Added: 4 years ago
From: moonfortyfour
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  • Amazing man!

  • Paul at 1:22 :P

  • Zevon is not in the rock n roll hall of fame .... big deal, he's with us every day, we love him and that's what counts

  • great song, this song grew on me after listening to it several times...it grooves

  • Check out Richard Shindell - not as much rock, but as much poetry and solid humanist soul.

  • I can see where Lou Reed got some of his stuff for his "Ecstasy" album.

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  • Rest in Peace... Talented unusually intelligent and original person who left too soon..

  • Rest in Peace... Talented unusually intelligent and origianl person who left too soon..

  • I guess it's up to all Americans to decide whether they wish to exhibit the spirit of genius of themselves or not .

  • Not my all time favorite song by Warren, but then again, his music is like sex. At its best, there is nothing else that comes close, at its worst, it is still pretty great.

  • Absolute genious! There will never be another like Warren Zevon! And Letterman is to be commended for this episode. Should have won an Emmy!!

  • I've never been a big fan of Dave Letterman, but discovering this show devoted entirely to Warren Zevon has changed my mind. Zevon was/is fantastic and knowing that Letterman recognized that makes all the difference. Rock on Warren.

  • @DontGoInThere i have never watched letterman on tv, but find myself watching his interviews at least once a month

  • @DontGoInThere Wow! I was about to post an almost identical comment! You beat me to it; and saved me the trouble. You must be OK, DontGoInThere! Amazing, watching this man perform...under the Circumstance. No? "Mutineer" is gorgeous!

  • Dave used to have the best musicians on his show. Some great artists made their network TV debut on Late Night/Late Show. For the last few years now he has had a lot of mediocre indie bands that we have never heard from again. Plus he has Regis on singing sometimes!  Yuk.

  • When my time comes i can only hope i have the balls to have the same attitude he did...dude's unbelievable

    R.I.P

  • wow, lyric wonder. I came back for this. Genius.

  • Love...

  • Over 150 thousand views and only two morons - If only the rest of the world knew, he'd have his place in the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. God Bless, Warren.

  • I remember this episode of Letterman. I was so fascinated that the whole show was devoted to one guy, but I fell in love with his music.

  • @blacktopaz8 I don't know what the hell you're on, but Warren Zevon is the best damn Rocker ever to walk the earth. You have a lot of nerve saying anything otherwise. Just because you have bad taste doesn't mean you have to express it.

  • R.I.P. Warren. Thank you for all your stories about Roland and Johnny, Vera Cruz and Zapata. You live within our hearts

  • i love paul jamming the drums in this video.

    RIP warren

    Dave rocks

  • Charlie Sheen was a genius

  • @bradystjames  Winning.

  • Albert Einstein was a ladies man while he was working on his universal plan,He was making out like Charlie Sheen he was a Genius...How did Warren and Hunter know these things?You are missed.

  • how the FUCK is music the way it is today?

    when did we all become mindless sheep? 

  • Lung cancer is a painful illness. This is a brave performance by a very strong man. RIP.

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  • @blacktopaz8 What do you consider good music? Consider your answer carefully.

  • @blacktopaz8 That's cool, obviously not everyone is going to like his music. I think you're wrong though, I think the reason his music never caught on later was because his music appealed to the older generation throughout the 90s and early 00s. Why would MTV play his songs when the kids were listening to Nirvana and Britney Spears? Of course, that's an over simplification, but I think his music was lost in the pop wave rather than never catching on. He was very popular before that.

  • @blacktopaz8 How many people write string quartet parts and arrange them for rock songs? Or write flute and trumpet melodies over a piano ballad and sell them on rock albums? His "shit" is great and so was he. He didn't catch on because most people are stupid and his music went over their heads. Your comment is very disrespectful. Warren was a genius. Don't pride yourself on being "unique".....your not, just misinformed.

  • I wonder if they asked him to play werewolves. . . 

  • I hope that many do read "Reconsider Me' and know that you were not a perfect man, but a good man with a perfect heart.

  • For an incredible look at the last months of Warren's life, day by day, read 'The Last Days of Dead Celebrities.' Great book, and Warren's account is so insightful.

  • it pains me that he didn't perform "Keep me in your heart" here. The greatest "goodbye" song ever

  • @drewtheg might have been too much though, no?

  • @drewtheg might not have been finished yet.. He was on the show promoting "My Rides Here". He was working on "The Wind" at the time, but it wasn't finished and "Keep Me In Your Heart" was the last song recorded.

