Dead Songs in Depth

    
Deal
w: Hunter m: Garcia
AGDL: http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/deal.html
LASF: http://www.whitegum.com/songfile/DEAL.HTM
  

    
Deal 
Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission.

Since it costs a lot to win
And even more to lose
You and me bound to spend some time
Wondering what to choose

Chorus
Goes to show, you don't ever know
Watch each card you pay and pay it slow
Wait until that deal come round
Don't you let that deal go down, no, no

I've been gambling here abouts
For ten good solid years
If I told you all that went down
It would burn off both your ears

[chorus]

Since you poured the wine for me
And tightened up my shoes
I hate to see you sitting there
Composing lonesome blues

[chorus]
Wait until that deal come round
Don't you let that deal go down
  

    
Couple of small corrections. I believe the chorus should be:

"Watch each card you play and play it slow", rather than

"Watch each card you pay and pay it slow"

and the last verse should be

"Hate to leave you sitting there"

rather than

"Hate to see you sitting there"

"Deal" is a gem of a song which, like "Lazy River Road" and
"Cumberland Blues", seems like it might have been written seventy years
ago.

The verse has a jazz / blues feel but the chorus is much more rock 'n'
roll, demonstrating the wide span of the Grateful Dead's musical
interests in one tune. Another key song in building up the Grateful
Dean canon, "Deal" revels in contradiction and ambiguous choices.

I regard it as an excellent illustration of the relationship between
good song lyrics and good poetry.

Happy Trails
  

    
Posted on behalf of Rob McSweeney:

Deadheads and folklorists, Hello From Seattle.

I heard a possible source for the phrase "Don't you let that deal go
down" a while back on NPR.  David Dodd sources a folk song with that
title in his excellent Annotated Lyrics book, but this may predate or
at least parallel that source.  The NPR report was about Zora Neale
Hurston's work for the WPA recording in Florida.  Go to Florida
Folklife from the WPA Collections.  It is a multiformat ethnographic
field collection.  Type "deal go down" in the search box and you will
get goose bumps. 

[note from ddodd: http://hdl.loc.gov/loc.afc/afcflwpa.3137b2]

Rob McSweeny RN

Seattle WA

Bio: I play in a Dead cover band called Cheaper Than Therapy.  No
gigs, no money, just fun.