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SIDE ONE 1. Johnny Strikes Up The Band
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Johnny Strikes Up The BandWritten by Warren Zevon
Dry your eyes, my little friend Let me take you by the hand Freddie get ready Rock steady When Johnny strikes up the band They'll be rocking in the projects Walking down along the strand Freddie get ready Rock steady When Johnny strikes up the band Johnny strikes up the band When Johnny strikes up the . . . When Johnny strikes up the . . . When Johnny strikes up the band And Johnny is my main man He's the keeper of the keys He'll put your mind at ease He's guaranteed to please Back by popular demand Look around, my little friend Jubilation in the land Freddie get ready Rock steady When Johnny strikes up the band Johnny strikes up the band When Johnny strikes up the . . . When Johnny strikes up the . . . When Johnny strikes up the band Waddy Wachtel guitar & harmony Warren Zevon piano Leland Sklar bass Russell Kunkel drums Danny Kortchmar percussion Warren: I appropriated the title from an opera, Jonny Spielt Auf, by Ernst Krenek. Waddy played an exquisite signature solo. 2. Roland The Headless Thompson Gunner
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Roland The Headless Thompson GunnerWritten by David Lindell & Warren Zevon
Roland was a warrior from the Land of the Midnight Sun With a Thompson gun for hire, fighting to be done The deal was made in Denmark on a dark and stormy day So he set out for Biafra to join the bloody fray Through sixty-six and seven they fought the Congo war With their fingers on their triggers, knee-deep in gore For days and nights they battled the Bantu to their knees They killed to earn their living and to help out the Congolese Roland the Thompson gunner . . . His comrades fought beside him - Van Owen and the rest But of all the Thompson gunners Roland was the best So the CIA decided they wanted Roland dead That son-of-a-bitch Van Owen blew off Roland's head Roland the headless Thompson gunner Time, time, time For another peaceful war Norway's bravest son But time stands still for Roland 'Til he evens up the score They can still see his headless body stalking through the night In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun In the muzzle flash of Roland's Thompson gun Roland searched the continent for the man who'd done him in He found him in Mombassa in a barroom drinking gin Roland aimed his Thompson gun - he didn't say a word But he blew Van Owen's body from there to Johannesburg Roland the headless Thompson gunner . . . The eternal Thompson gunner, still wandering through the night Now it's ten years later but he still keeps up the fight In Ireland, in Lebanon, in Palestine and Berkeley Patty Hearst heard the burst of Roland's Thompson gun And bought it Waddy Wachtel guitar Warren Zevon piano & organ Bob Glaub bass Russell Kunkel drums The Gentlemen Boys harmonies Warren: In 1974 I ran off to Spain and got a job in an Irish bar called the Dubliner, in Sitges, on the Costa Brava. The proprietor was a piratical ex-merc named David Lindell. He and I wrote this song at the bar one afternoon, over many jars. 3. Excitable Boy
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Excitable BoyWritten by LeRoy Marinell & Warren Zevon
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 Well, he's just an excitable boy 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 Waddy Wachtel guitar Warren Zevon piano Bob Glaub bass Russell Kunkel drums Jim Horn saxophone Linda Ronstadt, Jennifer Warnes & Waddy Wachtel harmonies Warren: I was at LeRoy Marinell's house in Venice, California. LeRoy cooked a pot roast. After dinner the subject of my guitar playing came up, and I asked him why no one let me play lead guitar with them. He said, "You get good ideas, Warren, but then you get too excited." I said, "I'm just an excitable boy." 4. Werewolves Of London
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Werewolves Of LondonWritten by LeRoy Marinell, Waddy Wachtel & Warren Zevon
I saw a werewolf with a Chinese menu in his hand Walking through the streets of Soho in the rain He was looking for the place called Lee Ho Fook's Going to get a big dish of beef chow mein Werewolves of London 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 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 Werewolves of London 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 piña colada at Trader Vic's His hair was perfect Werewolves of London Draw blood Waddy Wachtel guitar Warren Zevon piano John McVie bass Mick Fleetwood drums Warren: Phil Everly said, "I'm making another solo album. Why don't you guys write a song for me - a dance song. Call it, 'Werewolves Of London.'" I was at LeRoy's house a few days later, and he was playing that little V-IV-I figure when Waddy walked in. "What are you doing?" he asked, and we answered, "We're doing the Werewolves of London." Waddy said, "you mean, Ahhooo - those Werewolves of London?" 5. Accidentally Like A Martyr
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Accidentally Like A MartyrWritten by Warren Zevon
