The Meaning Behind "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty and How It Reflects the Artist's Career at the Time (2024)

Gerry Rafferty’s “Baker Street” may be best known for a performance that’s not his. It’s hard to think of the 1978 single without getting the Raphael Ravenscroft sax solo stuck in your head. Yet “Baker Street” could have been a hit even without the famous solo. Part of what makes it so compelling is Rafferty’s autobiographical story about realizing that his life in London was not what he had hoped it would be.

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If we take the story of “Baker Street” on its surface level, it’s a gripping, emotional tale. Rafferty’s understated delivery only adds to its melancholy. Yet there is much more to the song than just the story of a disillusioned man. It’s a snapshot of where Rafferty was in this particular moment of his life and career—one that left him in a frustrating state of limbo.

Stuck in Neutral After Stealers Wheel

Before he wrote and recorded the songs for his City to City album, Rafferty had one hit to his credit. He co-wrote the Stealers Wheel song ”Stuck in the Middle with You” with bandmate Joe Egan. Though the 1972 song was a huge success—reaching the Top 10 in six countries, including the U.S. and UK—Stealers Wheel would be unable to replicate it on subsequent releases. They disbanded in 1975, but legal disputes kept Rafferty from releasing any new material for three years.

During this limbo period, Rafferty split his time between his native Scotland and London. In an interview with The Telegraph, Rafferty said his trips to London were for the purpose of meeting with lawyers. When in London, he would stay with a friend who lived on Baker Street. The conversations with his friend would make their way into the story of “Baker Street.”

Numbing Out in the “City Desert”

But before Rafferty gets to singing about his friend, he addresses his own feelings of alienation and disillusionment in the first verse. In the song’s opening lines, you quickly get the sense that Rafferty is burnt out and looking to numb out.

Windin’ your way down on Baker Street
Light in your head and dead on your feet
Well another crazy day, you’ll drink the night away
And forget about everything

Then Rafferty moves on to the reasons for wanting to numb himself. He not only feels lonely in London, but he feels even worse for thinking he should have figured out he was lonely sooner.

This city desert makes you feel so cold
It’s got so many people, but it’s got no soul
And it’s taking you so long to find out you were wrong
When you thought it held everything

When Rafferty sings “it’s taking you so long to find out you were wrong,” he means it took him years to figure it out. We know that, because he says so in the pre-chorus that follows.

Another year and then you’d be happy
Just one more year and then you’d be happy
But you’re cryin’, you’re cryin’ now

At Least Rafferty Is Better Off than His Friend

In the second verse, Rafferty sketches a portrait of his friend, who has been on his own treadmill of misery. The source of his unhappiness is a cycle of drinking and one-night stands that leaves him dissatisfied. Rafferty tells us that his friend has “this dream of about buyin’ some land.” However, he suspects that his friend’s dream will never come true, because “he’s the rollin’ stone.”

Rafferty may include the friend in the story, because he serves as a foil. Whereas the friend is destined to repeat the same cycle over and over, Rafferty sees hope for positive change in his own life.

And when you wake up, it’s a new mornin’
The sun is shinin’, it’s a new mornin’
And you’re goin’, you’re goin’ home

This could be interpreted literally as being about Rafferty returning to Scotland, where he can find some happiness. Or he could be alluding to the settlement of his legal disputes, which will allow him to get on with his recording career.

The Impact of “Baker Street”

“Baker Street” didn’t enter the Billboard Hot 100 until nearly three months after it was released in February 1978. It spent six weeks at No. 2, blocked from the top spot each of those weeks by Andy Gibb’s “Shadow Dancing.” Some believe that “Baker Street” had actually qualified to replace “Shadow Dancing” at No. 1 for at least one of those weeks, but Gibb’s management pressured Billboard into keeping their client’s hit in the top spot. (The Rolling Stones’ “Miss You” finally did what “Baker Street” couldn’t—regardless of the reason—unseating “Shadow Dancing” after a seven-week run at No. 1.)

“Baker Street” has continued to be immensely popular in recent decades. Spotify users have streamed it over 214 million times.

Rafferty was able to topple the Gibb dynasty on the album chart when City to City reached the top of the Billboard 200. Though it only spent one week at No. 1, it ended the 24-week reign of the Bee Gees-dominated Saturday Night Fever soundtrack.

Slash has said that his solo at the end of Guns N’ Roses’ “Sweet Child o’ Mine” was influenced by the solo from “Baker Street,” though he didn’t specify whether it was Hugh Burns’ guitar solo or Ravenscroft’s sax solo. A.C. Newman of the New Pornographers wrote that “Baker Street” provided the initial musical inspiration for his 2012 solo album, Shut Down the Streets.

Several prominent artists have covered “Baker Street,” including Foo Fighters, Ann Wilson, Waylon Jennings, David Lee Roth, and Shawn Colvin (with David Crosby). The 1992 cover by Undercover was a Top 10 hit in 11 European countries.

