Tag: Jerry Jeff Walker

“Desperados Waiting for A Train” Leads to a Big Oh My!

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So I took a trip back musically this afternoon and listened to some Jerry Jeff Walker. I listened to his 2012 album Live from Dixie‘s Bar & Bus Stop. The live set is composed  of most my favorite JJW songs.  Among those songs is Guy Clark’s “Desperados Waiting for a Train“.  first heard this song way back in 1973, when it appeared on JJW’S 1973 album Viva Terlingua!  When it played today I shook my head and said oh my!

Can my fellow boomers tell why?

The verse…..

I’d play the Red River Valley
And he’d sit in the kitchen and cry
And run his fingers through seventy years of livin’
And wonder, “Lord, has ever’ well I’ve drilled gone dry?”
We was friends, me and this old man.

So I was going to post a video of The Highway playing the song but you can only view it here at YouTube! Anyway below is “Desperados Waiting for a Train” from Spotify.

When I viewed The Highwaymen performance, which was recorded in 1990, I got sad because once again I was reminded about how Father Time ruins everything!

Waylon and Johnny Cash and Guy Clark have left us, while  Kris is 85 and Willie’s 88!

 

And yes the reason I shook my head is that I realized I can run MY fingers “through 70 years of livin‘!

At least I don’t have a beer gut or play dominoes. All though,I will admit playing Crazy Eights and Go Fish but that’s with my grandchildren!

Jerry Jeff Covers Chris Wall and Bill Staines Songs! Live!

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Jerry Jeff Walker Live at Gruene Hall

Originally posted March 2014 revised and updated July 2026

2026 :Update:When I first started listening to Jerry Jeff Walker, I thought I had simply found another singer-songwriter I enjoyed. Looking back, I realize he became something much more. Through his albums he introduced me to an entire circle of songwriters—Guy Clark, Townes Van Zandt, Chris Wall, and Bill Staines—artists who have remained part of the soundtrack of my life ever since.

Through the Years – Jerry Jeff Walker and the Songwriters He Shared with Us

Through the years, Jerry Jeff Walker introduced me to a whole new world of great songwriters — folks like Guy Clark and Townes Van Zandt who have become legends in their own right. But it doesn’t stop there. On his album Live at Gruene Hall, Jerry Jeff shines a light on two other stellar songwriters whose work may not be as widely known: Chris Wall and Bill Staines.

 

🎶 Jerry Jeff Covers 3 Chris Wall Tunes

Three songs by Chris Wall appear on Live at Gruene Hall:

  • I Feel Like Hank Williams Tonight
  • Trashy Women
  • Rodeo Wind

These covers turned me into a lifelong fan of Chris Wall’s storytelling. His songs are rooted in dusty plains and dancehalls, with characters that feel lived-in and true. Jerry Jeff’s renditions add that raw, boots-on-the-barroom-floor charm he always brought to a good tune.

Can’t you just see that cowboy out in the barn saddling his horse, with his woman leaning in the doorway, as he gets ready to ride off into the sunset?

🌾 Jerry Jeff Covers Bill Staines’ “The Quiet Faith of Man”

The other songwriter Jerry Jeff salutes on Gruene Hall is Bill Staines, a beloved folk troubadour. If you’re not familiar with him, here’s a bit from his official biography:

For more than forty years, Bill traveled back and forth across North America, singing his songs and delighting audiences at festivals, coffeehouses, and concerts. A New England native, he got his start in the 1960s Boston folk scene, even emceeing the Sunday Hoot at the legendary Club 47 in Cambridge. A reviewer once called him “simply Boston’s best performer,” and he remained a top name on folk radio listener polls for decades.

The song Jerry Jeff chose — “The Quiet Faith of Man” — is, in my humble opinion, one of Bill’s most powerful and moving pieces.

🐾 Bill Staines Sings Bill Staines – “Old Dogs”

To wrap things up, here’s one more Staines gem — Old Dogs, a song that’s tender, wise, and every bit as timeless as the quiet folks it celebrates.

 

The Birthday Celebration for JJW Continues with “Ramblin’ Scramblin'” and “Morning Song to Sally”

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JJW- Driftin' Way of Life

First Posted March 2014 revised and updated Junw 2026

So return with me now to those thrilling days of yesteryear, the year was 1969, I was a naïve eighteen year-old and sometime during that year. probably on Gen Shay’s show on WDAS-FM this song from Jerry Jeff Walker.

Reflections about Ramblin’ Scrambblin’ from JJW

You know I don’t think I’d ever heard a song that included a drop kick in the crotch or someone getting rolled, let alone in the same song!!

The song came from Jerry Jeff’s second album, Driftin’ Way of Life. ” Through the years, “Ramblin’ Scramblin'” along with “Drifting Way of Life” and “Morning Song to Sally” became my my favorite songs from the album

And About the Diversity o the Music of JJW

. Thinking about JJW and his music, one thing I like about his music is that in one song he can be all “Gonzo” and the next minute he can be singing something as nice and beautiful as “Morning Song to Sally” and a bonus song “I Makes Money” from the album Mr Bojangles

So before we break out the “Sangria Wine” and “Redneck Mother”, let’s go “into the night” with “Morning Song to Sally”

2026 Post Update

Jerry Jeff Walker passed away in 2020, but for those of us who first heard him back in those late-sixties and early-seventies days, the music still sounds just as alive, funny, reckless and heartfelt as it did coming out of the FM radio all those years ago.

If you are just discovering the music of Jerry Jeff or If you’re a fan visit Jerry Jeff’s website to see What’s New