The phone don't ring And the sun refused to shine Never thought I'd have to pay so dearly For what was already mine For such a long, long time We made mad love Shadow love Random love And abandoned love Accidentally like a martyr The hurt gets worse and the heart gets harder The days slide by Should have done, should have done, we all sigh Never thought I'd ever be so lonely After such a long, long time Time out of mind We made mad love Shadow love Random love And abandoned love Accidentally like a martyr The hurt gets worse and the heart gets harder Waddy Wachtel guitar Warren Zevon piano Leland Sklar bass Russell Kunkel drums Karla Bonoff with The Gentlemen Boys harmonies Warren: Several people believed that I wrote this song about them. It has a nice middle section in 7/4, anyway. SIDE TWO 1. Nighttime In The Switching Yard
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Nighttime In The Switching YardWritten by Jorge Calderón, David Lindell, Waddy Wachtel & Warren Zevon
Nighttime in the switching yard Get it out on the mainline Listen to the rhythm of the train go by Listen to the train whistle whine Nighttime in the switching yard See that train . . . The midnight train runs both ways Do it Doot dat doot dat doot dadoot Listen to the train whistle whine Listen to the train Listen to the track Waddy Wachtel guitar (right) lead guitar & synthesizer Danny Kortchmar guitar (left) Warren Zevon synthesizer Bob Glaub bass Jeff Porcaro drums & percussion Greg Ladanyi bell The Gentlemen Boys harmonies 2. Veracruz
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VeracruzWritten by Jorge Calderón & Warren Zevon
I heard Woodrow Wilson's guns I heard Maria crying Late last night I heard the news That Veracruz was dying Veracruz was dying Someone called Maria's name I swear it was my father's voice Saying, "If you stay you'll all be slain You must leave now - you have no choice Take the servants and ride west Keep the child close to your chest When the American troops withdraw Let Zapata take the rest" I heard Woodrow Wilson's guns I heard Maria calling Saying, "Veracruz is dying And Cuernavaca's falling" Aquel dia yo juré (On that day I swore) Hacia el puerto volveré (To the port I will return) Aunque el destino cambió mi vida (Even though destiny changed my life) En Veracruz moriré (In Veracruz I shall die) Aquel día yo juré (On that day I swore) I heard Woodrow Wilson's guns I heard them in the harbor Saying, "Veracruz is dying" Waddy Wachtel guitar Warren Zevon piano Kenny Edwards bass Rick Marotta drums Arthur Gerst Mexican harp Luis Damian Jarana Manuel Vasquez Requinto Jarocho Jim Horn recorders Jorge Calderón harmonies and Spanish vocals 3. Tenderness On The Block
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Tenderness On The BlockWritten by Jackson Browne & Warren Zevon
Mama, where's your pretty little girl tonight Trying to run before she can walk - that's right She's growing up She has a young man waiting She's growing up She has a young man waiting Wide-eyes She'll be street-wise To the lies And the jive talk She'll find true love And tenderness on the block Daddy, don't you ask her when she's coming in And when she's home don't ask her where she's been She's going out She has a young man waiting She's going out Can't keep her young man waiting She'll be okay Let her have her day It's a long way It's a long walk She'll find true love And tenderness on the block I know how much it hurts to see her go She has a mind of her own, you know She's all grown up She has a young man waiting She's all grown up She has a young man waiting She was wide-eyed Now she's street-wise To the lies And the jive talk She'll find true love And tenderness on the block She'll find true love And tenderness on the block Waddy Wachtel guitars Warren Zevon piano Kenny Edwards bass Rick Marotta drums The Gentlemen Boys harmonies 4. Lawyers, Guns And Money
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Lawyers, Guns And MoneyWritten by Warren Zevon
Well, I went home with the waitress The way I always do How was I to know She was with the Russians, too I was gambling in Havana I took a little risk Send lawyers, guns and money Dad, get me out of this I'm the innocent bystander Somehow I got stuck Between the rock and the hard place And I'm down on my luck And I'm down on my luck And I'm down on my luck Now I'm hiding in Honduras I'm a desperate man Send lawyers, guns and money The shit has hit the fan Send lawyers, guns and money . . . Waddy Wachtel guitars Warren Zevon piano Kenny Edwards bass Rick Marotta drums Warren: My friend Burt Stein (who was also my A&R man at Asylum Records) and I were on vacation in Kauai, Hawaii. We were riding past the cane fields with a young woman whose acquaintance I'd made the previous evening, and she was taking us to a friend's "plantation house." She mentioned sort of off-handedly that her friend wasn't home; that we might, in fact, have to break in. I turned to Burt. "Dear Joe," I said, thinking of Joe Smith, the president of the record company, "Send lawyers." "And guns," Burt added. I said, "And money." 2007 RHINO CD BONUS TRACKS I Need A Truck (Outtake) Werewolves Of London (Alternate Version) Tule's Blues Frozen Notes (Strings Version) |
RELEASE
DATE January 18, 1978 (US) LABEL Asylum (US) CATALOG NUMBER 6E-118 PRODUCER Jackson Browne / Waddy Wachtel STUDIOS The Sound Factory, Los Angeles CHART #8 (Billboard) |
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