“Baker Street” doesn’t fit neatly into the pop culture narrative of the late ’70s, which typically focuses on disco and punk. Despite not being squarely in the middle of that era’s zeitgeist, it was enormously popular. “Baker Street” is a prime example of the power of great songwriting. A superbly crafted song can become an enduring hit, even if it’s out of step with the times in which it was created.

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Photo by David Redfern/Redferns

The Meaning Behind "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty and How It Reflects the Artist's Career at the Time (2024)

FAQs

The Meaning Behind "Baker Street" by Gerry Rafferty and How It Reflects the Artist's Career at the Time? ›

This could be interpreted literally as being about Rafferty returning to Scotland, where he can find some happiness. Or he could be alluding to the settlement of his legal disputes, which will allow him to get on with his recording career.

Why is Baker Street so famous? ›

The street is most famous for its connection to the fictional detective Sherlock Holmes, who lived at a fictional 221B Baker Street address on the north of the street, the ballad song "Baker Street Muse" by Jethro Tull from their 1975 "Minstrel in the Gallery" album, and also for the 1978 pop hit by Gerry Rafferty of ...

What is special about Baker Street in London? ›

What is Baker Street famous for? Baker Street is majorly famous for its connection with Sherlock Holmes (fictional detective), he lived at 221B Baker Street. This address is, however, also fictional just like the character.

What is the meaning of the song "Right Down the Line"? ›

The title phrase simply means “all along” or “the whole time.” He sings about how the woman he loves has always been there for him even if though he has been unstable, presumably due to alcoholism (although that isn't mentioned in the song, but was a major problem for him).

Who died from the sax on Baker Street? ›

Raphael Ravenscroft, who played one of the most recognizable saxophone solos in popular music on Gerry Rafferty's 1978 hit “Baker Street,” died on Sunday in Exeter, England. He was 60. His death was announced by his family. No cause was specified, but the BBC said he was believed to have had a heart attack.

What was Gerry Rafferty's biggest hit? ›

In 1978, he recorded his second solo album, City to City, which included "Baker Street", his most popular song.

What is the history of the Baker Street Irregulars? ›

The Baker Street Irregulars is an organization of Sherlock Holmes enthusiasts founded in 1934 by Christopher Morley. As of 2015, the nonprofit organization had about 300 members worldwide. The Baker Street Irregulars meeting on January 30, 1940.

Who lives in Baker Street? ›

According to Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson lived at 221B Baker Street from 1881 to 1904.

What detective lives on Baker Street? ›

The Sherlock Holmes Museum is situated at 221B Baker Street, London, one of the world's most famous addresses. According to the stories of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, super sleuth Sherlock Holmes made this his residence from 1881 to 1904.

Does Baker Street have a toilet? ›

The entrance to the ladies toilets is in a passage from the south side of the lower concourse, between the ticket sales booths and the Madame Tussauds entrance. The entrance to the gents toilets is near the bottom of the stairs to platform 5, to your left as you approach the platform.

Why is right down the line so good? ›

Even though it has an irrepressible push and pull (that sax! that flute!) that culminates in one of the sublime (and relatively succinct) guitar solos in rock history, there is such a subtle sense of melancholy that it stays inside you, even if you are only eight years old.

What is the main line in a song? ›

The terms chorus and refrain are often used interchangeably, both referring to a recurring part of a song. When a distinction is made, the chorus is the part that contains the hook or the "main idea" of a song's lyrics and music, and there is rarely variation from one repetition of the chorus to the next.

Who originally wrote right down the line? ›

"Right Down the Line" is a song written and recorded by Scottish singer-songwriter Gerry Rafferty. Released as a single in July 1978, it reached #12 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 and #8 on Cash Box.

Who is the sax player on Baker Street? ›

Saxophone riff. In addition to a guitar solo, played by Hugh Burns, "Baker Street" featured a prominent eight-bar saxophone riff by session musician Raphael Ravenscroft, played as a break between verses, the origins of which are disputed. Ravenscroft said that he was presented with a song that contained "several gaps".

What happened to the sax man? ›

Reedus' influence and local fame prompted the Cleveland City Council to reconsider legislation that prohibited the kind of street performing for which he was so well known. The new legislation was named the Sax Man Legislation in his honor. Maurice Reedus Jr. passed away at the age of 65 in Cleveland, Ohio.

Who was Little Richard's sax player? ›

Grady Gaines (May 14, 1934 – January 29, 2021) was an American electric blues, Texas blues and jazz blues tenor saxophonist, who performed and recorded with Little Richard in the 1950s.

Is Baker Street the oldest underground station? ›

When you travel to Baker Street underground station, you get a real sense of what it must have been like in Victorian times. This is the oldest station in London and has been wonderfully restored to the way it was in 1863.

Who used to live at Baker Street? ›

According to Arthur Conan Doyle's stories, Sherlock Holmes and John Watson lived at 221B Baker Street from 1881 to 1904.

What is the crime rate in Baker Street? ›

Annual total crime rate in your local area is 2204.4 per thousand population. This can be rated as 10 out of 10 or high crime level.

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