During the late 1950s, Crosby was a member of a local Oneonta teen band called The Tones. The band traveled to Philadelphia to audition for Dick Clark's "American Bandstand", but were turned down. Members of the band found Dick Clark's house and were able to get a recommendation to audition at New York City's Baton Records through the company's lead producer Sol Rabinowitz. The band was given a recording contract, but the studio wanted a quintet backed by studio musicians, which left Crosby and another member out of their recordings.
After high school, Crosby joined the National Guard, but his thirst for adventure led him to go AWOL and roam the country busking for a living in areas like New Orleans, Texas, Florida, and New York. He played mostly ukulele until Harriet Ottenheimer, one of the founders of The Quorum, got him settled on a guitar in 1963. He adopted his stage name "Jerry Jeff Walker" in 1966. He spent his early folk music days in Greenwich Village in the mid 1960s. He co-founded a band with Bob Bruno in the late 1960s called Circus Maximus that put out two albums one with the popular west coast hit "Wind", but Bruno's interest in jazz apparently diverged from Walker's interest in folk music. Walker thus resumed his solo career and recorded the seminal album "Mr. Bojangles" with the help of David Bromberg and other influential Atlantic recording artists. He settled in Austin, Texas, in the 1970s associating mainly with the country-rock outlaw scene that included artists such as Willie Nelson, Guy Clark, Waylon Jennings, and Townes Van Zandt.
"Mr. Bojangles" (written by Walker) is perhaps his most well-known and most-often covered song. It was about an obscure alcoholic but talented tap-dancing drifter, (not the famous stage and movie dancer Bill Robinson, as usually assumed). Bojangles is thought to have been a folk character who entertained informally in the south of the US and California, and some say he might have been one of the most gifted natural dancers ever. Authentic reports of him exist from the 1920s through about 1965. Artists from Nina Simone to Bob Dylan, Philip Glass to the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, have covered the song. Walker has also recorded songs written by others such as "LA Freeway" (Guy Clark), and "Up Against the Wall Red Neck Mother" (Ray Wylie Hubbard).
A string of records for MCA and Elektra followed Jerry Jeff's move to Austin, before he gave up on the mainstream music business and formed his own independent record label. Tried & True Music was founded in 1986, with his wife Susan as President and manager. Susan also founded Goodknight Music as his management company and Tried & True Artists for his bookings. A series of increasingly autobiographical records followed under the Tried & True imprint. Tried & True also sells his autobiography called "Gypsy Songman". In 2004, Jerry Jeff released his first DVD of songs from his past as performed in an intimate setting in Austin, TX.
He interpreted the songs of others like Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Keith Sykes, Paul Siebel, Bob Dylan, Todd Snider and even a rodeo clown named Billy Jim Baker.
His son, Django Walker, is also a musician. In addition to his residence in Austin, Walker had a retreat on Ambergris Caye in Belize where he recorded his "Cowboy Boots and Bathing Suits" album in 1998.
Members of his band varied over the years. The Lost Gonzo Band and the Gonzo Compadres have backed him in the past. Key members of his band included Craig Hillis - guitarist and arranger on Viva Terlingua, John Inmon, Freddy Krc, Gary P. Nunn, Bob Livingston, Bobby Rambo, Mitch Watkins, Steve Samuel, David Bromberg and others.
Desperados Waiting for a Train
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
He'd sit in the kitchen and cry
Run the fingers through seventy years of livin'
"Wonder, if every well he'd drilled gone dry?"
We was friends, me and this old man
Desperados waitin' for a train
Desperados waitin' for a train
To a place called the Green Frog Cafe
There was old men with beer guts and dominoes
Lying 'bout their lives while they played
And I was just a kid, they all called me Sidekick
Desperados waitin' for a train
Desperados waitin' for a train
Yeah he's a drifter, he's a driller of oil wells
He's an old school man of the world
He taught me how to drive his car when he's too drunk to
And he'd wink and give me money for the girls
And our lives was like, some old Western movie
Desperados waitin' for a train
Desperados waitin' for a train
One day I looked up and he's pushin' eighty
He's got brown tobacco stains all down his chin
To me he's one of the heroes of this country
So why's he all dressed up like them old men
Just drinkin' beer and playin' Moon and Forty-two
Like a desperado waitin' for a train
Like a desperado waitin' for a train
The day before he died I went to see him
Yeah I was grown and he was almost gone
We closed our eyes and dreamed us up a kitchen
We played another verse of that old song
Yeah Jack you know, that son-of-a-bitch is comin'
Like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train
Like desperados waitin' for a train
Desperados waitin' for a train
Desperados waitin'
The song "Desperados Waiting for a Train" by Jerry Jeff Walker is a poignant tale of the memories shared between a young man and an older man who once mentored him. Through the lyrics, the song paints a picture of two friends, one old and one young, who had a special bond forged over the years. The song begins with the singer reminiscing about the times he spent with the older man, playing music and listening to his stories. We learn that the old man was a drifter and a driller of oil wells who had lived a long and colorful life. As the song progresses, we come to understand that the old man is nearing the end of his life. The singer visits him in his final days, and they play music together, just like they used to. The final verse is a poignant one, as the singer imagines the old man as a desperado, waiting for a train, eventually joining the likes of other great heroes.
