15 January 2008

Desperado


Desperado is, in my view, the finest Eagles song - at least in terms of lyrical content. As far as I know, the identity of the person to whom it was "directed" has never been revealed (candidates include Jim Morrison, Eric Clapton, and Joe Walsh), but the lyrics have always rung true to me (and if I'm ever intoxicated enough to sing at a Karaoke night at a bar, this is what I will choose).
There are many versions of Desperado, by a variety of artists. Even though the words might sound best coming from a female, the Karen Carpenter version seems to lack any evocative tone, and the Johnny Cash version is to "Cashy." The best (at least of those available on YouTube) is by the author - Don Henley, linked above to the performance during the farewell tour in Melbourne. It still amazes me that this song is 30 years old.....

update May 2008 - Drat. The original video is "no longer available." So here is another version, taken from a 2004 concert in Melbourne - not quite as good, but it will do...

here's a Karaoke-style video, but it's suboptimal because the appearance of the words often lags the melody by a beat or so.

2 comments:

  1. Stan....seriously? I'm a significant Eagles fan, as well. I hope the blessed event occurs at Charlie's.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Don Henley's voice is unique. I think their reunion album (Hell Freezes Over) is one of my favorite collections.

    ReplyDelete

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