On a Wing and a Prayer

Retro Record Review: On a Wing and a Prayer by Gerry Rafferty (1992)

Although I have a large music collection, one album in particular stands out as a favourite that I keep coming back to for another listen. The late great Gerry Rafferty may be best known for his 1978 hit 'Baker Street' and his earlier work with Stealers Wheel, but he wrote and sang much more great material right up until his death in 2011. I enjoy listening to most of Gerry's work and there are very few tracks I dislike, but his seventh solo album On a Wing and a Prayer, released in 1992, is a particular favourite of mine.


Gerry was a very shy and quiet man who hated the media frenzy surrounding the music industry and was never comfortable talking in public, preferring to express his feelings through his music. This is especially apparent in this album when you understand its background: it is his divorce album, written amidst the turmoil of his twenty-year marriage coming to an end, and his way of coming to terms with the situation. I know it's a cliched expression but this album really does take the listener on a rollercoaster of raw emotions, from the tear-jerking sadness of 'Don't Speak Of My Heart', through the confusion of 'I Could Be Wrong', the anger of 'Get Out Of My Life Woman' and the hope expressed in 'Don't Give Up On Me', to the eventual realisation in 'Life Goes On' that this isn't the end of the world and things will get better. For someone who was notoriously reluctant to discuss his private life, the album's lyrics are surprisingly revealing and provide a fascinating insight into his troubled soul.

It's hard to pick the best tracks on this album as they are all so well written and performed, but two stand out. 'Don't Speak Of My Heart' is a beautiful heartbreaking ballad of love and loss sung with great emotion and featuring a superbly powerful string section that will bring tears to your eyes. After singing his way through the trauma of his divorce, the final track, 'Life Goes On', brings the album to a close on an upbeat note with its lyrics that look forward to a better future, accompanied by one of those soaring saxophone solos for which Gerry was known. Both of these songs subsequently appeared on the 2009 compilation album also entitled Life Goes On, but the latter (rather oddly considering it is the title track) is shortened with the removal of the first two verses, and can be heard in its full original glory here.

On a Wing and a Prayer is also notable for the involvement of Gerry's brother Jim Rafferty, with whom he had something of a love-hate relationship by all accounts. Jim co-wrote two of the songs ('The Light Of Love' and the aforementioned 'Don't Speak Of My Heart') as well as providing backing vocals and the cover artwork, and the album also includes a version of 'I See Red', written by Jim and originally recorded by Abba singer Frida for her first solo album Something's Going On (another of my favourites, incidentally). While the vast majority of his material was written wholly or in part by Gerry himself, this album contains a rare exception: a cover of Allen Toussaint's 'Get Out Of My Life Woman', which no doubt perfectly expressed Gerry's angry mood at times during the divorce.

I feel it is a real shame that Gerry's later work such as this is so little known. While 'Baker Street' has become a classic and is undoubtedly a great piece in its own right, it is the only one of his songs that is widely known and in my opinion is not even his best work. Admittedly the age group there is really too young but I have only met two students at my university who are fully aware of the extent of Gerry's work; a few vaguely know of 'Baker Street' but many, while knowing his contemporaries, have never even heard of him. This album in particular seems hard to find (it doesn't turn up very often in music shops and I think is the only one that doesn't appear in its entirety on YouTube) but if you can track down a copy and give it a listen, I guarantee you won't be disappointed. Gerry may be gone but the legend will live on through his timeless music forever.

Track listing:

1. Time's Caught Up On You
2. I See Red
3. It's Easy To Talk
4. I Could Be Wrong
5. Don't Speak Of My Heart
6. Get Out Of My Life Woman
7. Don't Give Up On Me
8. Hang On
9. Love and Affection
10. Does He Know What He's Taken On
11. The Light Of Love
12. Life Goes On