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Lady
With A Fan
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Let my inspiration flow
in token rhyme suggesting rhythm
that will not forsake me
till my tale is told and done
While the firelight's aglow
strange shadows in the flames will grow
till things we've never seen
will seem familiar
Shadows of a sailor forming
winds both foul and fair all swarm
Down in Carlisle he loved a lady
many years ago
Here beside him stands a man
a soldier from the looks of him
who came through many fights
but lost at love
While the storyteller speaks
a door within the fire creaks
suddenly flies open
and a girl is standing there
Eyes alight with glowing hair
all that fancy paints as fair
she takes her fan and throws it
in the lion's den |
"Which of you to gain me, tell
will risk uncertain pains of Hell?
I will not forgive you
if you will not take the chance."
The sailor gave at least a try
the soldier being much too wise
strategy was his strength
and not disaster
The sailor coming out again
the lady fairly lept at him
That's how it stands today
you decide if he was wise
The storyteller makes no choice
Soon you will not hear his voice
His job is to shed light
and not to master
Since the end is never told
we pay the teller off in gold
in hopes he will come back
but he can not be bought or sold
|
|
Terrapin
Station
|
Inspiration move me brightly
light the song with sense and color
hold away despair
More than this I will not ask
faced with mystery's dark and vast
statements just seem vain at last
some rise, some fall, some climb
to get to Terrapin
Counting stars by candelight
all are dim but one is bright:
the spiral light of Venus
rising first and shining best
From the northwest corner
of a brand-new crescent moon
crickets and cicadas sing
a rare and different tune: |
Terrapin Station
in the shadow of the moon:
Terrapin Station
and I know we'll be there soon
Terrapin -- I can't figure out
Terrapin -- if it's the end or beginning
Terrapin -- but the train's got its brakes on
and the whistle is screaming: Terrapin
|
| At
A Siding |
While you were gone
these spaces filled with darkness
The obvious was hidden
With nothing to believe in
the compass always points to Terrapin |
The sullen wings of fortune beat like rain
You're back in Terrapin for good or ill again
For good or ill again
|
| Shakedown
Street |
You tell me this town ain't got no heart
(Well, well, well--you can never tell)
The sunny side of the street is dark
(Well, well, well--you can never tell)
Maybe that's 'cause it's midnight
and the dark of the moon besides, or
maybe the dark is in your eyes
maybe the dark is in your eyes
maybe the dark is in your eyes
You know you got such dark eyes
Nothin' shakin' on Shakedown Street
used to be the heart of town
Don't tell me this town ain't got no heart
You just gotta poke around
You say you've seen this town clear through
(Well, well, well--you can never tell)
Nothin' here that would interest you
(Well, well, well--you can never tell)
It's not because you missed out
on the thing we had to start
maybe you had too much too fast
maybe you had too much too fast
maybe you had too much too fast
and just overplayed your part |
Nothin' shakin' on Shakedown Street
used to be the heart of town
Don't tell me this town ain't got no heart
You just gotta poke around
Since I'm passing your way today
(Well, well, well--you can never tell)
I just stopped in 'cause I want to say
(Well, well, well--you can never tell)
I recall your darkness
when it crackled like a thunder cloud
don't tell me this town ain't got no heart
don't tell me this town ain't got no heart
don't tell me this town ain't got no heart
when I can hear it beat out loud
Nothin' shakin' on Shakedown Street
used to be the heart of town
Don't tell me this town ain't got no heart
You just gotta poke around
|
| Fire
On The Mountain |
Long-distance runner, what you standing there
for?
Get up, get off, get out of the door
You're playing cold music on the barroom floor
drowned in your laughter and dead to the core
There's a dragon with matches that's loose on the town
Take a whole pail of water just to cool him down
Fire--Fire on the mountain
Fire--Fire on the mountain
Almost aflame, still you don't feel the heat
Takes all you got just to stay on the beat
You say it's a living, we all gotta eat
but you're here alone, there's no one to compete
If mercy's a business I wish it for you
More than just ashes when your dreams come true
Fire--Fire on the mountain
Fire--Fire on the mountain
Baby's in scrarlet, her shackles in gray
If loves to love she's got it salted away
Out of the rat trap and under the wire
Out of the frying pan and into the fire
Put it down heavy, strip it down lean
Got to lay it down dirty and play it back clean
Fire--Fire on the mountain
Fire--Fire on the mountain |
Fireman, fireman, call off your dog
this isn't a blaze, it's just a hog in the log
Cut up in sections, squirming alive
lost to the world on that fifty-cent jive
There's a fire on the mountain, running around
what doesn't go up can never come down
Fire--Fire on the mountain
Fire--Fire on the mountain
Long-distance runner, what you holding out for?
