Gerry Rafferty dies

Gerry Rafferty was an artist who sealed his place in the archives of popular music with not one but two iconic songs, Stuck in the Middle with You and Baker Street. He had struggled for many years with alcoholism and finally succumbed to liver failure. He left a timeless folk song about aspiration and failure in our capital city that is as sublime and as moving as any we have.


Baker Street is one of those songs that tells a story that many of us, including me, can recognise, of failed dreams and the search for peace and an entente cordiale with ones personal demons. His own words were perhaps autobiographical:

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, in some quiet little town
And forget about everything.

Sorry, Gerry, but our demons always get a ticket on the same railroad.

2 comments:

Richard said...

Baker Street is one of perhaps ten songs that are instantly recognisable from the first note. That wailing sax intro is unique and a reminder of many good times. The song itself is intelligent and acute. Very sad to hear this.

subrosa said...

It was a long battle for him, but would he have produced the work he did without the drink? Having known a few who have jumped on the wagon, only one managed to produce anything of note.