Dead Songs in Depth

    
Stagger Lee
w: Hunter m: Garcia
AGDL: http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/stagger.html
LASF: http://www.whitegum.com/songfile/STAGGERL.HTM
  

    
Stagger Lee 
Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission.

Nineteen forty, Xmas eve, with the full moon over town
Stagger Lee shot Billy DeLyon and he blew that poor boy down
Do you know what he shot him for, what do you make of that
'Cause Billy DeLyon threw lucky dice, won Stagger Lee's stetson hat

Baio, Baio, tell me how can this be
You go arrest the girls for turning tricks but you're scared of
Stagger Lee
Stagger Lee is a mad man, and he shot my Billy dead
Baio go get him, or give the job to me

Delia, Delia, dear sweet Delia D
How the hell can I arrest him, when he's twice as big as me
Well don't ask me to go downtown, I wouldn't come back alive
Not only is that mother big, he packs a forty five

Baio, Delia said, just give me a gun
He shot my Billy dead and now I'm gonna see him hung
She waded to DeLyon's club through Billy DeLyon's blood
Stepped up to Stagger Lee at the bar, said buy me a gin fizz love

As Stagger Lee lit a cigarette, she shot him in the balls
Blew the smoke of her revolver, had him dragged to City Hall
Baio, Baio, see you hang him high
He shot my Billy dead and now he's got to die

Delia went a-walking down on Singapore Street
Three piece band on the corner played 'nearer my God to thee'
But Delia whistled a different tune, what tune could it be
The song that woman sang was look out Stagger Lee
The song that Delia sang was look out Stagger Lee
  

    
This may have been noted elsewhere, but Eugene Baran has just
pointed out to me that Xmas Eve in 1940 was not a full moon.

https://www.calendar-12.com/moon_calendar/1940/december
  

    
!
  

    
Hunter didn't do sufficient research :-)
  

    
!!
  

    
Here we go again, copy-editing poetry!!

 :^)
  

    

I am literally LOL over here. Thanks for  posting, Alex!
  

    
It depends on what is full
  

    
Not really, I opine.
  

    

“When I use a word,’ Humpty Dumpty said in rather a scornful tone,
‘it means just what I choose it to mean — neither more nor less.’

’The question is,’ said Alice, ‘whether you can make words mean so
many different things.’

’The question is,’ said Humpty Dumpty, ‘which is to be master —
that’s all.”