Dead Songs in Depth

    

We need a topic for notes and queries!
  

    


On the Roseanne Show several years ago when she gave birth to the youngest
child, Jerry Garcia was featured. Roseanne was in short of a dream-like state
and Jerry Garcia came to her and said, "What we need is magic and bliss, myth
and celebration. ...... We need spiritual connection to each other." (May not
have words exactly.) Then there was music as dancers danced around Roseanne
in the delivery room.

Questions:
What was the music? Was it a Grateful Dead song? If so, what was the name of
the song.
Were the words Jerry Garcia spoke to Roseanne part of the lyrics of a
Grateful Dead song? If so, what is the name of the song.

Thanks for any help or insight.
   _  *
(0/)
 /_ Blessings ALL-Ways,

Teresa

Teresa LaVoy
www.LabyrinthsinNC.com
  

    
The song was Sisters & Brothers, from the live JGB album.  I do not
believe the words Jerry said to her in her dream were lyrics from a
song.
  

    
Thanks, Tim!
  

    






Todd Hines writes:



    Just a bolt from the blue to see if anyone else noticed or has thoughts
about the subtle connections in alot of Hunter's lyrics, mostly from the
70's. I was a teen-age tourhead (sounds like a great monster movie,eh?) from
about '79 to '87, and kind of slipped away when I saw "Deadheads for Bush"
(Papa Doc that is) bumperstickers and a lot of frat types on summer tour in
'87. Anyway, saw many shows, had much fun, but one way we would while away
the hours between towns was to try to decipher
what exactly Hunter was writing about, aside from rich,literate,emotional
slices of consciousness (and sub-consciousness and gruop mind and...oh,you
know what I mean.) Our little band of freaks, many of whom stayed in college
WAAY too long, began to notice some references that kept cropping up--
Fennario, the Soldier and the Sailor, Billy DeLyon, the Lion's (Lyon's?)
Den,and others that I'm hard pressed to remember now, as its been ten or
fifteen years since we originally tried to trace all this down. One of my
buddies at the time mentioned he had heard there was a cycle of very old
Appalachian folktales that Hunter might be drawing on for inspiration...you
know, to light the song with sense and color. We were all deeply into the
lyrics, not that the music was EVER weak, but we actually tried to start
charting this path to see if the was a sort of larger, unifiying song-cycle,
since Hunter has written larger pieces before. Life intruded, and we never
did get thoroughly figured up, if there was anything there to connect anyway
(the harder you look the less you see!) Having moved to SF last year,
finally, I've found myself thinkin' more about my deadhead years, and you
know it never leaves you. So I'd be interested to hear if anyone else has
thoughts or knowledge on this, and I suppose the thing to do would be to ask
the man who wrote the words, but I got no idea how to contact him or if he'd
care to talk about his influences. If you know, I am--

   Todd Hines
   diablotico13@yahoo.com
  

    
I was supremely intrigued by the same aspects, Todd, and from the same
era.  Our favorite tunes were usually Hunter penned.

Images evoked are archetypal, yet somehow deeply rooted in American
past, I always thought they should be considered the quintessential
American band.  (aside, did you know that the Steal your Face logo, in
red white and blue, the lightning bolt has 13 points.  Wave that flag!)
 

Your Appalachian folktale theory is plausable.  If it's the case,
where did THEY come from?

Sadly, many of these images are rapidly fading; besides books, the GD
music was the only way they were staying alive for me.
  

    
Aren't much of these folk songs collected on the Alan Lomx (sp?) field
recordings?

I recall some references that said Garcia and Hunter knew those discs.
They were the rage during that folk exlposion and likely the source.
  

    
The Lomax recordings and the Harry Smith Anthology.
  

    
That's it. I was so tired when I tried to respond. I loved those
stories of people like Garcia carrying around the four albums from that
box set. And I recall Dylan tales where he supposedly nicked the set
from other folkies.
  

    







Hello!

I have enjoyed browsing your site. 

I heard the tail end of a lovely song on a NPR station in Gainesville Florida
while driving home one night.  The dj said that the song was "poetry by Lesh
and Hart" and was titled "Water of Tears and Rain" from 1971, and then
mentioned the American Beauty album.  I wrote it down as he spoke.  Well, I
have checked the album, as well as google, and cannot find anything of this
title for this year.  Can you help me?  The song really touched me and
resonated in my mind and I would like to find it.

Thank you for your assistance!

Barbra
  

    
It sounds like "Box of Rain," with words by Robert Hunter (not Hart) and
music by Lesh. It's on American Beauty, and is, indeed, a lovely song that
mentions wind and water...