Baker Street

Named after the famous London street of the same name, Gerald 'Gerry' Raffery wrote this track in 1977, while living with a friend in a little flat off Baker Street, chatting and playing the guitar for nights on end.
He wrote the song during a period when, in 1975, he was trying to extricate himself from legal contracts around his former band, the Stealers Wheel, regularly travelling between his family home in Paisley near Glasgow, where he was born in 1947, and London.
'Baker Street' was included on Gerry's second solo album, City to City, which was his first release after the resolution of the legal problems.
Gerry sadly died earlier this year, on 4th January 2011, from liver failure, linked to his alcohol addiction.

In addition to a guitar solo, played by Hugh Burns, the song features THE prominent eight-bar saxophone riff played as a break between verses by Raphael Ravenscroft. Raphael, fellow-Scot, was in the studio by coincidence, witnessing the recording activity and suggesting that the riff was played by saxophone, rather than the intended guitar, who was late arriving at the studio. He was grabbed the sax in the boot of his car and delivered a legendary result. Raphael was paid £27 for it - the cheque bounced unpaid.(he is credited with other performing credits includig work with ABBA, Kim Carnes, Marvin Gaye, Mike Oldfield, Pink Floyd, Chris Rea, Robert Plant, Bonnie Tyler, Duffy and UB40).

'Baker Street' was remixed, covered and sampled numerous times. None of the versions really ever even came close to Gerry's original.

Gerry Rafferty - Baker Street (1987)
1978 - AUS#1, US#2, CH#2, UK#3, DE#3, NZ#4, NL#9
1990 - UK#53
2011 - NL#27, CH#53, UK#55, DE#69


gerry rafferty baker street by iowaluder

Undercover - Baker Street (1992)
UK#2, CH#2, NL#3, AT#3, DE#7, SWE#7



Lyrics:

Windin' your way down on Baker Street
Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well another crazy day
You'll drink the night away
And forget about everything
This city desert makes you feel so cold.
It's got so many people but it's got no soul
And it's taking you so long
To find out you were wrong
When you thought it had everything

You used to think that it was so easy
You used to say that it was so easy
But you're tryin'
You're tryin' now
Another year and then you'll be happy
Just one more year and then you'll be happy
But you're cryin'
You're cryin' now

Way down the street there's a lad in his place
He opens the door he's got that look on his face
And he asks you where you've been
You tell him who you've seen
And you talk about anything

He's got this dream about buyin' some land
He's gonna give up the booze and the one night stands
And then he'll settle down there's a quiet little town
And forget about everything

But you know he'll always keep movin'
You know he's never gonna stop movin
Cus he's rollin'
He's the rollin' stone

And when you wake up it's a new mornin'
The sun is shinin' it's a new morning
You're goin'
You're goin' home.

Foo Fighters - Baker Street (Live 2007)



Waylon Jennings - Baker Street



Scooter - Baker Street
(not the video to the cover version, obviously...)



Michael Mind - Baker Street