Margarita (1988) – The Traveling Wilburys

This is the ninth song to be presented here from The Traveling Wilburys. I don’t know what else I can say about one of the greatest supergroups that I’ve ever heard. They could also be described as the Rolling Stone Press book editors did – They were “the antithesis of a supergroup”, due to the musicians’ adoption of fraternal alter egos and the humour inherent in the project.

I love this song Margarita just like I do all their other ones. It’s regrettable that they never toured even for a one night only. The Traveling Wilburys only managed to record one album with the original line-up before the death of Orbison, but a second arrived almost exactly two years later. And since then, two more of the Wilbury family have departed (Beatle George Harrison in 2001 and Petty in 2017).

It was in Pittsburgh, late one night
I lost my head, got into a fight
I rolled and tumbled till I saw the light
Went to the Big Apple, took a bite

Ah, ah, ah, ah

Still the sun went down your way
Down from the blue into the gray
Where I stood, I saw you walk away
(Margarita) You danced away

Ah, ah, ah, ah

I asked her what we’re gonna do tonight
She said, “Cahuenga Langa-Langa Shoe Box Soup”
We better keep tryin’ till we get it right
Tala mala sheela jaipur dhoop

She wrote a long letter on a short piece of paper
Oh Margarita

“I was never afraid of Bob [Dylan], he was always nice to me. I have never been in awe of anyone and I think it’s worked in my favour. Dylan comes from folk music where if you wanted to play an extra bar you could, so he might play five bars instead of four and think nothing of it. There is an air of spontaneity about him; if things get too well rehearsed he doesn’t seem to like it. Although he never said it to me, I think he likes to keep things a little bit edgy.” 

– Tom Petty

Here is Tom Petty talking about the formation of The Traveling Wilburys.

The Traveling Wilburys: “Nelson Wilbury” – George Harrison “Otis Wilbury” – Jeff Lynne “Lefty Wilbury” – Roy Orbison “Charlie T. Wilbury, Jr.” – Tom Petty “Lucky Wilbury” – Bob Dylan.

Referring to Roy Orbison Tom Petty said:

“He never took the glasses off,” Petty said, per the book Conversations With Tom Petty by Paul Zollo. “But he was very jovial. Very funny. One of the funniest guys I’ve ever met. A sweetheart. You couldn’t help but love him. He always had some jokes, and he had the most infectious laugh. That’s one thing I remember about him a lot, his laugh, for some reason, was really infectious. Like when you heard him laugh, you couldn’t help but laugh with him.”

Petty explained that Orbison seemed a bit wiser than him.

“He was a bit older than us, and he seemed maybe a little wiser,” Petty said. “But I liked him a lot. That’s who I was hanging with, that year, that Christmas. And the time after that. We were all pals.”

Reference:
1. Traveling Wilburys – Wikipedia