Life lessons on two wheels to the tunes of the
Grateful Dead
This Week in Grateful Dead History
Week 1
I wish I was a headlight on a northbound train.
Even the most cursory examination of the lyrics of Grateful Dead songs quickly uncovers one of the most fundamental aspects of the band’s identity: This is an American band, rooted in American culture, and built around easily recognizable locales and deeply American principles and history.
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This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 36 – September 3, 1977
If all you got to live for
After an unexpected summer off, due to injuries suffered by drummer Mickey Hart in a car accident, the magic of 1977 resumed in full force at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey on 9/3/77. T.W.I.G.D.H. features this legendary show, which was memorialized with the October ’99 release of Dick’s Picks, Volume 15. Almost three months had passed since the landmark Spring ’77 tour ended at Winterland on June 9, but the band didn’t miss a beat with this excellent concert that was attended by more than 100,000 fans, making it the largest ticketed concert in the U.S. at the time.
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 33 - August 13, 1975
It’s fireworks, calliopes and clowns
As we reach the week following the “Days Between” (the period from Jerry Garcia’s August 1 birthday through his August 9 passing), one can’t help but be struck by the enduring nature of the Grateful Dead. More than 50 years have gone by since the band’s first performance under the name, “Grateful Dead,” and almost half of that period has passed since their final performance on July 9, 1995. And yet, quite literally, the “music never stopped.” What is it about the Grateful Dead that has captivated millions the world over from multiple generations over the course of more than a half-century?
This Week in Grateful Dead History: Week 40 – September 28, 1975
Sometimes the cards ain’t worth a dime
Among the numerous motifs found in the lyrics of Grateful Dead tunes, there is none more omnipresent than the metaphoric theme of gambling. References to games of chance – particularly card games – are sprinkled liberally throughout a seemingly endless list of tunes: Loser (“If I had a gun for every ace I have drawn…”), Deal (“Watch each card you play and play it slow…”), Candyman (“Come on boys and gamble; roll those laughing bones…”), Me and My Uncle (“You know my uncle; he starts a friendly game…”), Dire Wolf (“The wolf came in, I got my cards, we sat down for a game…”), and Scarlet Begonias (“In the heat of the evening when the dealing got rough; she was too pat to open and too cool to bluff…”) are examples that come immediately to mind. And there are also similar references In China Cat Sunflower, Doin’ That Rag, Mississippi Half Step, Ramble On Rose, Stagger Lee, Stella Blue, and Tennessee Jed.
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