Third Week in the Chelsea

Album: Bark (1971)
Play Video

Songfacts®:

  • Jefferson Airplane guitarist Jorma Kaukonen wrote this song, which is about the band's stay in New York City's Chelsea Hotel. Bassist Jack Casady recalled to Uncut magazine: "That's the story of us all spending three weeks in the Chelsea Hotel, and coming to grips with the weight of all those years there'd been, and how we had all been at it non-stop since 1965. I mean, every day."
  • The Chelsea Hotel has been immortalized in several other songs over the years. They include Leonard Cohen's "Chelsea Hotel #2," where the Canadian describes meeting a famous singer in one its elevators that led to a sexual encounter and Bob Dylan's "Sara" in which he reveals that he was, "Stayin' up for days in the Chelsea Hotel writin' 'Sad Eyed Lady Of The Lowlands' for you."
  • Will Scarlett, formerly of Jefferson Airplane spin-off Hot Tuna, guested on harmonica.

Comments

Be the first to comment...

Editor's Picks

Mike Love of The Beach Boys

Mike Love of The Beach BoysSongwriter Interviews

The lead singer/lyricist of The Beach Boys talks about coming up with the words for "Good Vibrations," "Fun, Fun, Fun," "Kokomo" and other classic songs.

Jim McCarty of The Yardbirds

Jim McCarty of The YardbirdsSongwriter Interviews

The Yardbirds drummer explains how they created their sound and talks about working with their famous guitarists.

American Hits With Foreign Titles

American Hits With Foreign TitlesSong Writing

What are the biggest US hits with French, Spanish (not "Rico Suave"), Italian, Scottish, Greek, and Japanese titles?

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse Pop

He Hit Me (And It Felt Like A Kiss): A History Of Abuse PopSong Writing

Songs that seem to glorify violence against women are often misinterpreted - but not always.

The Police

The PoliceFact or Fiction

Do their first three albums have French titles? Is "De Do Do Do, De Da Da Da" really meaningless? See if you can tell in this Fact or Fiction.

Laura Nyro

Laura NyroSongwriting Legends

Laura Nyro talks about her complex, emotionally rich songwriting and how she supports women's culture through her art.