Name: Warren Zevon Performs "Excitable Boy" & "The Overdraft" | David Letterman
Uploaded: 2025-04-28T17:16:37.000Z
Description: Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Warren Zevon Performs "Excitable Boy" & "The Overdraft" | David Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2025-04-28. Transcript available.

Watch the stand-up comedy video 'Warren Zevon Performs "Excitable Boy" & "The Overdraft" | David Letterman' from Letterman on Comedy Buff. Published 2025-04-28. Transcript available.

Welcome back to the show. My first guest is here tonight, surprisingly so after
the dilet routines, but I'm glad he is.
He is one of the most respected and controversial singers and songwriters in
popular music.
He has just released a brand new album, which, by the way, is getting excellent
reviews entitled The Envoy.
We're delighted that he's here with us tonight. It's a real thrill for us now
to introduce Warren Zevon.
He went down and did a hit his Sunday best. Excitable boy, they all said. And
he rubbed the pot roast all over his chest. Excitable boy, they all said.
Well, he's just an excitable boy. He took him a fall in the show at the clock.
Excitable boy, they all said. And he rubbed the usherish big in the dark. Excitable
boy, they all said. Well, he's just an excitable boy.
Oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh, oh. Excitable boy. Hey!
Excitable boy. Hey! He took it as soon as he took a junior prom. Excitable boy,
they all said. Excitable boy. And he raped her and killed her and he took her
home. Excitable boy, they all said. Excitable boy. Well, he's just an excitable
boy.
Hey!
We'll be right back.
We'll be right back.
Is there any truth to the story that this is in some way autobiographical?
The culinary part of the song.
The culinary part.
You actually rubbed a pot roast all over your chest.
Well, yes, I did.
Now, why exactly?
Well, remember, there's an expression, isn't there?
Rub it on your chest.
I don't know.
It came through my mind.
I felt enthusiastic.
I wanted to express my appreciation for this fine cooking.
Just slopped it right on?
Yeah.
Did you enjoy it?
The pot roast or the smearing part?
No, the actual part of rubbing it on your chest.
Tell me about the title song from the album Envoy.
It's about a whole different thing.
It's about Philip Habib.
More or less, yeah.
Yes.
Now, tell me about the origin of that.
Where does that come from?
Well, it originated with a natural desire, I think, on my part, to play James
Bond at some point in my career.
I've kind of built everything towards that, you know, the album cover.
But I thought Habib was interesting, and I thought, I was curious.
It seemed like a new role as Kissinger with the State Department.
I wondered how much power and influence in the field he had,
and how much contact he had with the administration,
which I suspect is probably little or none.
You write a lot of songs dealing with actual people in actual contemporary
circumstances.
Do you ever get any feedback from them?
No, I don't.
I avoid that as much as I can.
Oh, really?
Would you like it if Philip Habib wrote your letters to Dear Warren?
Oh, that would be tremendously exciting.
Yeah, yeah.
But it has not happened heretofore?
No, it hasn't.
You know, it does keep a pretty low profile.
I doubt if he's following the hot hundred.
I'm not sure I am either, you know?
There's another record on here, another song on the record.
Hula Boys?
Hula Hula Boys.
Yeah, Hula Hula Boys.
Now, tell me what the chorus, or what the group, what you're singing there in
the chorus.
You really want to know.
Yeah, it's in Hawaiian.
We've kind of kept this under our hat, so to speak.
Well, can you, you want to get it out from under your hat, or should we keep it
under there?
Sure.
It means sing the chorus.
Iana Kapawana means sing the chorus.
Sing the chorus in Hawaiian.
It's a very nice touch.
That's what it said in a little phrase book.
Yeah, that's very nice.
So when you listen to it, what the group is actually singing is?
Sing the chorus.
Sing the chorus.
Now, I want to ask you about another song.
The Excitable Boy, you're talking about digging a corpse up there in the end of
the song.
In fun.
Yeah, well, sure, it's always done in fun.
Well.
But, now, there's another record, another song about digging.
You've written two with that general theme, haven't you?
Yeah.
Now, why is that?
Well, I am a coroner, you know, formerly coroner of Picken County, Colorado.
Really?
Yeah.
Ooh.
You're kidding.
No, I'm not kidding.