  • @drewtheg ur absolutely right. Was it written or recorded by this point, it would have been perfect.

  • What a great performance!!! Warren you are truly missed by many people.

    One of the Great's!!! Townes Van Zandt, Woody Guthrie, Waylon, Johnny...and there's no one coming to take their place or to even come close.

    R.I.P. Warren Zevon

  • Everyday that goes by that Warren Zevon is not in the Rock n roll of fame is a travesty!

  • @Silvermountainman420 dude there is a lot of people in the hall of fame that should not be fuck the hall of fame my god micheal jackson rapes little boys yet he is in there what about alice cooper ...

  • @imcrouse Alice is there now!!!

  • @imcrouse

     Alice Cooper is in there now!!!

  • @Silvermountainman420 That can't be said enough. How is this guy not enshrined?

  • Pure grace, spirit and indomitable will on Warren's part. An enduring set of performances; thanks for putting them on here.

  • The obscure American artist Warren Zevon performing one of his obscure masterpieces Genius live and on stage. David Letterman's lasting contribution to art. Thanks, Dave for recognizing an artistic genius.

  • wow 10/30/2002, seems like only yesterday, RIP Warren

  • I am literally breathless! Why am I just now hearing this? And how did I live so long without it?

  • Anyone that thinks there isn't good music produced these days, isn't paying much attention.

  • Warren has just become one of my fav top three musicians of all time!

  • This is a great arrangement of this song

  • "Making out like Charlie Sheen."  Good line.

  • One of my favorite zevon songs

    By the way, Shaffer could literally not look stupider 1:10-1:25

  • @LightK44

    Paul Shaffer never had that rock star look, did he? But I don't think he looks stupid here. He was just getting into the song.

  • Oh, but Warren... you *were* a genius!

  • Wow what a great performance by a great musician.

  • WOW....what a performance. I LOVE this song. Thank you Warren....we wont forget you.

  • Nobody dropped names better in his songs than Warren! Unclean record and all Warren, YOU were a definite GENIUS!

  • WOW!!!! THAT ENDING WAS RIDICULOUS!!

  • the best show dave has ever had

  • @mikemcpops

    Don't forget Bob Dylan now.

  • its music like this that reminds you of how shit music has got in the last 10 years...

    i mean compared to this raw talent. the polished tracks of today are just watered down shit..where are the true artists like Warren Zevon now days?

  • @strictlysega radiohead, beck, the white stripes, tom waits. eh?

  • A Couple of those artists haven't done much since the 90's or has slowed down allot lately,, like Tom Waits and Radiohead,, i think they have done what,, 2 album in the last ten years? Im not a fan of the White Stripes sorry so you have me there and beck.. Well hey he is just an exeption to the rule isnt he, guero, midnnite vulters and seachange all great albums of this decade,, but lets talk about what most music has become... can u say Autotune?

  • touche

  • @strictlysega So sadly true.

  • @strictlysega You're being generous when you say "10 years". I'd say music has been in a steady and steep decline in quality for the past 20 years. What you hear on the radio today is readymade, plastic, recycled from used parts, disposable, and overall forgettable shit. There are still talented people making good, real music out there but because FM radio is so segregated, risk averse and predictable these days, they are unlikely to be signed to a major label and/or be promoted. Search them out

  • @strictlysega Regina Spektor?

  • @strictlysega Playin in their loungerooms at small pubs and if they're lucky festivals!

  • I hope I'll see or play with him in that Great Gig In The Sky, God bless him please.... Such a good man. Nighttime in The Switching Yard!

  • He actually wrote the score for the strings. I'd like to see Fifty Cent and 90% or the so-called musicial geniuses out there today try to do that.

  • I don't know what to say, I am at a loss for words.

  • @twinoak170 same here.

  • great ,awsomme ,bautiful .RIH. thanks

  • The word has been so carelessly used as to be damned near meaningless but Warren Zevon WAS a true genius.

  • Thank you David. This is why you will always be my favorite. What a solid you did us all.

  • iremember watching this with my Dad, we both hadtears in our eyes.Little did we know that Dad would die of Prostrate Cancer in 2006 april 5th.Life is so Precious! So very wonderful. God Bless Us All.

  • @ramco69 peace on ya my friend.

  • @ramco69 so poignant. Thanks for sharing.

