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.
Help Me Now
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
'Cause I'm trying to tell you why I know
It's time for me to go
I drifted into the city to sing my songs of the gypsy life
Be free, be kind, be strong
I sang at walls and you came down to hold my head
When the concrete beat me down
And we rested high in a nest in the wall
So help me now, I do believe I am sinkin' down
Yes, I'm back on the ground and I've found
I'm bound to travel on
You've only asked me to let you know whenever I had to go
I'm trying to let you know I'll soon be gone
I want it clear and my thoughts in here
So you'll know you're not to blame
It's those cats upstairs who handle my songs
How they string me along
Lovin' someone is to love someone
Forever is the moment you're in
A woman's a world a man can rest inside
It's a love that's sown with dreams
That the city keeps tearin' on down
And can't you see what you are lovin' in me
Is my will to be free
So help me now to understand
I'm a free born man and I do love you so
But now it's time for me to go
Jerry Jeff Walker's song "Help Me Now" is a heartfelt ballad about the complexities of love and the struggles of being a musician. The opening lines "Hear me now and use your love to listen well, 'Cause I'm trying to tell you why I know, It's time for me to go" immediately set the emotional tone for the rest of the song. The singer implies that he and his partner have had an amorous relationship, but he has decided to end it to return to his life as a wandering musician.
The lyrics describe how the singer drifted into the city to sing his songs of the gypsy life, but how the concrete jungle ultimately beat him down. The only solace he finds is with his lover. However, despite the warmth they share, he knows that he cannot stay with her. He knows that his itinerant lifestyle is part of who he is, and he must continue traveling and singing, no matter how difficult it might be. While the singer is grateful for the love and support his partner provided, he ultimately must find his own way in the world.
Overall, "Help Me Now" is a bittersweet ode to the sometimes-contradictory forces of love and artistic freedom. It celebrates the beauty and pain of love and the importance of following one's heart and dreams, even if it means leaving loved ones behind.
Line by Line Meaning
Hear me now and use your love to listen well
Please pay attention to me and listen empathetically
'Cause I'm trying to tell you why I know
Because I want to explain myself
It's time for me to go
I need to leave now
I drifted into the city to sing my songs of the gypsy life
I went to the city to play my music about a wanderer's lifestyle
Be free, be kind, be strong
Live without constraints, show compassion, and persevere
I sang at walls and you came down to hold my head
I performed for buildings, and you supported me when I was down
When the concrete beat me down
When the harsh realities of city life overwhelmed me
And we rested high in a nest in the wall
We found a temporary respite in the midst of the city
Forgetting it all
Putting aside our worries and focusing on the moment
So help me now, I do believe I am sinkin' down
Please assist me because I think I am struggling
Yes, I'm back on the ground and I've found
I have returned to reality, and I have realized
I'm bound to travel on
I am destined to keep moving forward
You've only asked me to let you know whenever I had to go
You simply requested that I inform you when I must leave
I'm trying to let you know I'll soon be gone
I am attempting to inform you that I will depart soon
I want it clear and my thoughts in here
I desire clarity and coherence in my own mind
So you'll know you're not to blame
So that you understand that you are not at fault
It's those cats upstairs who handle my songs
The people in charge of my music are the ones responsible
How they string me along
They are leading me on and making empty promises
Lovin' someone is to love someone
To love someone is to accept them fully
Forever is the moment you're in
The present moment is what matters most
A woman's a world a man can rest inside
Women offer comfort and provide a sense of completeness
It's a love that's sown with dreams
It is a love built on aspirations and hopes
That the city keeps tearin' on down
But the harsh reality of city life often crushes those dreams
And can't you see what you are lovin' in me
And don't you recognize that you love me for
Is my will to be free
My desire to live unencumbered by societal constraints
So help me now to understand
Please assist me in comprehending
I'm a free born man and I do love you so
I am someone who values liberty, but I do have affection for you
But now it's time for me to go
Regardless, the time has arrived for me to leave
Lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: JERRY JEFF WALKER
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind