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.
Promise
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Harmony gets melody
Orchestra gets symphony
Continents get seven seas.....
Boy gets girl and all you got was me and a promise
I'll try to be honest
I'd like to give you nothing to fear
Where we could grow into a circle
Big enough to understand everyone
We'd be the first....we'd be the only ones
In the Galaxy
To really be free
Lovers get I'm sorry
Music gets to keep the key
Children get to ride for free
Mind and body...that's all you've got of me
And a promise
I'll try to be honest
I'd like to give you nothing to fear
Repeat Chorus
Where we can grow into a circle
Big enough to understand everyone
We'd be the first....we'd be the only ones
In the Galaxy to really be free
I promise
In the song "Promise" by Jerry Jeff Walker, he sings about the promises he makes to his loved one. He talks about how he wishes to be honest with them and not give them anything to fear. In this line, "Harmony gets melody, Orchestra gets symphony, Continents get seven seas," he's comparing the combination of harmony and melody to that of an orchestra and symphony, and to the continents that make up the earth's landmasses with the seven seas that surround them. He seems to imply that just as these things are complete when they come together, he and his partner will also be whole and complete together.
He goes on to sing about creating a circle big enough to understand everyone and to be truly free. He seems to want to create a space where they can grow together and where they are not limited by societal norms. In this he says, "We'd be the first....we'd be the only ones in the Galaxy to really be free." He's emphasizing the exclusivity of the kind of relationship he desires, where there are no limits to their love.
In the chorus, he repeats the idea of growing into a circle where everyone can be understood and they can be truly free, and he repeats his promise to be honest with his partner and not give them anything to fear. Overall, the song is a declaration of love and commitment and a desire for true freedom in a relationship.
Line by Line Meaning
Harmony gets melody
When harmony and melody are combined, beautiful music is created.
Orchestra gets symphony
An orchestra that plays in unison, creates a symphony which is a beautiful piece of music.
Continents get seven seas.....
The earth's seven continents are surrounded by seven seas and oceans.
Boy gets girl and all you got was me and a promise
You got me and a promise, but that's all I have to offer. I'm not as great as a boy getting his girl.
I'll try to be honest
I'll try to always tell you the truth.
I'd like to give you nothing to fear
I'd like to create a safe and secure environment where you won't have anything to be afraid of.
We'd be the first....we'd be the only ones
If we create a space where we can all understand and accept each other, we would be the first and only ones in the galaxy to truly be free.
Lovers get I'm sorry
When lovers make mistakes, they apologize to each other to make peace.
Music gets to keep the key
Music is able to keep the key to emotions and memories, reminding us of feelings we have experienced before
Children get to ride for free
In some situations, children don't have to pay to ride (for example, public transportation) as they are still in need of care and guidance.
Mind and body...that's all you've got of me
All I have to offer you is my mind and my physical body.
Where we can grow into a circle
We can create an environment where people come together with shared goals and beliefs to create a close bond as a community.
Big enough to understand everyone
The circle is large enough so that everyone can be included and accepted.
I promise
I swear to do what I can to create a safe and inclusive environment in the circle we will create.
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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