How many singer/songwriters can say that Elvis Presley recorde… Read Full Bio ↴Biography
How many singer/songwriters can say that Elvis Presley recorded one of their songs and has a co-write with Bob Dylan?
In 1972, the legendary Ahmet Ertegun signed Danny O'Keefe to Atlantic Records, then teamed him with the incomparable producer Arif Mardin, resulting in his top-five Billboard hit "Goodtime Charlie's Got the Blues." This was followed by the classic album Breezy Stories in 1973. Besides Elvis, many other artists including Jerry Lee Lewis; Willie Nelson; Chet Atkins; Waylon Jennings; Leon Russell; Charlie Rich; and Mel Torme went on to record this classic composition.
This tandem combined for three other D O'K classics during that decade: "Angel Spread Your Wings" also recorded by Judy Collins; "The Road" also recorded by Jackson Browne; and "Magdalena" also recorded by Donny Hathaway and Leo Sayer. These songs garnered heavy AM and FM airplay for Danny and were the building blocks for his distinguished performing and songwriting career.
Now, regarding the co-write with Bob Dylan: besides Danny's version, "Well, Well, Well" has been recorded by Mavis Staples; David Lindley; Maria Muldaur; The Blind Boys of Alabama with Ben Harper and by Bonnie Raitt on her VH1 special.
Other notable co-writes and covers of Danny's compositions include: "Quits," sung originally as a duet with Linda Ronstadt (Andy Williams; Chris Hillman and Gary Stewart); "Along for the Ride" (John Denver); "Souvenirs" (Jimmy Buffet); "Next To You" (Sheena Easton); "Never Got Off the Ground" (co-written with David Mallett and recorded by Alison Krauss and Molly O'Brien); "Into the West" (Tim O'Brien); "When You Come Back Down" (Nickel Creek and Tim O'Brien); and most recently, "Anywhere On Earth You Are" (Allan Jackson on his 2006 CD "Like Red On A Rose.")
Danny believes that music is a powerful means for sharing concern and motivating change on critical issues such as the preservation of "song" in the world. After becoming increasingly concerned with the decimation of songbirds and their habitat, Danny started The Songbird Foundation (www.songbird.org) which works with musical artists to publicize the issue of songbird species decline due to devastation of their habitat. Using his music to publicize and popularize the issue, Danny successfully encouraged other musicians to do the same. Bonnie Raitt, John Mayer, Jimmy Buffet, Mary Chapin Carpenter, Nickel Creek, Jackson Browne and many others have responded by contributing public service announcements, perform benefit concerts and do their part to make audiences aware that to create a truly sustainable world requires changed patterns of consumption, especially with concern to aggressive sun-grown coffee in the rain forests of Latin America.
Danny's voice is a superb mixture blues and Americana; his songwriting speaks for itself.
Discography
1971 - Danny O'Keefe Cotillion Records
Produced by Ahmet Ertegun
1972 - O'Keefe Signpost/Atlantic
Produced by Arif Mardin
Contains the top-ten hit "Goodtime Charlie's Got the Blues"
1973 - Breezy Stories Atlantic Records
Produced by Arif Mardin
Contains the single "Angel Spread Your Wings"
1975 - So Long Harry Truman Atlantic Records
Produced by John Boylan
Contained the single "Quits"
1977 - American Roulette Warner Bros. Records
Produced by John Court and Kenny Vance
1979 - The Global Blues Warner Bros. Records
Produced by Jay Lewis and Danny O'Keefe
1984 - The Day To Day Coldwater Records
Produced by Mathew McCauley and Tony Peluso
Contained the singles "Along for the Ride" and "Someday"
Both singles charted in the "20's" in AC charts
1989 - Redux Beachwood/Chameleon Records
(this is a re-release of The Day To Day with a new title and two new songs)
Contained the singles "Along for the Ride" and "Someday"
Both singles charted on AOR charts in the 20's
VH1 played the video of "Along for the Ride"
2000 - Runnin' From the Devil Miramar
January 25th, 2000
2003 - "Don't Ask" w/Bill Braun
Produced by Bill Braun
All songs written and performed by Danny O'Keefe and Bill Braun
Covered Wagon
Danny O'Keefe Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Get the lead out, mama
Pack up everything we own
The smog's about to get me
And I've got a mind to roam
In my covered wagon
I've got an itch to ramble
And I got no place to be
And the people in the city
Ain't got no use for me
In my covered wagon
Baby, down the road we'll go
Headed for the country
Can't nothin' keep me here
Feel so free and easy
Like a funky pioneer
In my covered wagon
Baby, down the road we'll go
This song is about a person's desire to escape the hustle and bustle of city life and explore the vast expanse of the countryside. The opening line, "Get the lead out, mama," is a call to action, encouraging his companion to pick up the pace and pack up everything they own. He feels stifled by the smog of the city and longs to be on the road, free to roam wherever his heart desires.
He describes his transportation as a "covered wagon," harkening back to the days of early pioneers who traveled westward in search of new frontiers. He has an "itch to ramble," indicating the restlessness that he feels and a desire to experience new things. However, he acknowledges that he has "got no place to be" and is not bound to any one particular destination. He also notes how the people in the city "ain't got no use" for him, indicating that he feels alienated and disconnected from the urban population.
The chorus repeats the phrase "In my covered wagon, baby, down the road we'll go," emphasizing the idea of escape and freedom. The last verse explores how the person feels as they head towards the countryside, stating that nothing can hold them back and they feel free like a "funky pioneer." Overall, the song covers themes of restlessness, escapism, and the desire for freedom in a world that often feels confining and limiting.
Line by Line Meaning
Get the lead out, mama
Hurry up, mother
Pack up everything we own
Take all our possessions
The smog's about to get me
The pollution is affecting me
And I've got a mind to roam
I feel like wandering
In my covered wagon
Travelling in my wagon with a cover
Baby, down the road we'll go
We'll travel down the road together
I've got an itch to ramble
I have an urge to travel
And I got no place to be
I have no obligations or commitments
And the people in the city
The urban dwellers
Ain't got no use for me
Don't have any need of me
Headed for the country
Going towards rural areas
Can't nothin' keep me here
Nothing can hold me back
Feel so free and easy
I feel relaxed and unburdened
Like a funky pioneer
Similar to a wild, spirited pioneer
In my covered wagon
Travelling in my wagon with a cover
Baby, down the road we'll go
We'll travel down the road together
Contributed by Cole C. Suggest a correction in the comments below.
Southern Style
on Shooting Star
Southern Style
I appreciate your posting the lyrics to this song, however I don't think the lyrics shown in the second verse were the lyrics penned by O'Keefe. I know every Lyric site shows it as presented here but as this is a song about unrequited love I feel it necessary to try to define the word "Electra"/"Elektra" which, at one point in time, referred to "pre-dawn"; Think sun rays coming over the horizon prior to sunrise. So what you have, in effect, is "morning waiting for Elektra but Elektra is mourning for the NIGHT". There is your unrequited love; Morning loves Elektra but Elektra loves Night.