"Desperados Under the Eaves" is a song written and performed by

Warren Zevon Warren William Zevon (; January 24, 1947 – September 7, 2003) was an American rock singer, songwriter, and musician. Zevon's most famous compositions include "Werewolves of London", "Lawyers, Guns and Money", and " Roland the Headless Tho ...

from his eponymous 1976 album. The song describes the narrator's growing

alcoholism Alcoholism is, broadly, any drinking of alcohol (drug), alcohol that results in significant Mental health, mental or physical health problems. Because there is disagreement on the definition of the word ''alcoholism'', it is not a recognize ...

. "Cooped up in his shitty motel room with the shakes, a drink-desperate Zevon wittily narrates his frustration with L.A.'s refusal to give anyone a free pass. Even if it sinks into the ocean, the city will still get its due. You may hate it here, but you can't escape ('Heaven help the one who leaves') so long as you're empty-handed.""The 20 Best Songs Ever Written About L.A.", ''LA Weekly'', 15 October 2014
/ref> This song features background vocals from

Carl Wilson Carl Dean Wilson (December 21, 1946 – February 6, 1998) was an American musician, singer, and songwriter who co-founded the Beach Boys. He was their lead guitarist, the youngest sibling of bandmates Brian and Dennis, and the group's ''de ...

and

Billy Hinsche William Hinsche (June 29, 1951 – November 20, 2021) was an American musician who was a co-founding member of the singing trio Dino, Desi & Billy and a keyboardist for the Beach Boys' backing band. Background Hinsche was born in Manila, the Phi ...

The Beach Boys The Beach Boys are an American Rock music, rock band that formed in Hawthorne, California, in 1961. The group's original lineup consisted of brothers Brian Wilson, Brian, Dennis Wilson, Dennis, and Carl Wilson, their cousin Mike Love, and frie ...

as well as

Jackson Browne Clyde Jackson Browne (born October 9, 1948) is an American musician, singer, songwriter, and political activist who has sold over 18 million albums in the United States. Emerging as a precocious teenage songwriter in mid-1960s Los Angeles, he h ...

and

J.D. Souther John David "J. D." Souther (born November 2, 1945) is an American singer, songwriter, and actor. He has written and co-written songs recorded by Linda Ronstadt and the Eagles (band), Eagles. Souther is probably best known for his songwriting ab ...

. When conducting the string section for this song, Zevon kept the veteran players "on his side" with pre-written humor.''I'll Sleep When I'm Dead: The Dirty Life and Times of Warren Zevon'' by Crystal Zevon, (2008) pp109-111 Zevon has said in interviews that this is one of his most personal songs. The ''

LA Weekly ''LA Weekly'' is a free weekly alternative newspaper in Los Angeles, California. It was founded in 1978 by Jay Levin, who served as president and editor until 1991. Voice Media Group sold the paper in late 2017 to Semanal Media LLC, whose paren ...

'' listed the song as number 10 in its list of "The 20 Best Songs Ever Written About L.A." The song was used in the season 3 episode "If You Have Ghosts" of the HBO series ''

True Detective ''True Detective'' is an American anthology crime drama television series created and written by Nic Pizzolatto. The series, broadcast by the premium cable network HBO in the United States, premiered on January 12, 2014. Each season of the ...

''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Desperados Under The Eaves Warren Zevon songs 1976 songs Songs written by Warren Zevon