Midnight Oil - Wharf Rat Lyrics






Old man down, way down, down by the docks of the city
Blind and dirty, he asked me for a dime, a dime for a cup of coffee
I got no dime, I got some time to hear his story
My name is August West, and I love my Pearly Baker better than all my wine
More than my wine, more than my maker, though he's no friend of mine

Half of my life, I spent doing time for some other fucker's crime
The other half I've spent stumbling 'round, drunk off of Burgundy wine

Gotta get back on my feet someday
The good Lord willing, if He says I may
I know that the life I'm living's no good
I'll get a new start, live the life I should
I'll get up and fly away
I'll get up and fly away
I'll get up and fly away, fly away

I got up and wandered, I wandered downtown
Nowhere to go, just to hang around
I got a girl named Bonnie Lee
I know that girl's been true to me
I know she's been, I'm sure she's been true to me
I know she's been, I'm sure she's been true to me

Girlfriend has been true
She's been true to me, true to my dying day
I said, sure she's been true





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Midnight Oil Wharf Rat Comments
  1. P.... S....

    I mean 4:56

  2. P.... S....

    4:58 Sweet guitar lick! Peak

  3. P.... S....

    I've been a deadhead for 28 years now and I love this version of Wharf rat! Good job Midnight Oil!

  4. M.... K....

    The only reason I listened to this song is that Aberdeen is a small logging town on the Olympic Peninsula in Washington State that is the birth place of Kurt Cobain of Nirvana fame. I'm glad I did - its a killer song and great video- my buddy has been trying to get me into this band for years now -- guess I'm finally hooked

    M.... K....

    I was stuck in Aberdeen so I had to listen to this song and liked it! LMFAO!

  5. L.... N....

    FANTASTIC!!!!

  6. C.... H....

    This version sucks ass!

  7. B.... F....

    Beautiful.

  8. H.... F....

    I'm Dead all the way through…but this version of Wharf Rat absolutely blows me away, Midnight Oil puts their 'rock stamp' on this one!!! Amazing...

  9. G.... W....

    Has a woman ever been tru to meeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee?
    The good lord willingggggggggggggggg , i' ll get up and fly awayyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyyy

  10. A.... ....

    I like both versions -- the Dead were doing it as a cosmic cowboy/alt country song while Midnight Oil made it a rock tune. I have been a fan of the Dead since 1967, and at the same timeI have always liked and respected Midnight Oil.

  11. B.... J....

    This is still better than any version I've heard before or since, including the Dead!

    B.... J....

    No, you aren't allowed that opinion no matter how good this is.🤪. Jerry was the perfect persona to sing this and the Dead's stamp on the music on the really hot ones are second to none. This version here is great but void of the emotion only Jerry could deliver.

    B.... J....

    It is very interesting and cool

  12. L.... ....

    Love it.

  13. v.... ....

    @head5338 and it's normally the one heard first that people say is best

  14. G.... C....

    I've loved this version, ever since I bought the Dead tribute album, "Deadicated". Thanks for posting!!!

    G.... C....

    I can't believe how long it's been since this came out. I had nabbed up the promo stuff from one of the music stores we had at the time. I had so much that I was giving everything but the cassette and poster away. 2 months later I bought my first component CD player for my stereo. Lasted me almost 20 years before just dying. I remember driving through states that summer listening to Deadicated. Loved most of it.

  15. J.... S....

    The dead never did a studio recording of this show. Though it was part of the Dead's repertoire in their shows for basically the entire band's existence.

  16. s.... ....

    garbage. worst song on that album (Deadicated). why did they even ask MO to contribute? god, they suck.

    s.... ....

    You gota be joking!

    s.... ....

    It's a cool version but I don't think it helped either band. Midnight oil was probably fine with their own sound.

  17. d.... ....

    Awesome version of a classic....

  18. A.... A....

    This was recorded for a Grateful Dead tribute album. Midnight Oil were the only band asked to participate that didn't know their music. Midnight Oil were not Deadheads. So they listened to a lot of Grateful Dead for the first time before picking this song. I'm not that crazy about the Grateful Dead, but love Midnight Oil.

  19. F.... ....

    The interesting thing about it, is that Grateful Dead never recorded this songs themselves. As far as I know it's only available on live albums. I haven't found any studio recording of it, so in that aspect, Midnight Oil is the original version!

  20. b.... m....

    how can nobody know this song!!!!