Grateful Dead

Dark Star, Ripple, The Wheel, Ship of Fools, Truckin Thank you Robert Hunter! and The Other One Do I contradict myself? Very well then I contradict myself, (I am large, I contain multitudes.) Walt Whitman-Song of Myself

simple yet outragously elegant: "Without love in the dream, It will never come true....." “The Omnipotent Grateful Dead!”

I'm 44 and my oldest kid is 17. In my mind, I still feel 17 (a mature 17, be it). Now I just have to convince my body of the same as I sit here with my swollen foot propped up on my desk. Life is too short, don't ever just sit back and watch it go by. We all get old before we know it. So far, its been a nice dream.

"Once in a while, you can get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right..." Life is full of shiny little objects - you need to be looking for them to find them. An open mind will always find the way....

....come to me and laid on me this drug! It rainbowed fire around and 'round, then trembled and explode! The Bus came by and I got on, that's when it all began. There was Cowboy Neil at the wheel of a bus to never never land. Goin' around, goin' in circles....... Anthem of the Sun and the night I heard it, will be forever etched in my mind. I still get chills thinking about those moments, in the back seat of my cousin's '68 Camero doing Acapulco Gold bong hits out of his Tokemaster. It's pretty much been the 4th of July ever since, for me, in more than one way.

...shall we go, you and I while we can...A broken angel sings from a guitar...I will not forgive you if you will not take the chance....the storyteller makes no choice, soon you will not hear his voice,his job is to shed light, not to master...and when you hear that song, come cryin' up the night, it seems like all this life was just a dream...when its done and over,a man is just a man...if the thunder don't get you, then the lightning will...be loose with the truth, baby it's you're fire,honey I hope you don't get burned...ladyfinger, dipped in moonlight,writing 'what for' across the morning sky...the bus came by and I got on, that's when it all began, there was cowboy Neal at the wheel of a bus to never neverland...Well, that kinda skims the surface for me!

"Making it too, without love in the dream, it will never come true" "Life may be sweeter for this, I don't know, See how it feels in the end, May Lady Lullaby sing plainly for you, Soft, strong, sweet and true" AND "The people might know, but the people don't care, That a man can be as poor as me. Take a look at poor Peter, he's lying in pain, Now let's come run and see, run and see" This last one always made me think about how important it is to hang with family and friends always. Have a grateful day....all :)

Bye and bye again the morning sun will riseBut the darkness never goes from some men's eyes Wake now discover that you are the song that the morning brings But the heart has its seasons, its evenings and songs of its own ~KRISSY~

well, if I had to choose one lyric from one song: "Hoot owl hoots" ( -; cracking wise again... too many grate lyrics to choose, the cool thing about dead lyrics, especially written by Hunter, they fit almost any mood you could possibly be in at any given time in any different emotional situation. and this set of words, kind of sums up my feelings about lyrics better than I can in words: "Sometimes we live no particular way but our own And sometimes we visit your country and live in your home Sometimes we ride on your horses, sometimes we walk alone Sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own" especially the last line, that "sometimes the songs we hear are just songs of our own" this is the wonderful gift that Hunter gave us. songs for everyone, yet at the same time, songs for each of us. (does that make any sense?) thank you rh.

"...see here how everything lead up to this day." A life's philosophy in nine little words.

For me, I remember sitting up late one night as a teenager with a friend of mine (watching tracers and the shapes of smoke). We were listening to some radio and then popped a tape in that I had of American Beauty. Untill this point I wasn't sold on the Dead but, the lyrics to Ripple came around and I listened close. When Jerry sang "Let there be songs to fill the air" it all made sense, my moment of Zen. Thank God I remembered the next day.

Hey Tracie - Either your posted song tittles was coincidence or you said God Bless Albertson Deeprun Pink Hill which is what most of the begining letters of your song tilttles spelt. Is this sort of a Bertha>Greatest>Promised i.e. BGP type of thing or Im I reading inbetween the lines?

