Zevon's work has often been praised by well-known musicians, including Jackson Browne, Bruce Springsteen, Bob Dylan, and Neil Young. His best-known compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner" and "Johnny Strikes Up The Band," all of which are featured on his third album, Excitable Boy (1978). Other well-known songs written by Zevon have been recorded by other artists, including "Poor Poor Pitiful Me" (a top 40 hit by Linda Ronstadt), "Accidentally Like a Martyr," "Mohammed's Radio", "Carmelita", and "Hasten Down the Wind".
Along with his own compositions, Zevon recorded or performed occasional covers, including Bob Dylan's "Knockin' on Heaven's Door" and Leonard Cohen's "First We Take Manhattan". He was a frequent guest on Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show with David Letterman. Letterman later performed guest vocals on "Hit Somebody! (The Hockey Song)" with Paul Shaffer and members of the CBS Orchestra.
He was born to a Russian Jewish father and a Mormon mother and soon moved to California. At the age of 12/13, Warren Zevon was a regular visitor to the home of Igor Stravinsky where he, along with Robert Craft, would study music.
He turned to a musical career early, including a stretch as part of a Sonny and Cher-type male/female duo called Lyme and Cybelle, and spent time as a session musician (notably as piano player for the Everly Brothers) and jingle composer. He wrote several songs for his White Whale label-mates the Turtles, though his participation in their recording is unknown. Another early composition ("She Quit Me") was included in the soundtrack for Midnight Cowboy, released in 1969. His first attempt at a solo album, Wanted Dead or Alive (1969), did not fare well, and his second effort, Leaf in the Wind, was scrapped (though release was considered just prior to his death). In the early 70s he toured regularly with the Everly Brothers as keyboard player and band leader/musical coordinator. His dissatisfaction with his career and the opportunities for a song-writer led him to move to Spain briefly, where he played in a small bar owned by a former mercenary. Together, they penned Zevon's classic "Roland the Headless Thompson Gunner."
In the mid-70s he moved to Los Angeles, and became associated with the then-burgeoning West coast music scene, including collaborations with Jackson Browne, who would produce and promote Zevon's self-titled major-label debut in 1976, The Eagles, who appeared on that first album, and Linda Ronstadt, who would record several early Zevon songs including a hit version of "Poor Poor Pitiful Me". Zevon's first tour in 1977 included guest appearances in the middle of Jackson Browne concerts.
In 1978 Zevon released his breakthrough album, Excitable Boy, to critical acclaim and popular success. Several tracks from this album received heavy FM airplay and the single release "Werewolves of London", which featured a relatively lighthearted version of Zevon's signature macabre outlook, was a top-ten hit.
For the next 20 years Zevon would continue to record and release albums sporadically and with varying levels of success, while fighting personal demons including an acknowledged battle with alcoholism and drugs. (His fourth album, Bad Luck Streak in Dancing School is dedicated to novelist Ross Macdonald, who crucially assisted Zevon during a particularly difficult episode in 1979.) Apparently success did not treat Zevon well, as evidenced by his movements (living on Philadelphia's Rittenhouse Square, etc.), well-documented stints in rehab, and withdrawal from the spotlight. After the release of The Envoy in 1982, Zevon effectively quit his career as a full-time occupation, appearing rarely and usually solo, without a band. He also collaborated with several members of R.E.M. to record as the Hindu Love Gods in 1990, though initial collaboration occurred during his "lost period" in 1984.
In 1987 Zevon made a comeback with a modest hit album Sentimental Hygiene, which featured collaborations with Neil Young, Bob Dylan, and members of R.E.M., among others including long-time collaborators Jorge Calderone and Waddy Wachtel. The follow-up album, Transverse City in 1989 also featured guests, including Jerry Garcia and David Gilmour. The tradition of collaborations with more famous musical talents was consistent throughout his career, from the appearance of Jackson Browne and The Eagles on his first album, to Bruce Springsteen on his last.
