The Dead played this once, on 11 June 1969 at a concert billed as Bobby Ace and the Cards from the Bottom of the Deck. The song was originally performed by the Carter Family, but it seems most likely that the Dead learnt it from the New Lost City Ramblers' version. There is no known tape of the Dead's performance in circulation, so the lyrics below come from other versions.
Lyrics By
Sara Carter
Music By
Sara Carter
Lyrics
Railroading on the Great Divide
Nothing around me but the Rockies and sky
It's there you'll find me as the years roll by
Railroading on the Great Divide
In 1916 I left my old home
[Alternative In 1914 I started to roam]
Went out into the West with nothing of my own
[Alternative Out through Wyoming, no money, no home]
I went drifting along with the tide
And landed on the Great Divide
Ask any old timer in old Cheyenne
Wyoming railroading's the best in the land
A long steel rail and a short cross tie
Laid across the Great Divide
As I look out across the fields
Number 3's a-coming, the fastest on wheels
Through old Laramie she glides with pride
And rolls across the Great Divide