Like Soul Change said - see here how everything leads up to this day - I already heard John Lennon say 'nowhere you can be but where you're meant to be' and this clinched it for me - I was in the right place - everything was cool - big relief after ten years shite at school

i have found that there is almost a dead song for every situation you may find yourself in. lots of songs about card games, judges and jail, hope-ESPECIALLY HOPE, and if you really think about it, you can apply certain songs to certain instances. go on give it a try nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

don't waste your breath to save your face when you have done your best. when even more is asked of you, fate will decide the rest.just want the cup but chicken to race work hard in the daytime...sure get stoned at night!

With nothing to believe in, the compass always points to Terrapin.

The wheel is turning and you can't slow down,You can't let go and you can't hold on, You can't go back and you can't stand still, If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will. Won't you try just a little bit harder, Couldn't you try just a little bit more? Won't you try just a little bit harder, Couldn't you try just a little bit more? Round, round robin run round, got to get back to where you belong, Little bit harder, just a little bit more, A little bit further than you gone before. Small wheel turn by the fire and rod, Big wheel turn by the grace of God, Every time that wheel turn 'round, Bound to cover just a little more ground. Seems to sum up my life for me pretty darn perfectly

that is one of may top few tunes. it does say it all nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile

It does indeed, Gypsy Soul! Gives me chills every time I hear it. BIG SMILE!!!

I see all of South East Asia; I can see El SalvadorI hear the cries of children and the other songs of war It's like a mighty melody that rings down from the sky Standing here upon the moon I watch it all roll by... I like the perspective he sees regarding all of the chaos and war we are wrapped up in down here, and the bigger, or "whole" picture is seen from a higher point of view.

Brents words, dreary as they are, still are some of my favs. Few though they, far from me syas so much, as sad songs do

"Ma..a.ma Mama many world's I've come....."

The Marines may be why I changed lanes as far as thinking and making decisions and to where I've come and maintain direction..., but the lyrics either helped describe me or formed a path... From Terrapin... Strategy was his strength, not disaster... Eyes of the World (me being open minded on some conspiracies!) Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world. (Is there someone in control beyond our Govt? Beyond UN?) If I had the World to Give -- My wedding song. A dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago... ________________________ www.autoquoteresearch.com

My wedding song is If I Had The World to Give also.And my life changing song is Eyes of the World too After my sister passed,I feel she is the eyes of the world now :) Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world, The heart has its beaches, its homeland and thoughts of its own. Wake now, discover that you are the song that the mornin brings, But the heart has its seasons, its evenins and songs of its own.

Now what's to be found, racing aroundYou carry your pain wherever you go Full of the blues, and trying to lose You ain't gonna learn, what you don't want to know So I give you my eyes, and all of their lies Please help them to learn as well as to see And capture a glance, whoa and make it a dance Of looking at you looking at me black throated wind keeps on pouring in With its words of a life that could almost be true Ah, Mother American Night, here comes the light I'm turning around that's what I'm going to do Going back home that's what I'm gonna do There are several for me, but this one just gets me. When Bob burns it up in the end, man it give me chills. It seems I fall into these words, like I need a moment of silence afterwards. PEACE

Awesome iknowurider. How bizzare gratefulmom! Otstanding music and lyrics in that song... At the wedding, everyone just laughed and said that must be one of those Grateful Dead songs they like to listen to. I'm sure no one knew it besides me and my wife! A dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago... ________________________ www.autoquoteresearch.com

The poetry and cadence have always been mesmerizing and we all know of a few shows where it seemed to speed up time to a dead stop that seemed like it was repeatedly approaching knowingly again spinning around. Bob split the night in Boston on one of those hot nights in the late 70's garden with "Flight of the seabirds, scattered like lost words Wheel to the storm and fly." Nothing has ever been the same since! Lyrics by John Perry Barlow Cassidy With Bob Weir Recorded on Ace (Warner Brothers, 1972) Cora, Wyoming February, 1972 I have seen where the wolf has slept by the silver stream. I can tell by the mark he left you were in his dream. Ah, child of countless trees. Ah, child of boundless seas. What you are, what you're meant to be Speaks his name, though you were born to me, Born to me, Cassidy... Lost now on the country miles in his Cadillac. I can tell by the way you smile he's rolling back. Come wash the nighttime clean, Come grow this scorched ground green, Blow the horn, tap the tambourine Close the gap of the dark years in between You and me, Cassidy... Quick beats in an icy heart. Catch-colt draws a coffin cart. There he goes now, here she starts: Hear her cry. Flight of the seabirds, scattered like lost words Wheel to the storm and fly. Faring thee well now. Let your life proceed by its own design. Nothing to tell now. Let the words be yours, I'm done with mine. (Repeat)

Sometimes the lights are shining on me, other times I can barely see. Lately it ocurs to me, what a long strange trip it's been. My wife had the dj play this song when they introduced our wedding party, SO COOL!!!! Thanks Honey

That wife of yours sure sounds like a lovely Lady! For those of us who's spouses could do without the Dead, Feel Blessed! PEACE

She's a special lady!! Hasn't taken to the Dead, though she lets me indulge myself.

I feel like music today has less meaning then in the 1960's and 70's. Being a child of the 80's (late 80's at that) I suppose I have no idea what the true meanings of these musics, but Im pretty intellegent and my ideas seem right on. Im doing a research paper on The Grateful Dead, and one of the questions Im asking myself is how they influenced people then and now. Any ideas or comments are welcome. I'd really appreciate any feedback! -New "Dead Head"

Well ,, I was always a very angry kid , born in the 60`s, life was tough,.. My dad got me my first radio and told me to keep it on AM only, asked why am sounds better well ok , so i just had toexplore the FM world, i started to here things that just made me smile, that`s the end of AM.. When i was a young teen i started hearing about this band called the Grateful Dead , i thought wow thats sound interesting.. I had to know more .. now i can`t remember my first show, but man it just blew me away !! All these people smiling and dancing and just having fun .. wow this is what i need, a reason to smile, a home sort of speak,. People that understood me .. so i just kept going to every show i could , even if i had no ticket it did`nt matter ,, the Dead and all the Dead heads showed me that there is more to life than meets the eye,.The peace i was seeking,,..what a beutiful thing to have like 50 thousand people all getting along with each other all happy, how freakin amazing !! The music truley changed my life i was`nt angry like i was , all i had to do when having a bad day was to turn on the Dead and everything got better... many years later and soo many shows later , the peace was still there within me ... I took Brent mydland`s death pretty hard but had to keep on truckin,, saw some wonderfull shows with Bruce hormsbey on his baby grand piano , Clearence Clenons on that sweet sax ,,,.. I was now driving tractor trailers coast to coast, the music was (and still is) the only thing that kept my rage down... But when Jerry passed , life sudonley went totally crazy .. NO more Dead what !!,, I took that really bad ,, like loosing a familly member,, my uncle Jerry,,.. I went on a way too long drinking bindge spent some time in the dark places ,, sold my new car and travled the country on my motorcycle,, until finally stoping in FL. .. Ok i guise i`ll try to call this home ,, got no place else to go and out of money,,...By this time i had all but forgotten the music and i was compleatley misserable again,, back to the bottle !! my old freind,, so i though,...My familly kept sending me Dead stuff for birthday`s and christmas, but it all went into boxes,, Then one day my mother gave me this computer and i found this web site .. wow this is cool ,, and now i am married mostley happy, have a wonderfull familly of cats and dogs ..The music had made it`s way back to me somehow ,..I thought it would never happen but it did ..My blood presure had since decreased, i no longer drink to get drunk, it takes me a week to finish a six pack now ,, (WOW)... and every day i listen to the Deads music to start my stressfull days,, and all in the world seems Great .. as long has i have the music i have my sanity, .. If not for the music i would have been dead a long time ago,.. The music just makes me smile !! And my wife who is not as big of Dead head as me ,she loves the music as well .. Exspecially in the mornings as she sleeps longer then i do ,, by the time she gets up i am already happy and damm glad to see her .. And that alone makes her day`s easier , and also helps with her recovery from a recent major surgery.. life can be very stressfull and the music helps in all aspects of our lives it keeps us smilling helps keep that stress level down.. without the Dead i don`t think i would be here.. the Dead has kept me alive !! OK now everyone here knows a little more abt. me .. Hope this helps you with your paper ...