Caught in slow motion in a dash for the door
The flame from your stage has now spread to the floor
You gave all you had, why you wanta give more?
The more that you give, the more it will take
to the thin line beyond which you really cannot fake
There's a fire
Fire on the mountain
Fire--
Fire on the mountain
"Written at Mickey Hart's ranch in heated inspiration
as the surrounding hills blazed and the fire approached the recording studio
where we were working; verses three and four don't appear in the Grateful
Dead recording of this song, but lines five and six of verse three became
one of our mottoes, along with 'Record More Than You Erase'." - Robert
Hunter
|
| Alabama
Getaway |
Thirty-two teeth in a jawbone
Alabama's cryin' for none
Before I have to hit him
I hope he's got the sense to run
Reason those poor girls love him
Promise them anything
Reason they believe him
He wears a big diamond ring
Alabama getaway
Alabama getaway
Only way to please me
Turn around and leave
and walk away
Majordomo Billy Bojangles
Sit down and have a drink with me
What's this about Alabama
Keeps comin' back to me?
Heard your plea in the courthouse
Jury box began to rock and rise
Forty-nine sister states all had
Alabama in their eyes |
Alabama getaway
Alabama getaway
Only way to please me
Turn around and leave
and walk away
Why don't we just give Alabama
rope enough to hang himself
Ain't no call to worry the jury
His kind takes care of itself
Twenty-third Psalm Major Domo
reserve me a table for three
in the Valley of the Shadows
just you, Alabama and me
Alabama getaway
Alabama getaway
Only way to please me
Turn around and leave
and walk away
|
| Dire
Wolf |
In the timbers of Fennario
the wolves are running round
The winter was so hard and cold
froze ten feet 'neath the ground
Don't murder me
I beg of you, don't murder me
Please
don't murder me
I sat down to my supper
'Twas a bottle of red whiskey
I said my prayers and went to bed
That's the last they saw of me
Don't murder me
I beg of you, don't murder me
Please
don't murder me
When I awoke the Dire Wolf
Six hundred pounds of sin
Was grinning at my window
All I said was "Come on in"
Don't murder me
I beg of you, don't murder me
Please
don't murder me |
The wolf came in, I got my cards
We sat down for a game
I cut my deck to the Queen of Spades
but the cards were all the same
Don't murder me
I beg of you, don't murder me
Please
don't murder me
In the backwash of Fennario
The black and bloody mire
The Dire Wolf collects his due
while the boys sing round the fire
Don't murder me
I beg of you, don't murder me
Please
don't murder me
Don't murder me
I beg of you, don't murder me
Please
don't murder me
|
| Franklin's
Tower |
In another time's forgotten space
your eyes looked through your mother's face
Wildflower seed on the sand and stone
may the four winds blow you safely home
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
You ask me where the four winds dwell
In Franklin's Tower there hangs a bell
It can ring, turn night to day
Ring like fire when you lose your way
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
God help the child who rings that bell
It may have one good ring left, you can't tell
One watch by night, one watch by day
If you get confused, listen to the music play
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew |
Some come to laugh their past away
Some come to make it just one more day
Whichever way your pleasure tends
If you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
In Franklin's Tower the four winds sleep
Like four lean hounds the lighthouse keep
Wildflower seeds in the sand and wind
May the four winds blow you home again
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
Roll away . . . the dew
You better roll away
the dew. . . .