Zevon toured the US regularly during the 90s, often alone, with minimal accompaniment. He did conduct a tour with Odds, a band from Vancouver, Canada. Many tours started in Colorado to allow Warren an opportunity to visit with his long-time friend, Hunter S. Thompson. Warren was close to several prominent writers who also collaborated on song-writing, including Carl Hiassen. He also served as musical coordinator for an ad-hoc group called the Rock Bottom Remainders, a collection of writers performing rock and roll standards at book fairs and other events. This group included Stephen King, Dave Barry, and other popular writers.
In interviews, Zevon described a lifelong phobia of doctors and seldom received medical assessment. In 2002, after a long period of untreated illness and pain, Zevon was encouraged by his dentist to see a doctor; when he did so he was diagnosed with inoperable mesothelioma (a form of lung cancer associated with exposure to asbestos rather than smoking). He then began recording his final album, The Wind, with guest appearances from close friends including Bruce Springsteen, Don Henley, Timothy B. Schmit, Joe Walsh, David Lindley, Billy Bob Thornton, Emmylou Harris, Tom Petty and others.
On October 30, 2002, Zevon was featured on the Late Show with David Letterman as the only guest for the entire hour. Zevon performed several songs and spoke at length about his illness. Zevon was a frequent guest and occasional substitute bandleader on Letterman's television shows since Late Night first aired in 1982. It was this show where Zevon offered his insight on facing death: "enjoy every sandwich."
Zevon previously stated that his illness was expected to be terminal within months after the diagnosis in the Fall of 2002; however he lived to see the birth of twin grandsons in June of 2003 and the release of The Wind on August 28, 2003. When his diagnosis became public, he told the media that he just hoped to live long enough to see the next James Bond movie, a goal he also accomplished. Appropriately, the film was called Die Another Day.
Zevon died at his home in Los Angeles, California, on September 7, 2003. The Wind was certified gold by the RIAA in December of 2003 and Zevon received 5 posthumous Grammy nominations, including Song Of The Year for "Keep Me In Your Heart".
A tribute album titled Enjoy Every Sandwich: Songs of Warren Zevon was released October 19, 2004. His son, Jordan Zevon, did a large part of the work on the album and performed "Studebaker," a previously unreleased composition. A second tribute album, titled Hurry Home Early: the Songs of Warren Zevon (the lyrics "hurry home early" are from the song "Boom Boom Mancini," on Sentimental Hygiene) was released by Wampus Multimedia on July 8, 2005.
On February 14, 2006, VH1 Classic premiered a video from a new compilation, "Reconsider Me: The Love Songs of Warren Zevon." The video, titled "She's Too Good For Me," aired every hour on the hour throughout the day. The video was not well received among many of Zevon's fans, as evidenced by their responses on the official Bulletin Board.
Gridlock
Warren Zevon Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
There's one of me and two million of them
The whistle blows, and the factories close
There's a million more commuters on the access roads
The brake lights flash, there's an RV - crashed
I'm in the passing lane going nowhere fast
The traffic crawls, and the engine stalls
I'm stuck on the edge of the urban sprawl
Gridlock
Up ahead
There's a line of cars as far as I can see
Gridlock
Goin' nowhere
Roll down the window, let me scream
Oh, yeah, ain't it a shame?
We're all jammed up at the interchange
The paramedics and the C.H.P.
Wait impatiently for catastrophes
I'm spending half my days like this
I might as well be working on the midnight shift
The radio's tuned to the traffic news
And everybody's choking on monoxide fumes
Gridlock
Up ahead
There's a line of cars as far as I can see
Gridlock
Goin' nowhere
Roll down the window, let me scream
I can close my eyes and dream
I can close my eyes and dream
I can close my eyes and dream
It's 5:00PM on a weekday, friend
I'm going home, but I don't know when
I hate this traffic, and I hate this town
Gotta honk my horn, try to get around
I feel like going on a killing spree
Tomorrow I'm going on the R.T.D.