  • Thanks for posting these videos of Lettermans show with Warren Zevon. Two of my favorite creative spirits left us in this decade. Warren Zevon and Hunter S Thompson. If there is a heaven there must be one heck of a party going on.

  • Warren Zevon was, indeed, a genius.

  • i miss this man his music isnt the same

  • Wow he sounds the same as on the record here.

  • Zevon forever! I wish I'd heard this guy before that Adam Sandler movie with "Keep Me in Your Heart for A While" in it.

  • Man what a cool cat this zevon is,I never heard about this guy until today,thank you Dr.Thompson,and Mr.letterman,I'm sold...

  • Poor poor pitiful me!

  • hey yohuckleberry, there loads of room on this train for new comers, he didnt just write the songs for old timers!

  • As much as I love his music, Letterman could've just talked to him for the entire hour and I wouldn't be disappointed. He was such a character.

    "It's still the greatest story, man I'd like to stay. But I'm bound for glory, I'm on my way." (My Ride's Here).

  • I just pray that when my end comes I can face it with such grace and courage.

    "Enjoy Every Sandwich"... Man, that says it all, doesn't it?

    RIP Warren

  • @randy95023 I second that bro. Warren Zevon obviously knew more than most off us do.

  • Rip zevon. Love ya songs. Thank you for sharing.

  • Damn he's a great character, such humor while you know the end is coming near.

    Respect.

    I heard the song " My shit's f*cked up" and I was sold :)

    Started searching on wiki and found out about the David Letterman show, what a person; a shame that he passed away...

  • I'm new to Warren's music. Genius is amazing. I'm glad I lived long enough to discover and enjoy Zevon.

  • Bless him for going out doing what he loved. We should all be so lucky.

  • "He was makin' out like Charlie Sheen...."

    Miss this guy HEAPS...

  • what a legend

    hes crazy i'd say!

  • There have been only two times that I have cried in the past ten years. When i saw the end of Schindler's List, and when watching this last Zevon/Letterman appearance.

  • Watch Randy Pausch' Last Lecture. You will certainly feel the same way.

  • Couldn't agree more, I loved the book too.

  • Great performance of a great song by an amazing musician.

  • you have to love the fact that he lived to the end the way he wanted to live.

  • I love the smile he has on his face throughout the entire song. I love this man.

  • I love this song.  So much! The background orchestra is just.. genius

  • we should also pray for hypocrites that judge others. everyone bow their heads.

  • fuck praying, theres no one there to answer anyways

  • "mic"

  • you can tell he is out of breath frequently.

    :(

  • AMAZING!

  • i too missed this when it aired

    what a great tribute to a genius - full marks to dave letterman

  • Warren charted all the orchestral instruments for the band right before the show. A true Genius.

  • I've always loved Jackson Browne. But Warren Zevon sort of escaped my view, until I heard Jackson cover Lawyers, Guns and Money and was reminded by my father of Werewolves of London.

    He is, quite simply, amazing.

  • I just want to thank you for the efforts you took to post this on YouTube. You made my life richer by being able to see this and I hope you know that it matters that you made the effort to do this. Thanks!

  • It's both sad and a little heartening, that is to see he had a chance to say goodbye to everybody. If he had gone suddenly with no warning he would have missed the chance to see how much he was loved, this last show being a good example. I guess in the dressing room afterwards he gave his guitar to Dave whom started crying, what a touching way for him to goodbye, a moment I'm sure Dave will always treasure.

  • Like he said to enjoy every sandwich. He really got me thinking. Life is precious. I just got into warren after watching Californication. He really is one of the legends.

  • So did i - heard Keep me in your Heart loved it and and heard David Duchovny say you gotta love Zevon put 2 & 2 together and started buying albums on e-bay got 3 now and love em sorry i missed him 1st time round

  • That's really when I first caught on too. Californication. Growing up my dad had a copy of 'Excitable Boy' but I just never took a chance on that record. I'm 23 now but I still wish I had hopped on the Warren train much sooner.

  • @YoHuckleberry The train goes on and on and never stops, so welcome aboard. :)

  • paul seems to be enjoying himself on the bongos

  • Paul is playing the timbales.

  • Paul is actually playing the bongos, timbales dont sound like that ......

  • Paul enjoys himself with ANYTHING music! He's great.

    Warren is the man! Thank you Warren.

  • The string part is just gorgeous!

  • I love Paul rockin' on the bongos in the background. so flippin funny.

    This song is fantastic!

  • With this song, Warren again broke my heart into smithereens, and that took genius. Sheer genius.

  • whats the name of that song

  • " Genius"

  • fuck im dumb lol , he says it at the beginning

  • I miss him very much... There will never be another to come even close, PERIOD.

  • So Warren knew what he was doing on Letterman that night. Since he couldn't say "hey kids don't go out & inhale tiny invisible asbestos fibers" By eluding to cigarettes being the culprit he thought he might save some fans life. Considering what the future held for him that was a pretty noble thing to do.

  • Warren died from a cancer of the LINING of the lung named the mesothelium. Mesothelioma is NOT caused from cigarettes it is caused by inhalation of asbestos which was probably gotten when he used asbestos sound proofing(legal then)for his studio. Meso ranks as THE most painful cancer deaths. As the tumor grows it makes the person unable to breath. Suffers who have endured waterboarding say that meso makes that form of torture almost preferrable.

    Cure Meso in our time.

    Dr. Susan Rechner

  • beautiful. Its not bad luck warren.

  • Shaffer said the string chart was top notch and as you all know, was written by Warren. A reall nice piece of music by a writer who was not just a "rock n roller" with no chops. He came from a classical background and could still be a rock star.....cool.

  • And to get to see him conduct those strings at the end was such a bittersweet treat. One of the gals who was playing that night original thought to herself "oh here's another rockstar who thinks he can write classical music but when she went in the first time and saw the string chart she was blown away by its complexities. She gained a tremendous amount of respect for Warren that day and her devotion has never waivered. No gig she has done since then has come close to wowing her like warren.

  • Warren drew on all kinds of musical stylings. He drew on country, jazz and classical music for his sound. Which is what makes his music such a delight to listen to.

  • Learn from Warren, I believe that is what he wanted.

  • RIP you mad genius.

  • what an amazing body of work this man left. it is just incredable. my great regret is that we did'nt see it when he was living... i only bought his first album until i recently read crystals book and listened to more. i so wish we could have let him know while he was alive how really great he was

  • This is an AMAZING song!! I love the orchestra in the background!

  • "If I could only get my record clean, I'd be a genius"

    great line from a great song from a great man

  • Thanks loads to moon44 for posting this. I'm burning a comp CD of the late, great Z's music as I type this. I remember, as a teenager, buying "Excitable Boy" on the day it was released.... pure genius........I never saw him perform (Doh!!!) but a good friend saw him play solo and, to this day, claims it was one of the best shows he's ever seen; just Zevon and a coupla acoustic guitars......

  • i love u warren zevon

  • Zevon gave that guitar to Letterman after the show and told him to take good care of it.

  • digg much?

  • I agree with the last statement about Paul normally getting deeply into the music, plus it's bongos that he's playing with drumsticks whilst Antone as usual played the drums.

  • Bravo Warren, a life well lived and you live on through your music.

  • I dont know really how to take paul in the backround with the sticks hows hes acting... Its a bit strange cause the atmosphere is more tense and heartfelt and true and hes there acting like a bozo, then on the other hand maybe hes just truly that excited.. R.I.P. Warren... Gone but never ever forgotten

  • Paul is playing the drums...

  • he's doing some kind of nutty percussion but he's not playing the drums. u can see antone behind paul doing that

  • Paul's playing bongos, as far as I can tell.

  • Paul always gets deeply into the music and does his level best to make the star on stage shine as brightly as possible.

  • WELL among all the self important poseurs in the R and R business this guy was a class act and he is sorely missed

  • My Rides Here!!! When you have lung cancer, and you search for words on how to tell people. Warren did it for all!!! And enjoys every Sandwich. something ya take for granted.

  • love warren

  • yea mesothelioma is a rare form of lung cancer so make sure your facts are straight margaritaprounia and dusty668

  • and FYI he didnt smoke he was an alcoholic but recovered himself with no help and i had to do a report on a composer for school and i chose him because he wrote his own music(thats considered a composer) and i got a 100 out of 100 and this teacher hates me

  • RE: oweigold

    In that case, if I have to do the same, I will also choose Zevon as a composer. Zevon did smoke sometimes, but not too heavily (he was in the photo of his self-titled album Warren Zevon)

  • yes...i see that...i was trying to make the point that mesothelioma is from abestos exposure.

  • Uhh he smoked and preferred certain cigarettes...