|
| Touch
of Grey |
Must be getting early
Clocks are running late
Paint-by-number morning sky
Looks so phony
Dawn is breaking everywhere
Light a candle, curse the glare *
Draw the curtains
I don't care 'cause
It's all right
I will get by/I will get by
I will get by/I will survive
I see you've got your list out
Say your piece and get out
Yes I get the gist of it
but it's all right
Sorry that you feel that way
The only there is to say
Every silver lining's got a
Touch of Grey
I will get by/I will get by
I will get by/I will survive
It's a lesson to me
The Ables and the Bakers and the Cs
The ABCs we all must face
And try to keep a little grace
It's a lesson to me
The Deltas and the East and the Freeze
The ABCs we all think of
And try to win a little love. |
I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
but it's all right
The cow is giving kerosene
Kid can't read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene
but it's all right
I will get by/I will get by
I will get by/I will survive
The shoe is on the hand it fits
There's really nothing much to it
Whistle through your teeth and spit
'cause it's all right
Oh, well, a Touch of Grey
Kind of suits you anyway.
That was all I had to say
It's all right.
I will get by/I will get by
I will get by/I will survive
We will get by/We will get by
We will get by/We will survive
* "This line courtesy of Garcia." -- Robert Hunter
|
| West
L.A. Fadeaway |
Looking for a chateau
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
Looking for a chateau
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
I don't want to buy it
I just want to rent it for an hour or two
I met an old mistake
Walking down the street today
I met an old mistake
Walking down the street today
I didn't want to be mean about it
But I didn't have one good word to say
West L.A. Fadeaway
West L.A. Fadeaway
Little red light on the highway
Big green light on the speedway, hey, hey, hey
I had a steady job
Hauling items for the mob
I had a steady job
Hauling items for the mob
Y'know the pay was pathetic
It's a shame those boys couldn't be more copacetic
I meet a West L.A. girl
Already know what I need to know
I meet a West L.A. girl
Already know what I need to know
Name, address, and phone number
Lord, and just how far to go |
West L.A. Fadeaway
West L.A. Fadeaway
Little red light on the highway
Big green light on the speedway, hey, hey, hey
Here's what Ginger says
She walks right, she ain't nobody's fool
Here's what Ginger says
She always tries to play by the golden rule
She says if you treat other people all right
Other folks probably treat you right, too
Looking for a chateau
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
Looking for a chateau
Twenty-one rooms but one will do
I don't want to rent it
I just want to use it for a minute or two
West L.A. Fadeaway
West L.A. Fadeaway
Little red light on the highway
Big green light on the speedway, hey, hey, hey
|
| Black
Muddy River |
| This song was the last that Jerry Garcia
performed in concert - at Chicago's Soldier Field
When the last rose of summer pricks my finger
And the hot sun chills me to the bone
When I can't hear the song for the singer
And I can't tell my pillow from a stone
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And sing me a song of my own
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And sing me a song of my own
When the last bolt of sunshine hits the mountain
And the stars start to splatter in the sky
When the moon splits the southwest horizon
With the scream of an eagle on the fly
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And listen to the ripples as they moan
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And sing me a song of my own |
Black muddy river
Roll on forever
I don't care how deep or wide
If you got another side
Roll muddy river
Roll muddy river
Black muddy river roll
When it seems like the night will last forever
And there's nothing left to do but count the years
When the strings of my heart start to sever
And stones fall from my eyes instead of tears
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And dream me a dream of my own
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And sing me a song of my own
And sing me a song of my own
|
| Foolish
Heart |
Carve your name
Carve your name in ice and wind
Search for where
Search for where the rivers end
Or where the rivers start
Do everything that's in you
That you feel to be your part
But never give your love, my friend,
Unto a foolish heart
Leap from ledges
Leap from ledges high and wild
Learn to speak
Speak with wisdom like a child
Directly from the heart
Crown yourself the king of clowns
Or stand way back apart
But never give you love, my friend
Unto a foolish heart
Shun a friend
Shun a brother and a friend
Never look
Never look around the bend
Or check a weather chart
Sign the Mona Lisa
With a spray can, call it art
But never give your love, my friend
Unto a foolish heart |
A foolish heart will call on you
To toss your dreams away
Then turn around and blame you
For the way you went astray
A foolish heart will cost you sleep
And often make you curse
A selfish heart is trouble
But a foolish heart is worse
Bite the hand
Bite the hand that bakes your bread
Dare to leap
Where the angels fear to tread
Till you are torn apart
Stoke the fires of paradise
With coals from Hell to start
But never give your love, my friend
Unto a foolish heart
Unto a foolish heart . . .