The traffic crawls, and the engine stalls
I'm stuck on the edge of the urban sprawl
Gridlock
Up ahead
There's a line of cars as far as I can see
Gridlock
Goin' nowhere
Roll down the window, let me scream
I can close my eyes and dream
The song "Gridlock" by Warren Zevon is a reflection of daily traffic frustrations in the city that result from the growing population and poor urban planning. The lyrics depict a scene of rush hour traffic, where the singer is trapped in his car with endless streams of cars ahead of him. There is a significant emphasis on the feelings of being stuck and the inability to move forward, and the frustration of being a prisoner in a world of constant motion. The song ends with the main character feeling hopeless and fed up, pondering a “killing spree” out of sheer frustration.
The overall tone of the song is one of frustration and resignation, reflecting the daily grind experienced by 9-5 workers. The traffic in the song is seen as a metaphor for the singer's life, as he is trapped in a seemingly never-ending cycle of commuting and work. While the lyrics are specific to the context of traffic and urban sprawl, the underlying message could be interpreted more broadly as a statement on the feeling of being stuck in an unfulfilling life.
Line by Line Meaning
It's 5:00 P.M. on a weekday, friend
The time is 5 PM on a weekday, and the singer is addressing someone as a friend.
There's one of me and two million of them
The singer feels outnumbered by the large crowd of commuters around him.
The whistle blows, and the factories close
The workday has ended, as indicated by the sound of a whistle and the closure of factories.
There's a million more commuters on the access roads
There are countless more people on the roads due to the end of the workday.
The brake lights flash, there's an RV - crashed
The singer observes an RV crashed on the road causing traffic to slow down.
I'm in the passing lane going nowhere fast
The singer is in a fast lane, but the speed of the cars is slow, so he is not going anywhere quickly.
The traffic crawls, and the engine stalls
Traffic is moving at a slow pace, and the singer's engine has stopped as well.
I'm stuck on the edge of the urban sprawl
The singer is trapped in the city and cannot escape the congestion.
Gridlock
The term 'gridlock' refers to the heavy traffic on the roads.
Up ahead
The singer notices the traffic ahead of him.
There's a line of cars as far as I can see
The singer is faced with a long line of cars that seemingly has no end.
Goin' nowhere
The singer recognizes that the traffic is not moving the way he wants it to.
Roll down the window, let me scream
The singer is frustrated and wants to scream while sticking his head out of the window.
Oh, yeah, ain't it a shame?
The singer expresses a sarcastic statement, acknowledging the negative situation but stating it as though it is pointless to dwell on.
We're all jammed up at the interchange
People are stuck in their cars on the roads leading to the interchange.
The paramedics and the C.H.P.
Paramedics and California Highway Patrol officers are present at the scene of the accident, waiting for a disaster to happen.
Wait impatiently for catastrophes
The paramedics and officers seem to be eager for accidents to happen, and the singer believes that they find excitement in such events.
I'm spending half my days like this
The singer feels that he wastes significant portions of his life in traffic.
I might as well be working on the midnight shift
The singer feels like he is working a night shift because he spends so much time driving in traffic.
The radio's tuned to the traffic news
The singer listens to the radio to get updates on the traffic.
And everybody's choking on monoxide fumes
The air is polluted with exhaust fumes, and everyone in the cars is inhaling them.
I'm going home, but I don't know when
The singer is unsure of when he will arrive at his destination due to the unpredictability of traffic.
Gotta honk my horn, try to get around
The singer will honk his horn in an attempt to maneuver his car around the other vehicles.
I feel like going on a killing spree
The singer feels immense anger towards the congestion and the time wasted because of it.
Tomorrow I'm going on the R.T.D.
The singer plans to ride the Regional Transit District (RTD) bus service the next day as a way to avoid the traffic.
I can close my eyes and dream
The singer daydreams about a world without traffic, where he can be free to go wherever he wants.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: WARREN WILLIAM ZEVON
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind