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.
Railroad Lady
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Spending her days on the train.
She's a semi good-looker, but the fast rails they took 'er,
Now she's tryin', just tryin' to get home again.
South Station in Boston to the freight yards of Austin,
From the Florida sunshine to the New Orleans rain.
Now that the rail packs have taken the best tracks,She's tryin', just tryin' to get home again.
She's a railroad lady, just a little bit shady,
Spending her days on the train.
Once a highballin' loner, he thought he could own 'er,
Bought her a fur coat and a big diamond ring.
She hocked them for cold cash, left town on the Wabash,
Never thinkin', never thinkin' of home 'way back then.
But the rails are now rusty, the dining cars dusty,
The gold plated watches have taken their toll.
The railroads are dying, and the lady, she's crying,
On a bus to Kentucky, and home that's her goal.
She's a railroad lady, just a little bit shady,
Spending her life on the trains.
Once a Pullman car traveler, now the brakeman won't have her,
She's tryin', just tryin' to get home again.
Yeah, on a bus to Kentucky, then home once again.
"Railroad Lady," written by Jimmy Buffett and Jerry Jeff Walker, is a song about a woman who spends her life on trains. The singer describes her as a "little bit shady," but does not elaborate on what that means. She is a "semi good-looker," but the singer notes that the "fast rails" have taken their toll on her. She spends most of her time on the train, traveling from South Station in Boston to the freight yards of Austin, and from the Florida sunshine to the New Orleans rain. However, there is a sense of longing in her, as she is always "trying to get home again."
The song describes how the railroad lady was once courted by a man who thought he could own her. However, she ended up pawning off the fur coat and big diamond ring he bought her for cold cash and left town on the Wabash, never thinking of home. The rails are now rusty and the dining cars are dusty, signifying the decline of the railroads, and the lady is crying as she takes a bus to Kentucky, trying to get home.
The song's message is one of nostalgia for a bygone era. The railroad lady represents a way of life that is fading away, and the singer is lamenting the loss of that way of life. The song is Jerry Jeff Walker's biggest hit and has become a classic in country music. It has been covered by numerous artists, including Jimmy Buffett, who co-wrote the song.
Line by Line Meaning
She's a railroad lady, just a little bit shady, Spending her days on the train.
Railroad lady refers to a woman who spends most of her time travelling by train. She may have some questionable characteristics that add a little intrigue to her personality.
She's a semi good-looker, but the fast rails they took 'er, Now she's tryin', just tryin' to get home again.
The lady was somewhat attractive but travelling frequently and at high speed with the railway has taken its toll on her looks. She's now just trying to make it back home.
South Station in Boston to the freight yards of Austin, From the Florida sunshine to the New Orleans rain. Now that the rail packs have taken the best tracks, She's tryin', just tryin' to get home again.
The lady had been travelling extensively from one place to another, from Boston to Austin, from Florida to New Orleans. She's now finding it challenging to get back home due to the decline of rail transport.
Once a highballin' loner, he thought he could own 'er, Bought her a fur coat and a big diamond ring. She hocked them for cold cash, left town on the Wabash, Never thinkin', never thinkin' of home 'way back then.
At some point, a man had pursued her but failed to keep her. He showered her with materialistic possessions in an attempt to win her over. She eventually sold those items for money and left town without looking back.
But the rails are now rusty, the dining cars dusty, The gold plated watches have taken their toll. The railroads are dying, and the lady, she's crying, On a bus to Kentucky, and home that's her goal.
The rail transport system is no longer running as smoothly as it used to. The lady is saddened by the decline, and she's currently taking a bus to Kentucky, where she hopefully can make it home. Gold plated watches in this context may refer to wealthy individuals who no longer use trains for transportation.
She's a railroad lady, just a little bit shady, Spending her life on the trains.
Reiterating the fact that the lady spends most of her time travelling by train, and they're a significant part of her life.
Once a Pullman car traveler, now the brakeman won't have her, She's tryin', just tryin' to get home again. Yeah, on a bus to Kentucky, then home once again.
She was once travelling in luxury, probably aboard a Pullman car train, but things have now changed. The brakeman, who's responsible for train breaking, can no longer accommodate her. She's on a bus to Kentucky, and her ultimate goal is to get back home.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: JERRY JEFF WALKER, JIMMY BUFFETT
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@noelmciver737
Bloody great song!
@burlingtonbill4687
Jerry Jeff wrote this with Jimmy Buffett. RIP J.B.
@yourfabuloushappymann5154
Damn what a song.
@cowboyjwc
This is the album that made me a fan
@anguslewis23
O YA--FIRST--BLESSED ME FOR JERRY JEFF WALKER
@oldskoold22
Just trying to get "Railfans" Interested in RR songs. It's amazing how much music includes trains! Thanks Dude for the post of this. I have it but this was easier!
@spokelseX
She's a semi-good looker...
@robertmckinnon4233
A bus to Kentucky.
@timothydhoke
RIP