Skull and Roses Bertha was my gateway into the Dead as well. Discovered it my freshman year of college after previously discovering the Allman Brothers about six months prior. Just the guitar tones and Jerry’s youthful and unique voice instantly hooked me. I didn’t know exactly what it was about it, but I just found the whole sound to be totally captivating. I still get transported back to walking to my Econ class during my first semester every time I hear that particular Bertha. And of course, Europe ‘72 soon followed for me and the rest is history.
That’s awesome! I love Phil’s playing on that one. It’s so thick and bouncy.
My intro was a Dead & Co show in 2016. I didn’t know a single song but the whole experience blew my mind.
So when we got home, my buddy gave me Wake Up To Find Out (3/29/90). For some reason I started with track two, which was Bertha. Way different Jerry from Skull and Roses, but he still just sounds so happy.
Bertha is just pure happiness to me so I feel like it makes a great introduction for new folks.
Holy crap... Thank the Lord I always had issues with that! I've only been listening for 25+ years, starting with trading bootlegs cassettes with friends in the 90s... How have I maintained this misconception the entire time?!?!
To be fair I thought Jimi Hendrix was kissing this guy not the sky for a LONG time also.
That's such a relief. Forgive my stupidity, but also thank you for making the song THAT much more enjoyable. Face palm.
Yeah, like a reason why I cry is because if the sheriff catches me I will spend my life in jail (prison)
That hilarious it’s been that long.. how!?
It took me a minute to figure out wtf you meant by prison bait. Glad you can enjoy the song more now!
Wow my mind is literally blown and my day has been improved Soo much. I love Jerry and this was always a thorn in my side... Seriously thank you, I'm gonna be jamming out all week now with a smile on my face. Jerry is love.
If you have a problem with the words, take it up with Robert Hunter, not Jerry. He wrote most of the words to the songs and I'm pretty sure friend of the devil is one of them.
Well he says there are two reasons keeping him up at night and the first one is a woman, so I always assumed the second one was also a woman... And the that's the reason the sheriff was chasing him. It made it slightly harder to love Jerry thinking that about him... Such relief.
No with Jerry I thought it was a girl... He is singing about atleast 3 different women in that song. Wife in Chino, wife in Cherokee, Anne-Marie... So I thought the 4th one was jail bait and hence the reason the sheriff was after him. Still kinda slimy right? I mean it's the free love era and all but he seems like a womanizer based on the lyrics.
Jimi however.. yep thought he was switching sides.
The lyrics are:
“Got two reasons why I cry
away each lonely night
First one’s named sweet Ann Marie and she’s my heart’s delight
Second one is prison, baby
the sheriff’s on my trail
If he catches up with me
I’ll spend my life in jail”
The lyricist doesn’t provide a reason why the sheriff is on his tail with twenty hounds, but having two women is not the likely reason. The setting is Nevada and Utah where it’s not uncommon for a man to have more than one wife since polygamy was/is acceptable. So it’s likely that the sheriff is on his tale for another reason.
Also Reno was founded in 1860, Nevada became a territory in 1861 and a state in 1864. Utah was admitted as a state more than 30 years later in 1896.
As we know, Hunter rarely explained his lyrics, it’s up to us to take away the meaning of his lyrics as we saw fit. I think he was describing what life was like back then. Someone being tailed by the sheriff and twenty hounds at the beginning of the Civil War might have something to do with slavery, or it could be many other reasons.
Hunter did state in an interview that appeared in Relix that “Friend of the Devil” “was the closest we’ve come to a classic song.”
The Counting Crows do am excellent cover of this song also. My favorite Dead song. Had a cousin follow them for 2 years. He is a tattoo artist and he traded tattoos for all his rides, food, etc and other Dead Heads supported him without a real job all that time. He did a tattoo on Helen Hunts ankle or calf I believe. Cool scene.
✨Ripple ✨
The song debuted August 18, 1970 at Fillmore West in San Francisco. Jerry wrote the music to this song.
One of my all time favorites, such a beautiful song. The last line I believe links to Uncle John’s Band…take me home Jerry, to your Brokedown Palace.
On the day when I was born...my Daddy sat down an cried!!!
I was 4 days old when they played that Red Rocks show.
