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.
Night Rider's Lament
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
The grave yard shift, midnight 'til dawn
The moon was bright as a readin' light
For a letter from an old friend back home
And he asked me
Why do you ride for your money
Tell me why do you rope for short pay
And you're losin' your share
Boy, you must have gone crazy out there
He said last night I ran on to Jenny
She's married and has a good life
And boy you sure missed the track
When you never come back
She's the perfect professional's wife
And she asked me
Why does he ride for his money
And tell me why does he rope for short pay
He ain't a'gettin' nowhere
And he's losin' his share
Boy he must've gone crazy out there
Ah but they've never seen the Northern Lights
They've never seen a hawk on the wing
They've never spent spring on the Great Divide
And they've never heard ole' camp cookie sing
Well I read up the last of my letter
And I tore off the stamp for black Jim
And when Billy rode up to relieve me
He just looked at my letter and grinned
He said now
Why do they ride for their money
Tell me why do they ride for short pay
They ain't a'gettin' nowhere
And they're losin' their share
Boy, they must've gone crazy out there
Son, they all must be crazy out there
The song "Night Rider's Lament" by Jerry Jeff Walker tells the story of a lone cowboy riding the graveyard shift on a moonlit night. He receives a letter from an old friend, questioning why he chooses to work so hard for so little pay, claiming that he must be crazy to do so. The cowboy reflects on the life he has chosen, noting that he has seen things that his friend and others have never seen - the Northern Lights, hawks in flight, and spent a spring on the Great Divide. He tears off the stamp of his letter and gives it to his friend, symbolizing his response that he doesn't need to explain his life choices to anyone - he is content with his wanderlust and the experiences he has had.
The lyrics of "Night Rider's Lament" speak to the universal desire for adventure, freedom and risk-taking. The cowboy acknowledges that he is not getting rich, but he is enjoying a life of travel and unconventional experiences that his friend and married acquaintances could never imagine. Instead of settling into the predictable and safe lives that others around him have chosen, he is living on the edge, following his heart and his instincts. This song has become an anthem for those who prioritize excitement and possibility above material comfort and routine.
Line by Line Meaning
One night while I was out a ridin'
Once during a night ride
The grave yard shift, midnight 'til dawn
Working the graveyard shift during midnight until the early morning
The moon was bright as a readin' light
The moon was shining brightly
For a letter from an old friend back home
For a letter received from an old friend from home
And he asked me
The friend in the letter asked me
Why do you ride for your money
Why do you work hard to earn money by riding horses
Tell me why do you rope for short pay
Why are you content with earning less by roping for a living
You ain't a'gettin' nowhere
You're not making progress in life
And you're losin' your share
You're losing your fair share
Boy, you must have gone crazy out there
You must have gone crazy being there
He said last night I ran on to Jenny
The friend in the letter says he met Jenny last night
She's married and has a good life
Jenny is married and has a good life
And boy you sure missed the track
You missed out on something valuable
When you never come back
When you didn't come back
She's the perfect professional's wife
Jenny is an ideal wife for a professional
And she asked me
Jenny asked me
Why does he ride for his money
Why does he work hard to earn money by riding horses
And tell me why does he rope for short pay
Why is he content with earning less by roping for a living
He ain't a'gettin' nowhere
He's not making progress in life
And he's losin' his share
He's losing his fair share
Boy he must've gone crazy out there
He must have gone crazy being there
Ah but they've never seen the Northern Lights
But they've never seen the Northern Lights
They've never seen a hawk on the wing
They've never seen a hawk fly
They've never spent spring on the Great Divide
They've never spent spring on the Great Divide
And they've never heard ole' camp cookie sing
And they've never heard an old camp chef sing
Well I read up the last of my letter
I read the last part of my letter
And I tore off the stamp for black Jim
I tore off the stamp and gave it to black Jim
And when Billy rode up to relieve me
And when Billy came to take over my shift
He just looked at my letter and grinned
He just smiled and looked at my letter
He said now
Billy said
Why do they ride for their money
Why do they work hard to earn money by riding horses
Tell me why do they ride for short pay
Why are they content with earning less by roping for a living
They ain't a'gettin' nowhere
They're not making progress in life
And they're losin' their share
They're losing their fair share
Boy, they must've gone crazy out there
They must have gone crazy being there
Son, they all must be crazy out there
Everybody out there must be crazy
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: MICHAEL E BURTON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Haze🤍🌧
Probably the only 11 year old girl in 2019 listening to this but this song means so much to me, my dad used to sing it to me when I was a baby to make me go to sleep, he doesn’t sing it to me now, I wish he would though...❤️
Haze🤍🌧
crazy still coming back to this at 14 almost 15 lol
Crazy Jose
I was 13 when this album was released. And I love every song. Wonderful memories, like you have.
barbara searcy
My Dad used to sing a lot of old cowboy songs to my 3 brothers and me when we were little, but pretty much stopped when we got older. After we were grown up, and all visiting my parents, one brother asked Dad to sing a certain song, and he was SO happy that we all wanted to hear it. Then, the rest of us kept asking him for songs we remembered him singing, and we kept him busy and very happy for a little while. He just couldn't believe that we still found his singing so enjoyable! So, maybe sometime, when the opportunity presents, try asking him to sing it to you. You might both be pleasantly surprised! Bless you!
barbara searcy
@DJ Felony Thank you, I was wondering! I always want to know who wrote each song!
edog1955
Ask him to sing it to you! He may not realize how much it means to you. (We dads can be a little dense sometimes...)
Paul Sulley
I related to this song big time in my 20s. I was wandering but not lost, worked as a wrangler, cowboy, roughneck and shrimper in Texas.
Worked in the Dakotas, on the Great Divide in Colorado, in Alaska, the Great Northwest and Southwest. All along I had my guitar in hand and played this tune hundreds of times. Still love it....
geneland
Rest In Peace, you will be sorely missed.
John Noecker
Sittin on the back porch refreshing my soul with Jerry. The snap, crackle and pop of this album is every bit as good as the sound of crickets and croakin toads in the distance that I grew up with in the desert of El Paso.The desert began when I climbed over my back yard wall and continued to the Franklin Mts. I did'nt know as a young boy just how much I would grow to love this man.
I love you JJW. You will be with me in my final moments, along with the most special people in my life. God Bless You.
Robert Cudlipp
Bought this in vinyl and still have it- a prized possession. JJW sings this Texas Outlaw anthem as only he can......still listen to the song all the time, despite buying the album over 50 years ago.