart for a while

Keep me in your heart for a while

Sometimes when you’re doin’ simple things around the house
Maybe you’ll think of me and smile
You know I’m tied to you like the buttons on your blouse
Keep me in your heart for a while

Hold me in your thoughts
Take me to your dreams
Touch me as I fall into view
When the winter comes
Keep the fires lit
And I will be right next to you

Engine driver’s headed north up to Pleasant Stream
Keep me in your heart for a while
These wheels keep turnin’ but they’re runnin’ out of steam
Keep me in your heart for a while

Keep me in your heart for a while

Warren Zevon – Excitable Boy

Maybe the darkest pop song that I know. You first hear this song and it sounds cheery until you pay attention to the lyrics. I must admit I love the song because it’s just so different. The upbeat happy music with Linda Ronstadt on backing vocals is very catchy and then Warren tells the story and it ends up very dark, to say the least.

When I first paid attention to it…I was shocked and listened to it over and over to make sure I was hearing the lyrics right…No he couldn’t be singing this right? Warren had a dark sense of humor and it shows on this.

The song was not released as a single. The album peaked at #8 in the Billboard 100. Werewolves of London was the hit off of the album. It is perhaps Zevon’s best album.

Excitable Boy
Well, he went down to dinner in his Sunday best
Excitable boy, they all said
And he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest
Excitable boy, they all said

He took in the four a.m. show at the Clark
Excitable boy, they all said
And he bit the usherette’s leg in the dark
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he’s just an excitable boy

He took little Suzie to the Junior Prom
Excitable boy, they all said
And he raped her and killed her, then he took her home
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he’s just an excitable boy
After ten long years they let him out of the home
Excitable boy, they all said
And he dug up her grave and built a cage with her bones
Excitable boy, they all said
Well, he’s just an excitable boy