“Carmelita” by Linda Rondstadt

(Words/Music: Warren Zevon, Album: Simple Dreams, Asylum Records 1977)

Even though I have been a big fan of Warren Zevon for years, this song had somehow eluded my attention until I heard it on an episode of Californication. Tyler Bates, who is in charge of music for the series, included it at the end of an episode as David Duchovny’s character, Hank Moody, reflects upon the mess he’s created (he does this often). To my point, Tyler Bates fills the series with slightly off beat songs and covers and seems to have a fondness for Warren Zevon because the music is gritty, somewhat obscure to modern audiences, and the Moody’s life seems to fit  the dry and dark humor of desperation of the lyrics so perfectly. As I searched for the song, before the credits on said episode had ended, I found not only Zevon’s version but this cover by Linda Rondstadt. 

It never occurred to me that Linda Rondstadt would cover a Warren Zevon song, let alone one about being “all strung out on heroin on the outskirts of town.” I had always remembered Linda Rondstadt as a singer of softer folk rock songs (similar to The Eagles and Jackson Browne) of the California scene in the 70s, and a scene that I’d mentally placed Warren Zevon in (although as the somewhat strange and troubled cousin) but the connection between them seemed immediately odd. As I dug deeper into the two songs, what seemed even odder was that Linda Rondstadt’s version changed Zevon’s lyrics to make them even more bleak and desperate. She changed “I pawn my Smith Corona” (a typewriter) to “I pawn my Smith and Wesson” (a gun) and “I’m sitting here playing solitaire with my pearl handled deck” to “I’m sitting here playing Russian Roulette with my pearl-handeld gun.” The real surprise for me in this song is how the somewhat softer and gentler instrumentation was enhanced by Ronstadt’s more pleading vocal performance. I thought the grit of Zevon’s voice and the looser and more spontaneous feel of the instruments would work better, but I am more mesmerized by Ronstadt’s plight. Either way, though, the song is a big win for anyone who discovers it. 

More Linda Rondstadt: AmazonMP3 - last.fm - AllMusic - eMusic

More Warren Zevon: AmazonMP3 - last.fm - AllMusic - eMusic

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