Dead Songs in Depth

    
The Only Time Is Now
w&m: Grateful Dead
LASF: http://www.whitegum.com/songfile/ONLYTIME.HTM
  

    
The Only Time Is Now 
Lyrics: Jerry Garcia
Music: Grateful Dead

Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission.

Oh I know there is no place you can go to 
And I know you don't know anyone at all 
So come walking in the sun with me my little one 
And remember that the only time is now 

Well strange is the story your eyes tell me 
And quiet all the few words that you say 
So come and hold my hand for you see I'd understand 
And remember that the only time is now 

Oh I come to you a ragged laughing stranger
And you come to me an angel of the night
So I'll dance and we will sing, for it doesn't mean a thing 
To remember that the only time is now 

So forget about your yesterdays of sorrow 
And forget about the darkness you have seen 
For there's only you and me at the edge of an endless sea 
And remember that the only time is now 
  

    
Posted on behalf of Steve Finney:

Hi David; thanks for the wonderful resource which is the annotated GD
lyrics. I know it's not being updated, but I'm pretty sure there's two
words which are subtly off in the posted transcription of the 1965
song "The only time is now". "Angel of the night" in the 3rd lyric
seems as if it should be "angel of thine eye"...if you listen closely
around 1:26, there's no trailing 't' for "night",  and the vowel
following "th" is a long i (as in "thy"). The vowel in  "the" would be
reduced to "uh", or in formal speech pronounced like "thee", but never
as "aye".

I've listened to it slowed down, and isolating the left vocal track,
and I don't see any alternative. I assume it's a play on "angel of my
eye." 

If you were to listen and agree, is there any place for me to post a
correction?

It is *such* a lovely song (both musically and lyrically). I had it on
a bootleg LP in the early 80's, and have been listening to it
constantly the last few days.

(BTW, I actually show up in the Annotated GD lyrics already; I'm the
Steve Finney in the exchange about "Hell in a Bucket").
  

    
And a follow-up from Steve:

I think there may be one more small correction for that song:
"I'll dance and we will sing" -> "All dance and we will sing". It make
more sense (you (the audience) dance while we (the band) sing), but I
need to listen more closely to hear whether or not there's the
diphthong that would occur in "I'll". Fortunately, the recording has
all the vocals on the left (or maybe it's the right, but it's totally
separate from the instruments).
  

    
Keep digging Steve! 
  

    
DAVE PARKER wrote the lyrics for "The Only Time Is Now." New info via
<tnf>, according to David Nelson. Wow!
  

    
Yes.  I interviewed Nelson yesterday for a book project.  David says Parker
wrote two lyrics; I'm going to try to find Parker and learn what the other
one was.
  

    
Great research!!!