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Great Songs 2: Carmelita

I have lately been struck by a couple of songs that convey a rich atmosphere,set a strong mood and tell a full story in very, very few words. They have other qualities in common: they’re both musically “Spanish”, in the southwest US sense; and I like to play them both in the key of E, in fact I insist on it. ( I play “Sisters Of Mercy” in E too, but that’s more a convenience than a necessity.)

The first one is by Warren Zevon. Warren was a songwriter that I vastly underestimated, based on his radio hits, such as “Werewolves of London”. (One of several, possibly many writers I so underestimated for that reason.) But delving into his albums at the insistence of a friend revealed an ironic, mordant, witty, twisted, spiritually serious and funny guy. And this song shows the reflection of many of those facets. Plus, as I said at the top, it’s a masterpiece of concision.

Carmelita
– By Warren Zevon

Mariachi static on the radio
And the tubes they glow in the dark
I’m out here in Encinada
Trying to get back to Echo Park

CH: Carmelita! Hold me tighter!
’cause I think I’m sinking down
And I’m all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

So I pawned my Smith Corona
And I went to meet my man
He hangs out on Alverado Street
Near the Pioneer Chicken stand

CH: Carmelita! Hold me tighter!
’cause I think I’m sinking down
And I’m all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

So here I sit playing solitaire
With my pearl-handled deck
The county won’t give me no more methadone
And they’ve cut off your welfare check

CH: Carmelita! Hold me tighter!
’cause I think I’m sinking down
And I’m all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

CH: Carmelita! Hold me tighter
cause I think I’m sinking down
And I’m all strung out on heroin
On the outskirts of town

What makes this such a great song? The details. The very first line tells so much.

Mariachi static on the radio, & the tubes they glow in the dark

Not Mariachi music but static, heard through some third-world device.

And in the second stanza, our singer doesn’t pawn his typewriter, but his Smith Corona. Another detail, and it sings better too.

One more brilliant coinage starts the third verse:
So here I sit playing solitaire with my pearl-handled deck. If someone else has used this phrase to describe Russian roulette, I missed it. And again, beautifully concise.
And the final detail, ending each chorus. The plain fact is
I’m all strung out on heroin
But the detail is
On the outskirts of town.
It’s so matter-of-fact. And it makes it all so sad.
Taken all together it’s a powerful short story, told in very few, perfectly chosen words.
I should mention that this version of the lyric may vary slightly from Warren Zevon’s. That’s because I learned the song from the recording by the late, great John Herald, from his 2001 album “Roll On John.” Check it out on amazon or elsewhere.


This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 31st, 2006 at 9:47 pm and is filed under Songs & Songwriting. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.

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