At its core, the song is about the passing of time and the inevitability of death. It's about the memories we hold dear and the people we meet along the way. It's about the way life changes us, and about the ways in which we influence one another. Throughout the song, the singer looks back on his life and the time he spent with the old man with a sense of fondness and nostalgia.
Line by Line Meaning
Yeah I played the Red River Valley
I used to play music
He'd sit in the kitchen and cry
The old man would be overcome with emotion
Run the fingers through seventy years of livin'
Reflecting on a long life
"Wonder, if every well he'd drilled gone dry?"
Questioning the old man's legacy
We was friends, me and this old man
We were good friends
Desperados waitin' for a train
We were like outlaws waiting for an adventure, or maybe just waiting for life to happen
Soon as I could walk he'd take me with him
I started spending time with the old man from a young age
To a place called the Green Frog Cafe
We would go to a local bar
There was old men with beer guts and dominoes
The bar was frequented by older men drinking beer and playing dominoes
Lying 'bout their lives while they played
Telling tall tales about their life experiences
And I was just a kid, they all called me Sidekick
As a child, I was the young companion and assistant of the old man and his friends
Desperados waitin' for a train
We were like outlaws waiting for an adventure, or maybe just waiting for life to happen
Yeah he's a drifter, he's a driller of oil wells
The old man was a wandering worker in the oil industry
He's an old school man of the world
He had a lot of worldly experience
He taught me how to drive his car when he's too drunk to
He showed me some skills, even if not always in a responsible way
And he'd wink and give me money for the girls
He gave me some life lessons, including how to have a good time with women
And our lives was like, some old Western movie
Our experiences and adventures seemed like something out of a classic cowboy movie
Desperados waitin' for a train
We were like outlaws waiting for an adventure, or maybe just waiting for life to happen
One day I looked up and he's pushin' eighty
Later in life, the old man got quite old
He's got brown tobacco stains all down his chin
The effects of his habits and vices could be seen on his face
To me he's one of the heroes of this country
Despite his flaws, I still admire the old man and what he represents
So why's he all dressed up like them old men
The old man was starting to look and act like many of his peers
Just drinkin' beer and playin' Moon and Forty-two
He spent his days drinking and playing games with his friends
Like a desperado waitin' for a train
He seemed to be waiting for something that was never going to come
The day before he died I went to see him
I visited the old man shortly before his death
Yeah I was grown and he was almost gone
By this point, I had matured and the old man was nearing the end of his life
We closed our eyes and dreamed us up a kitchen
We reminisced about times gone by
We played another verse of that old song
We relived some old memories
Yeah Jack you know, that son-of-a-bitch is comin'
We talked about the inevitability of death, and joked about it using a nickname for Death itself
Like desperados waitin' for a train
We were like outlaws waiting for an adventure, or maybe just waiting for life to happen
Like desperados waitin' for a train
We were like outlaws waiting for an adventure, or maybe just waiting for life to happen
Like desperados waitin' for a train
We were like outlaws waiting for an adventure, or maybe just waiting for life to happen
Like desperados waitin' for a train
We were like outlaws waiting for an adventure, or maybe just waiting for life to happen
Desperados waitin' for a train
We were like outlaws waiting for an adventure, or maybe just waiting for life to happen
Desperados waitin'
We were like outlaws waiting for an adventure, or maybe just waiting for life to happen
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: Guy Clark
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
JoelIRL
Rest well Jerry Jeff Walker, we'll miss you forevermore.
John Crawford
Gets to the soul,such emotion in the voice.a great song no doubt.
Neal Stollon
Desperados Waiting for a Train, First song to come to mind today. 30 year back, My dad heard Desparados and said he was moved by it. Listening to it is always a special moment. Sad to see you go buckaroo...
Brad Lawley
My dad was in his late 40's when I was born. I'm not his biological kid, but he never mentioned it to me once. I was his only son. I remember all my friends remarking how old he was. I was raised in old country. He wasn't the let's throw a baseball or go fishing kind of dad. He was a trucker and rounder, loved to gamble. He'd take me to bars and on the road when he'd hall a load. I thought he was the greatest thing ever. I make my living playing bars and restaurants now. I'm in my 30's just got the call from my mom that hospice say's he's fading. I'm married with 2 little girls and I usually don't show much emotion towards things like this in front of the females in my family. This song always reminded me of him. I love you old man. That sombitch is coming.
David Kirkland
I’m like you, I’m 58 and was raised by depression era grandparents, so all my youth was spent with a friend of my grandpa’s and I’d help him logging… he rolled Prince Albert cigarettes and drank shine😎 and when we knocked off in the evening, I’d ride with him in his 64 Chevy truck and get more moonshine from a friend of his. Wow those were good days and i miss him dearly.
Texcajun06
This is my youth, sneaking into that old bar in Back Brusly, LA to play pool. Listening to those old fellers sittin at the bar while drinkin Falstaff and Miller High Life.
Theodore Quiroz
i miss the smell of the beer,cigarettes ....sitting at the bar...
btwentwo
High Life, because sometimes you want to drink all day
David Rae
Absolutely brilliant!
rockindubya
The day before he died, I went to see him, I was grown and he was almost gone.... Well, we closed our eyes and we dreamed us up a kitchen, and played another verse to that old song........Jack, you know that son of a bitch is coming.... If THAT don't rattle your soul, you already dead, dude.