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.
Round and Round
Jerry Jeff Walker Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Round and round, and everything keeps tumblin' down
Make a sideway move till you're standing at the edge of town
'Cause everything in this world's got you turned around
How many times must we play the game of hide and seek between ourselves
Speak about ideals passed on from somebody else
While actually the truth is only what you do
Chorus
Now life is strange when you think about the paradoxes we all live around
Teach the young to love their neighbor but make sure that they grow up
Love's just a game we play to occupy our time
While everybody turns aside and hides their eyes and what's inside
Chorus
Now what's the good of the life you've seen if no one's hungry for your lines
You can write a poem or song to amuse your mind
But relationships you need can only come
From those who have no clothes but they can take it
Without the fear of living naked
Chorus
Jerry Jeff Walker's song "Round and Round" is a commentary on the complexities of life, relationships and societal norms. In the song, he questions the games we play with each other, the ideals we preach but do not practice, and the value of our experiences if they cannot be shared with others. The chorus "Round and round, and everything keeps tumblin' down, make a sideway move till you're standing at the edge of town, 'cause everything in this world's got you turned around" emphasises the chaotic nature of life and the need to make significant changes to escape the cycle.
The first verse of the song acknowledges our tendency to hide from the truth about ourselves and our hypocritical nature. We pretend to live up to societal norms and ideals that we learned from others without living by the truth of our actions. The second verse talks about the paradoxes of life that we teach the young to love their neighbors while growing up in a world where everyone turns aside and hides from what's inside, including their true feelings, motivations and needs.
Jerry Jeff Walker concludes that life's experiences are meaningless if they are not shared and appreciated sincerely. He encourages his audience to be courageous in their relationships and not be afraid to be vulnerable with those they love. The songwriter suggests that only when we strip ourselves of our societal facades, prejudices and insecurities, we can be truly open to real connections with others.
Line by Line Meaning
Round and round, and everything keeps tumblin' down
Everything seems chaotic and unstable, with no end in sight
Make a sideway move till you're standing at the edge of town
Make a change of direction and try to put some distance between yourself and the chaos
'Cause everything in this world's got you turned around
The craziness of the world has you feeling disorientated and confused
How many times must we play the game of hide and seek between ourselves
How often must we pretend to be something we're not to please others
Speak about ideals passed on from somebody else
We often regurgitate beliefs and values without thinking for ourselves
While actually the truth is only what you do
The true measure of one's character is based on their actions rather than their words
When you consider and then be honest to yourself and no one else
Be true to yourself even if it means going against what others believe
Now life is strange when you think about the paradoxes we all live around
The contradictions we encounter in life can be puzzling and bizarre
Teach the young to love their neighbor but make sure that they grow up
We teach children to love and accept others, but the reality of adulthood can lead to bias and prejudice
Love's just a game we play to occupy our time
Love can be seen as a passing distraction or amusement rather than something meaningful
While everybody turns aside and hides their eyes and what's inside
People often conceal their true feelings and intents, leading to a lack of authenticity and honesty
Now what's the good of the life you've seen if no one's hungry for your lines
What is the purpose of life if no one values or appreciates what you contribute
You can write a poem or song to amuse your mind
Art can provide temporary relief from the challenges of life
But relationships you need can only come
Meaningful relationships require more than just artistic expression
From those who have no clothes but they can take it
The people you need most in life may not have material possessions, but they have the strength to endure hardships
Without the fear of living naked
Without the fear of being vulnerable or exposed in front of others
Round and round, and everything keeps tumblin' down
The chaos and uncertainty of life persists
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
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