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.
Irene Wilde
Alejandro Escovedo Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
At barker street bus station every night
When I tried to get it on - she just
Looked at me with scorn - my courage
Turned to dust and I took flight
For those looks they seemed to say
You ain′t nuthin' - go away
I'm gonna be somebody - someday
Her name was irene wilde - oh such beauty for a child
When she started dating boys - I nearly died
For I could not barely stand to see someone hold her hand
I felt I had to crawl away and hide
In my mother's living room I composed so many tunes
All the same - just a frame - for her name, and just to say
Gonna be somebody - someday
Wild as your name I soon left that country town
I been around, seen some...
When I was just sixteen I stood waiting for a dream
A barker street bus station non affair
At the time it seemed so sad, but it did not turn out bad
If you hadn′t messed me up I′d still be there
And I think most folks agree, a little put-down makes them see
They ain't no chain - just a link and that′s why you made me think
Gonna be somebody - be somebody - be somebody - someday
The song "Irene Wilde" by Alejandro Escovedo tells the story of a teenage boy who falls in love with a girl named Irene Wilde, but is too afraid to express his feelings. At sixteen, he waits for her every night at the barker street bus station, hoping to catch a glimpse of her. When he finally works up the courage to approach her, she looks at him with scorn, and he runs away. He's devastated by her rejection, but uses the experience as motivation to become somebody someday.
The lyrics paint a picture of unrequited love, missed opportunities, self-doubt, and the determination to keep trying. The singer is a dreamer who wants something more than the small town he comes from, and he uses his infatuation with Irene Wilde as fuel for his ambitions. He composes songs about her and vows to become somebody, even though she's just a faint memory of someone who once made him feel insignificant.
The song is a tribute to teenage angst and the universal experience of feeling like an outsider. It speaks to the dreamer in all of us who longs to break free from the chains of conformity and make something of oneself. It's about the power of rejection to motivate us to try even harder, and the way that unfulfilled desires can shape our sense of self. In the end, the singer has moved on from Irene Wilde, but the memory of her rejection still inspires him to keep striving for something more.
Line by Line Meaning
When I was just sixteen - I stood waiting for a dream -
At the age of sixteen, I was eagerly waiting for something to happen to me.
At barker street bus station every night
I waited at Barker Street bus station every night, hoping for something to happen.
When I tried to get it on - she just
When I tried to make my move,
Looked at me with scorn - my courage
I was met with a humiliating look of contempt.
Turned to dust and I took flight
It made me feel ashamed and I ran away in fear.
For those looks they seemed to say
Her scornful looks seemed to tell me that
You′re just a face in the crowd so I went home and I vowed
I was just another person in the crowd and that made me feel insignificant, so I went home and made a vow to myself.
I'm gonna be somebody - someday
I will make something of myself someday, despite everything that has happened.
Her name was irene wilde - oh such beauty for a child
The object of my desires was named Irene Wilde, and she was very beautiful.
When she started dating boys - I nearly died
When I found out that she had started dating other boys, it was almost too much for me to bear.
For I could not barely stand to see someone hold her hand
I couldn't stand to even look at someone else holding her hand.
I felt I had to crawl away and hide
It made me feel so humiliated and ashamed that I wanted to crawl away and hide.
In my mother's living room I composed so many tunes
I spent a lot of time in my mother's living room, writing songs about her.
All the same - just a frame - for her name, and just to say
All of these songs were about Irene Wilde, and were really just an excuse to say
Gonna be somebody - someday
That I was going to make something of myself someday, despite everything that had happened to me.
Wild as your name I soon left that country town
I eventually left that small town, perhaps looking for some wild adventure.
I been around, seen some...
I have traveled to many places and seen many things since then.
At the time it seemed so sad, but it did not turn out bad
Although at the time it seemed like a sad and hopeless situation, things didn't turn out so bad in the end.
If you hadn′t messed me up I′d still be there
If I hadn't been humiliated and scared away by Irene Wilde, I might still be in that town.
And I think most folks agree, a little put-down makes them see
I think most people would agree that a small humiliation or put-down can be a motivating force.
They ain't no chain - just a link and that′s why you made me think
These put-downs are not really a chain that holds you back, they are just one link in the chain, which is why they made me think
Gonna be somebody - be somebody - be somebody - someday
That I would make something of myself someday, despite everything that had happened to me.
Writer(s): Ian Hunter
Contributed by Lauren N. Suggest a correction in the comments below.