It was an appointment made by a friend of mine, an acquaintance of mine, who
ran for city
councilor of Aspen, and late one night in the Jerome bar in Aspen, you know, I
asked him
if I could be coroner, and he said that the coroner was getting old and
stepping down,
and in fact, there was an appointment, and that if I wanted a job, you know, I
could have
it.
Did you, did you ever?
No.
Oh, good.
Boy, that's an odd, I mean, even to be casually interested in that sort of
thing is,
Well, everybody likes a title, you know, it's an official sounding.
Well, you got a point there.
You know, it's a function in society.
Uh, tell me about the reaction, if any, you've had from, uh, Elvis Presley fans
about the
song about, uh, going down to Memphis.
Jesus.
I wrote that in Memphis.
I haven't had any reaction from his fans.
What's the name of the song?
Jesus Mentioned.
Mm-hmm.
And I haven't had any reaction at all from him.
Mm-hmm.
No.
Uh, but, but, the, the, but that's.
I mean, now.
But the, the, it's, it was met out of, uh, reverence more than anything else, I
guess,
huh?
Um, yeah, sort of.
Yeah.
Um, and so, actually, it's a very moving song when you hear it.
Tell me about your, uh, uh, early relationship with Jackson Brown.
Was he responsible for getting you a legitimate record deal?
Yes, he was.
I had, uh, moved away, far away from Hollywood.
I was not having a great deal of success there.
Yeah.
I was living in Spain in Jackson, uh, twisted arms and, uh, that sort of thing.
And, uh, sent me a postcard and suggested that I come home.
Yeah.
And produce the first album.
Now, what were you doing in Spain, exactly?
I was singing country and western songs in an Irish bar.
Uh, and, and then the, uh, the, the first, the first, uh, or this record album
was, uh, Warren's Yvonne.
And there were, what, uh, four or five songs on there that became classics?
Classics.
Popular?
Four of them were sung by Linda Ronstadt.
Yeah.
Which one were those?
It was, uh...
Carmelita, Poor, Poor, Pitiful Me, Mohammed's Radio, and Mason Dunnley.
Yeah.
Um, nice work.
Nice work.
Now, can I ask you about, uh, was it after that that you started, um,
celebrating a little more frequently than, than you ought to be?
Um, it was kind of a continuing thing, David.
Yeah.
I'd been, I'd been celebrating with nothing to celebrate about, actually, for
years, you know?
Well, you had a good job.
You were the coroner.
Yeah.
So, um, uh,
It's a long, it's a lonely work, though.
Yeah.
Uh, but that, of course, is, that's years ago, as they say, huh?
Yeah.
Um, can you give me any, and I read an article about this in a publication that
was one of the most depressing things I've ever read.
Uh, you were pretty much just bottomed out.
Yeah.
And, uh, and at one point, you were in some facility, and they gathered friends
of yours.
And what was the purpose of that?
It's called intervention therapy.
I think they, they used it on Billy Carter, too.
Yeah.
They had a good company.
Um, they get all your closest friends together, and they confront you with the
things that you don't remember having done when you were drunk.
And you realize, among other things, that you're not going to have anybody to
drink with anymore.
So, the effect is pretty overwhelming.
Yeah.
It's pretty convincing.
Yeah.
Uh, how much, I'm always interested in how much you were actually, you know,
consuming.
Really?
Yeah.
A couple of quarts of vodka, Dave.
Mm.
Mm.
Mm.
This is an amazing testament, not only to you, but to the resiliency of the
human system.
I thought so, too.
Yeah.
I thought so, too.
That's amazing.
And, uh, so, but this is all over, and things are pretty positive now in your
life, aren't they?
Yeah, they're very positive.
Yeah.
And you're, uh, you're working your way west on tour now?
Mm-hmm.
Uh, and, okay, well, you're going to do another song for us, hopefully.
Yeah.
All right.
Now, once again, uh, from the new album entitled Envoy, here is Warren Zevon
singing a song,
which was written by Thomas McGuane, entitled The Overdraft.
Warren Zevon.
I've had a little girl now, who crossed the state line.
It was more than just an overdraft.
We were looking at time.
Oh, I do say so.
I can't let go.
And I don't take no for an answer.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
And I don't take no for an answer.
We had a need and a hurry now.
No time to hesitate.
It was worse than a misunderstanding.
I had to ask her not to call it fair.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
And I don't take no for an answer.
If I do say so,
I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
And I don't take no for an answer.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
And I don't take no for an answer.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
And I don't take no for an answer.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
If I do say so, I can't let go.
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