Grateful Dead

Mr. Hunter. You deserve it! "But I'll get back on my feet someday The good lord willing, if he says I may I know that the life I'm living's no good I'll get a new start, live the life I should I'll get up and fly away I'll get up and fly away"

Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.

Its really hard to separate the lyrics from song...so, its basically like picking your favorite song. One of my favorites is the bridge in Hes Gone. Hes going where the wind don't blow so strange...

I always was partial to: "Standing on the moon, with nothing else to do, a lovely view of Heaven, But I'd rather be with you". Congratulations, Hunter. See you in Beantown.

...it was only a matter of time. Ripple>Brokedown Palace These two songs turn me into a gooey mess. My favorite Hunter lyrics for sure.

Congrats, rh. This kind of recognition is long overdue.

lost my boots in transit babe, pile of smoking leathernailed a retread to my feet and prayed for better weather

Goin' where the wind don't blow so strange.

There is a road, no simple highway, between the dawn and the dark of man, and if you go, noone may follow, that path is for your steps alone. Oh these lyrics hit the soundboard of my heart

Well deserve, Hunter! My favorite lyric at this very moment: William Tell has stretched his bow 'Till it won't stretch no furthermore And/or it may require a change That hasn't come before... Thanks for the lyrics to all of the changes that had never come before. And together, thanks to you and Jerry for the songs.

Mr. Hunter's lyrics rival those of Leonard Cohen and Bob Dylan. He is the William Blake of our generation. Thank you for letting us into those conversations with the Muse, Mr. Hunter.

Top Ten in no special order If you get confused, listen to the music play. Without love in the dream it'll never come true. It's all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago. Hey now momma come on and take my hand, whole lotta shakin' all over this land.

for the beautiful, beautiful words. You've been deserving of this recognition for years. It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken perhaps they're better left unsung I don't know, don't really care let there be songs to fill the air ........my designated funeral song

Robert Hunter -- what can one say? He is the incredibly intelligent, prolific creator of lyrics interwoven with historical and literary references, a poet (the chorus of "Ripple" is a haiku.) No other lyricist can hold a candle to him. Favorite lyrics? They are all so unique & wonderful. If I had to choose I'd say "Attics of My Life" in its entirety. Just breathtaking.

I lost my boots in transit babeA pile of smoking leather Nailed a retread to my feet and prayed for better weather! and... Goin to plant a weeping willow On the banks green edge it will grow grow grow Sing a lullaby beside the water Lovers come and go - the river roll roll roll Fare you well, fare you well I love you more than words can tell Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul

Congratulations and well deserved Robert! My deepest gratitude and thanks to you and JP Barlow for writing the soundtrack to my life, as I've journeyed through it from teen to senior with your lyrics always in the forefront these past 46+ yrs. Your words have guided me through joy, sorrow, life, death, elation and depression. As I now face my senior years, "Ripple" and "Box Of Rain" speak to me about impending death, my life, my triumphs and failures and these songs give me comfort and guidance as I face the eventual conclusion of my life. Yes, Robert I have always heard your voice come through the music and have always held it near as it were my own. "Ripple" and "Box of Rain" turn me to mush every time. It's so touching that NRPS now sing "Ripple" as their frequent encore, which I never get enough of. The final lines in "Box Of Rain" and "Ripple" forever haunt me. But, it is "Box Of Rain" that always has this pronounced volume, ethereal echo & reverb as I hear: "such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there" Spooky shit. These were the final words sung by the Grateful Dead at their last concert & I can never forget that each time I hear the song. For me it summed up the past 30 years following the band. But now, I see these words applicable to my own life & death and where I fit into the scheme of things on this planet. Perhaps these were some of the same thoughts, emotions and feelings Phil experienced contributing his efforts to this masterpiece as his father lay dying. Thank you for always having an answer for me Robert, when others in this world and myself haven't...

Don't lend your hand to raise no flag atop no ship of fools. Meet and greet with the man 9-28-13. SMILE. SMILE. SMILE.

Gave the best we had to giveHow much we'll never know We'll never know Goosebumps each and every time I hear this song. A final masterpiece from Jerry and Hunter.

my hero!!!! let there be songs to fill the air.....

Thanks to Deb Trist (of Dead Air Radio With Downtown Deb in Eugene)for passing this along. Robert Hunter's acceptance speech from the Americana Music Awards: In this digital world, where songwriter credits have largely disappeared along with royalties, I accept this award in the name of those who labor in anonymity in the song mines, hoping against hope for the hit that so rarely comes. The one that pays the rent and feeds the kids, if actual recognition is hardly to be expected. I accept it in the name of those who persue this uncertain occupation for the sake of the song itself. As Ray Bradbury wrote: "Love what you do and do what you love. Don’t listen to anyone else who tells you not to do it. You do what you want, what you love. Imagination should be the center of your life."