|
| Built
To Last |
There are times when you can beckon
There are times when you must call
You can take a lot of reckoning
But you can't take it all
There are times when I can help you out
And times that you must fall
There are times when you must live in doubt
And I can't help at all
Three blue stars/Rise on the hill
Say no more, now/Just be still
All these trials/Soon be past
Look for something/Built to last
A wind held by the collar
Got a cloud held by the breeze
You can walk on coals of fire
But sometimes you must freeze
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
One blue star/Sets on the hill
Call it back/You never will
One more star/Sinks in the past
Show me something/Built to last.
Built to last till time itself
Falls tumbling from the wall
Built to last till sunshine fails
And darkness moves on all
Built to last while years roll past
Like cloudscapes in the sky
Show me something built to last
Or something built to try |
There are times when you get hit upon
Try hard but you cannot give
Other times you'd gladly part
With what you need to live
Don't waste your breath to save your face
When you have done your best
And even more is asked of you
Fate will decide the rest.
All the stars/Are gone but one
Morning breaks/Here comes the sun
Cross the sky/Now sinking fast
Show me something/Built to last
Three blue stars/Rise on the hill
Say no more, now/Just be still
All these trials/Soon be past
Look for something/Built to last
One blue star/Sets on the hill
Call it back/You never will
One more star/Sinks in the past
Show me something/Built to last
All the stars/Are gone but one
Morning breaks/Here comes the sun
Cross the sky/Now sinking fast
Show me something/Built to last
|
| Standing
On The Moon |
Standing on the moon
I got no cobweb on my shoe
Standing on the moon
I feel so alone and blue
I see the Gulf of Mexico
As tiny as a tear
The coast of California
Must be somewhere over here
Over here
Standing on the moon
I see the battle rage below
Standing on the moon
I see the soldiers come and go
There's a metal flag beside me
Someone planted long ago
Old Glory standing stiffly
Crimson, white, and indigo
Indigo
I see all of Southeast Asia
I can see El Salvador
I hear the cries of children
And the other songs of war
It's like a might melody
That rings down from the sky
Standing here upon the moon
I watch it all roll by
All roll by
All roll by
All roll by |
Standing on the moon
I see a shadow on the sun
Standing on the moon
The stars go fading one by one
I hear a cry of victory
Another of defeat
A scrap of age-old lullaby
Down some forgotten street
Standing on the moon
Where talk is cheap and vision true
Standing on the moon
But I would rather be with you
Somewhere in San Francisco
On a back porch in July
Just looking up to heaven
At this crescent in the sky
In the sky
Standing on the moon
With nothing left to do
A lovely view of heaven
But I'd rather be with you
Be with you . . .
Be with you . . .
I'd rather be with you
Be with you . . .
|
| Eyes
Of The World |
Right outside this lazy summer home
you don't have time to call
your soul a critic, no
Right outside the lazy gate
of winter's summer home
wondering where the nuthatch winters
Wings a mile long
just carried
the bird
away
Wake up to find out
that you are the eyes of the world
but the heart has its beaches
its homeland and thoughts
of its own
Wake now, discover that
you are the song that
the morning brings
the heart has its seasons
its evenings
and songs of its own
There comes a redeemer
and he slowly, too, fades away
There follows his wagon behind him
that's loaded with clay
and the seeds that were silent
all burst into bloom and decay
The night comes so quiet
and it's close on the heels of the day |
Wake up to find out
that you are the eyes of the world
but the heart has its beaches
its homeland and thoughts
of its own
Wake now, discover that
you are the song that
the morning brings
the heart has its seasons
its evenings
and songs of its own
Sometimes we live no
particular way but our own
Sometimes we visit your country
and live in your homes
Sometimes we ride on your horses
Sometimes we walk alone
Sometimes the songs that we hear
are just songs of our own
Wake up to find out
that you are the eyes of the world
but the heart has its beaches
its homeland and thoughts
of its own
Wake now, discover that
you are the song that
the morning brings
the heart has its seasons
its evenings
and songs of its own
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