Carmelita (song)
| "Carmelita" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Song by Murray McLauchlan from the album Murray McLauchlan | ||||
| Released | 1972 | |||
| Genre | Rock and roll | |||
| Length | 04:08 | |||
| Writer(s) | Warren Zevon | |||
| Murray McLauchlan track listing | ||||
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"Carmelita" is a rock song written by Warren Zevon. The song was originally recorded by Canadian singer Murray McLauchlan on his self-titled album of 1972. Zevon himself recorded it four years later, in 1976, on his self titled album. Linda Ronstadt recorded a well known version in 1977, and various covers have followed.
McLauchlan's original version appeared as an album track, and was not released as a single.
Zevon recorded a demo version of the song in 1974, which was released as a bonus track on the 2008 reissue of his self-titled album. Two other Zevon demo versions of "Carmelita" have also been officially released. The "master" recording appears on all versions of his 1976 self-titled album.
Linda Ronstadt recorded a slightly altered version of the song on her 1977 album, Simple Dreams. Ronstadt's version includes an alternate lyric that has Ronstadt pawning her "Smith & Wesson" as opposed to Zevon's "Smith Corona" thus creating a different persona for the protagonist. In a demo version released on Preludes - Rare and Unreleased Recordings, Zevon also sings about pawning a Smith & Wesson.
Another cover version of the song was released in 1992 by Tejano music legend Flaco Jimenez and country singer Dwight Yoakam on the album Partners.
GG Allin covered this song as well. He turned away from his typical hard hitting punk to do a rather serene cover. The song can be found on the album Carnival of Excess and in an acoustic version on the soundtrack to Todd Phillips' 1994 documentary Hated. In the film Allin can be seen playing the song solo on his western guitar. He keeps Ronstadt's lyric about the Smith & Wesson, and changes the lyrics from "playing solitaire with my pearl handled deck" to "playing Russian Roulette with my pearl-handled gun". This version was used on the finale of the third season of the Showtime series Californication, partially covered by Madeleine Martin who portrays Hank Moody's (David Duchovny) daughter.
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