Dead Songs in Depth

    
My Brother Esau
w: Barlow m: Weir
AGDL: http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/esau.html
LASF: http://www.whitegum.com/songfile/MYBROTHE.HTM
  

    
My Brother Esau 
Lyrics: John Barlow
Music: Bob Weir

Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission.

My brother Esau killed a hunter
Back in nineteen sixty nine
And before the killing was done
His inheritance was mine
But his birthright was a wand to wave
Before a weary band
Esau gave me sleeplessness
And a piece of moral land

My father favoured Esau
Who was eager to obey
All the bloody wild commandments
The old man shot his way
But all this favour ended when
My brother failed at war
He staggered home
And found me in the door

Esau skates on mirrors any more
Meets his pale reflection at the door
Yet sometimes at night I dream
He's still that hairy man
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
And wandering the land
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
And wandering the land

Esau holds a blessing
Brother Esau holds a curse
I would say that the blame is mine
But I suspect it's something worse
The more my brother looks like me
The less I understand
The silent war
That blooded both our hands

Sometimes at night
I think I understand
Way late at night
Oh, I feel I understand
It's brother to brother
And it's man to man
And it's face to face
And it's hand to hand
The shadow dance
The silent war within
The shadow dance
Never ends, never ends, never ends
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
Yet again, yet again
Shadow boxing the apocalypse
And wandering the land
  

    

"My Brother Esau" was revived last night by Bob Weir and members of The
National, in a live performance from TRI Studios to benefit (and raise
awareness for) <http://www.headcount.org>

"It was the National's idea," Bob just told me via text.  "I had to finally
address the [lyrics of] the bridge, which was why I stopped doing it back
when."


The new bridge:

E won't miss his birthright anyway
Ain't like it's worth all that much today
  

    
Let's hope that show becomes accessible to those of us whose internet
access does not really allow streaming.
  

    



Email from reader Clint Bush:



I had been reading the comments on the The Annotated My Brother Esau
on who Esau might as to who Esau might refer to.
I ran across a passage in the "electric kool-aid acid test", It say's Kesey
was Esau.
here it is-----


" they each choose, become a character in the Bible; in truth; it is
3,000 years ago, now stretching back infinitely to ... the very
Genesis; to Esau; Kesey is Esau; the hairy one; and Esau was a cunning
hunter; a man of the field; and Jacob was a plain man, dwelling in
tents; 13. Did they grow up alike?" ---  from chapter XXIII The
Electric Kool-Aid acid test."


Peace,
Clint Bush
  

    


I don't think that passage in Tom Wolfe's book has anything to do with the
Weir-Barlow song.
  

    
no, but it's interesting

(reminds me of Kesey mentioning how Keith Moon died while the Dead
were playing at the pyramids on borrowed equipment from the Who during
an eclipse of the moon. I paraphrase: "What does it mean?" he asked.
"Nothing, but it's interesting.")
  

    
Interestingness is good.
  

    

4/10/83:

Esau, he's in real estate today
And he gets around, [night?] side of town
Down around LA