"if you plant ice you're gonna harvest wind" "I know this song it ain't never gonna end" "If I knew the way I would take you home" i'll be back with some more some day... (me)

...called The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan and i was 13 years old. that started the wheels in motion that music could be more than "love me do". then a book written by some guy named kerouac took me even further. to name dead lyrics that changed my life--well, it depends on the time and situation. i dont think the lyrics change my life but give me clarity and allow me to deal with situations--but it still all goes back to Dylan (who has no equal) and what that one album did for my 13 year old head.

How many of us were moved by these three entities to question the whole thing and find a life with another path. If the doors of perception were cleansed, everything would appear to man as it is, infinite. William Blake

Good morning little schoolgirl as sung by the Dead.....that really did the trick for me for many various reasons!! :)....the rest is GD history! :) "May your dogs be with you"

I have many favorites, but have found every song has a thread of lyrics that rings true to me and the moment or mood... every one. some are more meaningful... Inspiration! One man gathers... Sometimes the songs that we hear... Ami

but you might listen to one song and be ABSOLUTELY sure that the words are written only for you.no doubt,you heard it.but than, years later you come upon the original lyrics and its about somebody else..hehe,yeah Ami Sometimes the songs....:-)(-:

Was always one of mine and my sister Patty's favorites...we would dance and twirl and sing along. But after my sister passed away the song has a whole different meaning for me. Now my sister is the Eyes of the world looking down on me :) I cry now when I hear the song, but it's happy tears thinking about me and my sister :) Peace Patty I miss u

chicken flesh and goosebumps, mom. thanks for sharing that personal thing; and glad that those tears are now happy. I do not know if this was a recent passing or what since I've been away and trying to catch up a bit. but anyways, may the four winds blow Patty safely home; though something tells me, she IS safely home in your heart. love and peace.

There's an inescapable sage wisdom in the words "the shoe is on the hand it fits, there's really nothing much to it, whistle through your teeth and spit, cause it's alright, oh well a touch of grey kinda suits you anyway, that was all I had to say and it's alight." Having passed the half century mark in November of 2007, I can see Robert Hunters insightful wisdom - sometimes you just have to "whistle through your teeth and spit" simply because there's nothing else you can do but flail aimlessly at the wind about your personal situation. If I'd known the turns that life would take, I certainly would have drank more deeply of the vintage offered when I enjoyed the folly of youth with the careless disregard of someone who assumed things would never change.

Broken heart don't feel so badYou ain't got half of what you thought you had and We can share the women, we can share the wine. We can share what we got of yours 'cause we done shared all of mine. First one makes me cry a bit and the second makes me laugh a lot. OMG, there are SO many great lyrics!

'm hairy high and lowDon't ask me why Don't know It's not for lack of break Like the Grateful Dead........ can u guess what they r?

i have to add that all the lyrics have really changed my life. In fact, i am wriiting a novel based on the lyrics. I am not going to unveal too much about the story, but my character dozes off into the Land of the Dead and the songs come to life...i have like 80% of the story line written out..still some bugs to work out......i have been Chipping off rocks for the grate highway!!! lots of repeat motifs in it that u hear in the dead's music that are just freakin awesome!! this is one amazing band that has given me the inspiration to do this....definately changed my life. i really think Jerry will be proud of my story.... Peace..and God bless! hippyjameZ

I thought it was "fields of fragile thunder" ...........DOUH..........anyway......The life changing part........Midnight....on a carousel ride.....reaching for the gold ring.....down inside. Never could reach it.......just slipped away......But I try Gone are the days we stopped to decide........where we should go......we just ride.