Lyrics that invade your mind

[Ammagamalin Crew]

Virgil Cane is my name and I served on the Danville train

[chuckvegas]

Well, I am probably not the only one that harkens to wings a mile long.

 

And if I step a little outside GD canon there’s the incredibly evocative notion that Big John’s been drinking since the river took Emmy Lou.

[2muchfun]

Sometimes your cards aren’t worth a god damn if you don’t lay them down

 

non GD current…I want a zoot suit with a reet pleat (damn you tube)

[Michael Doc Watson]

"I saw her again last night,

And I know I shouldn't..."

 

the Mamas and Papas, 1966

 

It's due to one of my recurring  crushes

Peace and Love,  Doc

[Taper Ron]

On 6/18/2026 at 9:26 AM, 2muchfun said:

non GD current…I want a zoot suit with a reet pleat (damn you tube)

[Michael Doc Watson]

"....I want a zoot suit..."

Wonderful we can have good quality video from over 80 years ago.

 

[Tea]

Inside the museums, infinity goes up on trial
Voices echo this is what salvation must be like after a while
But Mona Lisa musta had the highway blues
You can tell by the way she smiles

[Greg from Chestertown]

A couple that get me because they show just how well read and intelligent Robert Hunter and Bob Dylan were. In Casey Jones, “Trouble ahead, trouble behind” makes me think of the true story of Casey Jones. He pulled his train into a railroad siding to let another train through. Unfortunately, his train was longer than the siding so he had to put his engine back on the main track so that the other train would make it past his caboose. Train kept A- rollin’ right into Casey and his engine. 
   In Desolation Row, “The Titanic sails at Dawn, everybody is shouting which side they are on.” The word “Posh” comes from Port out, Starboard home. Leaving Europe, that would put those passengers in the sun for the entire voyage. 
 I’m sure there’s more like that but those two have invaded my mind and set up camp. That’s what I think of when I hear those lyrics. 

[Taper Ron]

Like the old dog gone astray, he's just old and in the way
 

[Mojo Hand]

I’m in Rome today.  These lyrics have been with me forever.  Today more than most
 

“oh the streets of Rome are filled with rubble. Ancient footprints are everywhere.”

 

A beautiful statement of

hope. 

 

”someday, everything’s gonna be different….when I paint my masterpiece”. 

[John A]

The best examples, IMHO, of lyrics invading one's mind, is when by whatever reason a familiar Dead song throws up a few lines that you interpret anew. For me, this is most typical with Garcia/Hunter material. It usually happens based on a new life experience, but it can also happen out of nowhere by a surprisingly fresh interpretation.

 

To wit: despite Jerry shelving it after 3 live plays, I consider If I Had The World To Give top notch Garcia/Hunter stuff. And I digress by noting DSO seems to agree, as it pops up more than occasionally in elective shows. More digression: this shit fascinates me - what made Jerry take up great songs that he poingently delivered only to abandon them? Sing Me Back Home and She Belongs To Me are a couple other good examples.

 

World To Give is classic Hunter, whereby its thrust is powerfully uplifting, only to go against that grain while not in obvious fashion (and of course we all know Hunter thrived on the non-obvious nebulous verse).

 

Anyway, I'm trying to get to lines I heard in a newfound darkness. "Only if you let me be your world, could I ever give this world to you." What an awful concept, and what an unhealthy sentiment.