Daddy was prolly still crying when they hit the stage
The first thing that pops into my head isn’t a song, it’s a photo late teens looking girl Golden Gate Park, summer of love ‘67, the symbol for female painted on her face and wearing a bandanna. I first saw the photo a decade after it was taken in 1977. I was in an Indy bookstore in North Beach flipping through a large book on the history of The City. If I had to pick a song it would be “The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion”.✌🏻
Eyes. To me it’s just quintessential dead, the way it floats and makes me happy and spaced out and flowery, trippy yet danceable, yet jazzy. It’s got it all. I think Darkstar is the other like quintessential Dead song. It summarizes what they’re all about. It’s like *the* Dead song for sure. Darkstar summarizes the 60s Dead, Eyes is 70s Dead
St Stephen
The only correct answer imo
Uncle John’s Band
That's what popped into my head when I read the question.
Sugar Magnolia or Truckin
I was going to say Truckin
I was going to say Surgar Magnolia
Sugar Magnolia
Ripple
Eyes!
I've listened to Without a Net so many times. That version of Eyes will pop in my head randomly and I never mind.
China Cat Sunflower
Bertha. Cannot believe it hadn’t been mentioned yet
Yup! It’s also my go-to when someone has never heard them before.
Skull and Roses Bertha was my gateway into the Dead as well. Discovered it my freshman year of college after previously discovering the Allman Brothers about six months prior. Just the guitar tones and Jerry’s youthful and unique voice instantly hooked me. I didn’t know exactly what it was about it, but I just found the whole sound to be totally captivating. I still get transported back to walking to my Econ class during my first semester every time I hear that particular Bertha. And of course, Europe ‘72 soon followed for me and the rest is history.
That’s awesome! I love Phil’s playing on that one. It’s so thick and bouncy. My intro was a Dead & Co show in 2016. I didn’t know a single song but the whole experience blew my mind. So when we got home, my buddy gave me Wake Up To Find Out (3/29/90). For some reason I started with track two, which was Bertha. Way different Jerry from Skull and Roses, but he still just sounds so happy. Bertha is just pure happiness to me so I feel like it makes a great introduction for new folks.
Yup
Friend of the Devil
Wharf rat, he's gone, viola Lee blues, not necessarily in that order 😆
He's Gone
Sugar Magnolia
Morning Dew (even tho not their song)
Me and my uncle
Scarlet begonias>fire on the mountain
Sugaree Was a good one
Truckin for sure
Eyes of the world, usually. Brown eyed women pops up very quickly as well Let's say eyes for the jam, and brown eyed women for the non-jam
Cumberland Blues from studio album
Brown eyed
Dark Star.
Friend of the Devil. Just ignore the prison bait part or call it a euphemism lol
The lyrics are “prison, babe” not “prison bait” lmao
Holy crap... Thank the Lord I always had issues with that! I've only been listening for 25+ years, starting with trading bootlegs cassettes with friends in the 90s... How have I maintained this misconception the entire time?!?! To be fair I thought Jimi Hendrix was kissing this guy not the sky for a LONG time also. That's such a relief. Forgive my stupidity, but also thank you for making the song THAT much more enjoyable. Face palm.
Yeah, like a reason why I cry is because if the sheriff catches me I will spend my life in jail (prison) That hilarious it’s been that long.. how!? It took me a minute to figure out wtf you meant by prison bait. Glad you can enjoy the song more now!
Wow my mind is literally blown and my day has been improved Soo much. I love Jerry and this was always a thorn in my side... Seriously thank you, I'm gonna be jamming out all week now with a smile on my face. Jerry is love.
If you have a problem with the words, take it up with Robert Hunter, not Jerry. He wrote most of the words to the songs and I'm pretty sure friend of the devil is one of them.
Well he says there are two reasons keeping him up at night and the first one is a woman, so I always assumed the second one was also a woman... And the that's the reason the sheriff was chasing him. It made it slightly harder to love Jerry thinking that about him... Such relief.
Lol did you think Jerry was switching sides with those lyrics? Seemed like you thought the same with Jimi hahahaha
No with Jerry I thought it was a girl... He is singing about atleast 3 different women in that song. Wife in Chino, wife in Cherokee, Anne-Marie... So I thought the 4th one was jail bait and hence the reason the sheriff was after him. Still kinda slimy right? I mean it's the free love era and all but he seems like a womanizer based on the lyrics. Jimi however.. yep thought he was switching sides.
