Escovedo's family tree includes former Santana percussionist Pete Escovedo and Pete's daughter, Sheila E (also Prince's former drummer and later a pop star). He began his music career with the Nuns, a mid-'70s punk band based in San Francisco. He co-founded the pioneering cowpunk band Rank and File in 1979, which moved to Austin, Texas, in 1981 after a stint in New York City. The band released Sundown on Slash Records in 1982, but shortly after, Escovedo left to form the True Believers with brother Javier. The band recorded two albums for EMI and toured the country, often as an opening act for Los Lobos. However, EMI opted not to release the second album, which eventually led to the group's break-up. (It eventually surfaced as a bonus item when Rykodisc reissued the first set on CD in 1994.)
Escovedo released a solo album in 1992 on Watermelon Records, Gravity, uniting his wide variety of styles; the album was produced by Stephen Bruton of Bonnie Raitt's band. Escovedo also began gigging periodically with the band Buick MacKane, who fused old-school punk with 70's glam rock; after Rykodisc released Escovedo's With These Hands in 1996, they followed it up with Buick MacKane's long-awaited album. After Escovedo parted ways with Rykodisc, he signed with the Chicago-based alt-country label Bloodshot in 1998, who released the live album More Miles Than Money: Live 1994-1996 and the acclaimed studio set A Man Under The Influence.
In April of 2003, Escovedo collapsed following a show in Phoenix, AZ, and he was subsequently diagnosed with Hepatitis C. An outpouring of support from musicians led to a series of successful benefit concerts to help pay Escovedo's medical expenses and keep his music before the public, followed by a tribute album, Por Vida: A Tribute to the Songs of Alejandro Escovedo, which was released in 2004.
In June 2010, Escovedo released Street Songs of Love.
Chelsea Hotel '78
Alejandro Escovedo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
On 7th and 23rd
We came to live inside the myth
Of everything we heard
The poets on their bar stools
They just loved it when it rained
They comb their hair in the mirror
Grow addicted to the pain
And it makes no sense
And it makes perfect sense
And it makes no sense
And it makes perfect sense
I saw Neon Leon
Spider and the boys
Just before the cops arrived
And took off with the noise
It was nothing special
Just another bar
The baptist Kansas City life
Makes everyone a star
It makes no sense (It makes perfect sense)
And it makes perfect sense (And it makes no sense)
And it makes no sense (And it makes perfect sense)
And it makes perfect sense (And it makes no sense)
Oh
C'mon
Nancy called up to her rooms
Said c'mon and help us sit
We went down
And looked around
The dealer let us in
We thought he was hysterical
But not the way he joked
Don't know if did what he said he did
Nobody really knows
I stood out on the sidewalk
When we busted through the door
In a white tuxedo jacket
(?)
You know to show off that thing
Nobody knows for sure
We know they found us
In our black underwear
Dead on the bedroom floor
It makes no sense (It makes perfect sense)
And it makes perfect sense (And it makes no sense)
And it makes no sense (And it makes perfect sense)
And it makes perfect sense (And it makes no sense)
I lived in the Chelsea once
On 7th and 23rd
We came to live inside the myth
Of everything we'd heard
The poets on their bar stools
They just loved it when it rained
They comb their hair in the mirror
Grow addicted to the pain
It makes no sense (It makes perfect sense)
And it makes perfect sense (And it makes no sense)
And it makes no sense (And it makes perfect sense)
And it makes perfect sense (And it makes no sense)
We all through down
(And it makes perfect sense)
We all through dark
(And it makes no sense)
So we all moved out
(And it makes perfect sense)
So we all moved on
(And it makes no sense)
And on and on
The song "Chelsea Hotel '78" by Alejandro Escovedo is a reflection on the time he spent living in the infamous Chelsea Hotel in New York City. The song captures the essence of the beat generation and the artistic and cultural influences of the hotel on its residents. Escovedo speaks of the myths surrounding the hotel and how they were all drawn to its notoriety. The poets he mentions could be references to some of the famous poets who lived there, such as Allen Ginsberg, Gregory Corso, and William S. Burroughs.
The song's chorus "It makes no sense, and it makes perfect sense" seems to reflect the duality of the hotel's reputation. It was a place of chaos and destruction, but also a place where art and creativity were celebrated. This duality is further reinforced in the following verses, which mention the arrest of Neon Leon and the boys, the dealer who let them into his room and the eventual tragic end of its residents in black underwear.
Overall, the song is a haunting tribute to a place that was instrumental in shaping the artistic and cultural landscape of New York City in the 60s and 70s.
Line by Line Meaning
I lived in the Chelsea once
I used to reside in Hotel Chelsea
On 7th and 23rd
The location where Chelsea Hotel is situated
We came to live inside the myth
We lived there based on what we had heard about it
Of everything we heard
Of all the rumors and stories we had heard about the hotel
The poets on their bar stools
The poets that sit on bar stools
They just loved it when it rained
The poets were happy whenever it rained
They comb their hair in the mirror
The poets were always trying to look presentable
Grow addicted to the pain
The poets were addicted to the hotel's gloomy atmosphere
And it makes no sense
It doesn't make sense
And it makes perfect sense
Despite not making sense, it makes perfect sense at the same time
I saw Neon Leon
I encountered Neon Leon, a musician who used to perform at the hotel
Spider and the boys
A band that played at Chelsea Hotel
Just before the cops arrived
Right before the police officers showed up at the hotel
And took off with the noise
They put an end to the loudness and chaos happening at Hotel Chelsea
It was nothing special
The incident was not extraordinary
Just another bar
Chelsea Hotel was like any regular bar
The baptist Kansas City life
Life in Kansas City for Baptists
Makes everyone a star
That life makes everyone feel like a celebrity
Nancy called up to her rooms
Nancy was in her room and called us up to join her
Said c'mon and help us sit
She asked us to come and join her for a drink
We went down
We walked down
And looked around
We examined our surroundings
The dealer let us in
A drug dealer allowed us to come inside his room
We thought he was hysterical
We thought he was funny or strange
But not the way he joked
His humor was not amusing to us
Don't know if did what he said he did
We don't know if he actually did what he claimed he did
Nobody really knows
The truth is unknown
I stood out on the sidewalk
I was outside the hotel building
When we busted through the door
When we suddenly entered the drug dealer's room
In a white tuxedo jacket
I was wearing a formal white jacket
(?)
You know to show off that thing
I wanted to display my appearance
Nobody knows for sure
We don't have any definite answers
We know they found us
We are sure they discovered us
In our black underwear
We were in our underwear for an unknown reason
Dead on the bedroom floor
We were deceased in the room
We all through down
We all left
We all through dark
We all left the dark side of our lives behind
So we all moved out
We all moved out of Chelsea Hotel
So we all moved on
We all started living our lives without the influence of Chelsea Hotel
And on and on
Our lives continued, regardless of whether or not we stayed at Chelsea Hotel
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: ALEJANDRO ESCOVEDO, CHARLES PROPHET
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind