Looking for a château1
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
Looking for a château
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
I don’t want to buy it
I just want to rent it for an hour or two
I met an old mistake
Walking down the street today
I met an old mistake
Walking down the street today
I didn’t want to be mean about it
But I didn’t have one good word to say
West L.A. fadeaway
Little red light on the highway
Big green light on the speedway, hey, hey, hey
I had a steady job
Hauling items for the mob
I had a steady job
Hauling items for the mob
Y’know the pay was pathetic
It’s a shame those boys couldn’t be more copacetic2
I meet a West L.A. girl
Already know what I need to know
I meet a West L.A. girl
I already know what I need to know
Name, address, and phone number
Lord, and just how far to go
West L.A. Fadeaway
West L.A. Fadeaway
Little red light on the highway
Big green light on the speedway, hey, hey, hey
Looking for a château
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
Looking for a château
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
I don’t want to rent it
I just want to use it for a minute or two
West L.A. Fadeaway
West L.A. Fadeaway
Little red light on the highway
Big green light on the speedway, hey, hey, hey
Words by Robert Hunter
Music by Jerry Garcia
A reference to the Chateau Marmont, the hotel on Sunset Strip in Los Angeles, where John Belushi died on March 5, 1982. The entire song could be taken as being about Belushi’s death, but as usual, Hunter throws in some curveballs, skewing the character of the song so that it becomes someone else.
A word coined by Bill “Bojangles” Robinson, the famous dancer (mentioned in “Alabama Getaway”); its meaning is, roughly, “cool.”
Studio recording: In The Dark (July 6, 1987).
First performance: August 28, 1982, at the Oregon Country Fair Site in Veneta, Oregon. The song remained in steady rotation thereafter.
Early performances of the song included this verse:
Here’s what Ginger says, she talks like she ain’t nobody’s fool
Here’s what Ginger says, she tries to live by the golden rule
She says you treat people all right,
other people will probably treat you cool