So happy to hear that Robert Hunter received the peer recognition he so richly deserves...our community's collective recognition of his genius is long-standing and lovingly felt...there is no way in hell I could ever pick any favorite lyrics over any other of his lyrics...although, previous commenters have picked some good ones...I find that I use fragments of Hunter's lyrics in daily conversations at work with non-Deadheads...that is how deep Robert's lyrics have been embedded in my psyche...Robert, thank you for your body of work that has definitely enriched my life

You are the man. Thank you for all the great lyrics over the years. Lyrics are powerful. I don't listen to Days Between much, not because I don't like the song, but because of the lyrical power. "Summer flies, and August dies, and the world grows dark and mean..." "When phantom ships, with phantom sails, set to sea on phantom tides" (hope those are accurate) getting misty just writing those and all the other awesome lyrics

Ten years ago I walked this street, my dreams were riding tallTonight I would be thankful Lord, for any dreams at all Some folks would be happy just to have one dream come true But everything you gather is just more that you can lose

"everything you gather is just more that you can lose" Yes. you cite some great lyrics. Very Tao.

the wonderful thing about lyrics is that they can be so damn personal. this one is very special to my wife and me. for a few years i did a lot of commuting... "get back home where you belong, and don't you run off no more..."

Much congradulations and well deserved Mr. Hunter. Alot can be said for the emotions evoked by the rock solid lyrics Robert has treated us to over the years. I feel extremely grateful to have enjoyed his writings over the last 20yrs or so. A million thanks Mr. Robert Hunter. There are many grate lyrics to say I have one favorite would be a huge injustice. One that has long been one of my favorites. Comes a time when the blind man takes your hand Says "don't you see?" Gotta make it somehow On the dreams you still believe Don't give it up You got an empty cup Only love can fill Only love can fill Been walking all morning Went walking all night I can't see much difference Between the dark and light And I feel the wind And I taste the rain Never in my mind To cause so much pain From day to day Just letting it ride You get so far away From how it feels inside You can't let go 'Cause you're afraid to fall But the day may come When you can't feel at all just couldnt choose a sentence or two heavy lyrics life altering words to say the least !

"There are times when you offend me And I do the same to you If we can't or won't forget it I guess we could be through"

There are things you can replace, and others you cannot.The time has come to weigh those things. This space is getting hot, you know this space is getting hot.

I don't know now, I just don't knowIf I'm goin' back again

Gone are the days when we stopped to decide Where we should go We just ride

RH, I first heard you perform solo, (and with your own material) at the Bottom Line in NYC's Greenwich Village, about 30 years ago. It was a mind-blowing experience for me at that time because suddenly it became so confusingly strange to be hearing the deeply-known vocals of Jerry's Dead songs coming out of an unfamiliar, singer's voice who had nothing more than an acoustic guitar pulling it all together. I really didn't know how to process this scene. I dwelled upon it for a long while. But, a couple of weeks later at the next Dead show following, it finally all made sense to me, it became chrystal clear, and then I understood: It was you who was the actual, true master voice, the #1, of the lyric, and it was you who with your good graces shared all of your immense talent with Jerry, who then became our lyrical messenger, in prime position to reach out over all of the airwaves and stages to all of the eagerly awaiting hearts and souls and ears of the tribes of grateful Deadheads. I believe (and you know that I fully believe it) that if it were not for you,.... Most humbly and most gratefully yours, hDh

with a few thousand people singing "Inspiration, move me brightly" at the top of their lungs, I thought, dude, you did this.

All Robert Hunter's lyrics are inspirational. But taking a lesser known song, for lyricism and onomatopoeia, how about:The wind inside and the wind outside Tangle in the window-blind from So Many Roads? There are so many moments like that in Robert Hunter's words. Robert's unique.

One good pal is worth a crowd of folksThat don't cry at your bummers or laugh at your jokes

I've had my DNA permanently altered by Hunter's lyrics, and picking a favorite is sort of difficult. But this just popped into my head as a result of some conversation in the concert-tour thread, as a classic example of the way he absolutely nails something. ...do Lord deliver our kind From singing for whisky, three strings on the fiddle, Four on the guitar, a song that I love. Like a lot of Hunter, that's awfully deep for being so apparently casual. All else aside, it's a pretty good metaphor for a lot of jobs...

Thank you, Great American Bard, for all of your carefully placed words that flow so effortlessly, yet remain indelible. I can't pinpoint a favorite lyric, but would have to list a Top 20. But since I'm at work right now, it would be this: "It's a lot less than prison but it's more than a jail I'd tell you all about it But that's another tale"

What impresses me the most is the depth of some of the lyrics Hunter wrote, at a very young age. Here's a good example, and one of my favorite lines, from one of my favorite songs... "You told me goodbye. How was I to know, you didn't mean goodbye; you meant please don't let me go."

Late last night while laying in bed found the answer to all my ills a great big tree growing green and free full of $10,000 bill$, well I went downtown to buy some wheels I bought every car in town, I bought all the gas and all the oil so we all could drive around ,I bought the big department store and everything inside ,you could back up your truck and fill it up the doors are open wide It was company policy we did it all the time, I bought the park and I hired a band to play every day for free I bought the bars and trolley cars , And the telephone company, you could call all day and say how's it gone and never have to pay send telegrams to your wife and friends saying you don't have to work today But after a while I got so bored I just gave the whole thing back all I kept was a bar and Grill by the northbound railroad track, You can fall by here anytime of the night or anytime of day the 2nd cup of coffee three but the first one, you got to pay. Jack O'Roses /. Robert Hunter