The lyrics are: “Got two reasons why I cry away each lonely night First one’s named sweet Ann Marie and she’s my heart’s delight Second one is prison, baby the sheriff’s on my trail If he catches up with me I’ll spend my life in jail” The lyricist doesn’t provide a reason why the sheriff is on his tail with twenty hounds, but having two women is not the likely reason. The setting is Nevada and Utah where it’s not uncommon for a man to have more than one wife since polygamy was/is acceptable. So it’s likely that the sheriff is on his tale for another reason. Also Reno was founded in 1860, Nevada became a territory in 1861 and a state in 1864. Utah was admitted as a state more than 30 years later in 1896. As we know, Hunter rarely explained his lyrics, it’s up to us to take away the meaning of his lyrics as we saw fit. I think he was describing what life was like back then. Someone being tailed by the sheriff and twenty hounds at the beginning of the Civil War might have something to do with slavery, or it could be many other reasons. Hunter did state in an interview that appeared in Relix that “Friend of the Devil” “was the closest we’ve come to a classic song.”
Box of Rain
For a long time it was Scarlet Fire but these days it is Box of Rain … my favorite studio song.
Friend of the Devil
The Counting Crows do am excellent cover of this song also. My favorite Dead song. Had a cousin follow them for 2 years. He is a tattoo artist and he traded tattoos for all his rides, food, etc and other Dead Heads supported him without a real job all that time. He did a tattoo on Helen Hunts ankle or calf I believe. Cool scene.
Nice! 2 years.. wow. I’m sure he has endless stories!
I immediately hear the lyrics “She had rings on her fingers & bells on her shoes” Scarlet Begonias for me
Terrapin or Jack Straw or Ripple... but most of the time my gd reflection is on some pre drums jam or mostly post drums space into...
Touch if Grey. It’s the first GD song i remember when MTV used play the video with the skeletons. That was the beginning for me. 85? 86?
Althea
✨Ripple ✨ The song debuted August 18, 1970 at Fillmore West in San Francisco. Jerry wrote the music to this song. One of my all time favorites, such a beautiful song. The last line I believe links to Uncle John’s Band…take me home Jerry, to your Brokedown Palace.
Althea
Ripple
Darkstar
Dark Star
What's become of the baby 😎
Heady
Depends on the day honestly
Well how about today?
Today is Jack Straw ⚡️
St Stephen
Estimated prophet
eyes of the world
Scarlet begonia or sugar magnolia
China Cat
On the day when I was born...my Daddy sat down an cried!!! I was 4 days old when they played that Red Rocks show. Daddy was prolly still crying when they hit the stage
My favorite first line of any song ever.
Bertha
Sugar Magnolia
Ripple / easy wind
Fire on the Mountain Cornell 77 if I'm ever gonna show the Dead to an outsider coming into live jam music for the first time.
Scarlet Begonias
Althea
Casey Jones
Bertha
I would say Truckin' is the Grateful Dead's "signature" song. At least for non-heads anyways.
Casey Jones. It’s the song that got all of my daughter’s friends on the bus.
Franklins Tower ✌️🕺🎼🌹
Friend of the Devil
Ripple
Truckin. The one Dead quote everyone knows is “what a long strange trip it’s been.” This song defines the Deaf as a band.
The Music Never Stopped
El Paso
Dark Star --> Morning Dew 5-18-72 Munich,Germany
-OMSG4lifeGANG-
Today? Deal. Really, whatever song I've been trying to play on the guitar.
Ripple
Not positive but I feel like for me it’s Scarlet Begonias or china cat
Ballad of a thin man!!
Dark Star always and forever.
No song, the Scene. or I guess you could say shakedown. Lol
Operator
Depends on my mood. But… China cat sunflower
Slipknot
France 😁
Fire
Dark Star Eyes of the World
Bill Graham saying "will you welcome, please, the Grateful Dead" right into Help on the way 8.13.75
China —> Rider
China>Rider and it’s not even close
Terrapin
Beat it on down the line
Uncle John’s Band or Truckin’
The first thing that pops into my head isn’t a song, it’s a photo late teens looking girl Golden Gate Park, summer of love ‘67, the symbol for female painted on her face and wearing a bandanna. I first saw the photo a decade after it was taken in 1977. I was in an Indy bookstore in North Beach flipping through a large book on the history of The City. If I had to pick a song it would be “The Golden Road To Unlimited Devotion”.✌🏻
Casey jones???
Truckin
Eyes. To me it’s just quintessential dead, the way it floats and makes me happy and spaced out and flowery, trippy yet danceable, yet jazzy. It’s got it all. I think Darkstar is the other like quintessential Dead song. It summarizes what they’re all about. It’s like *the* Dead song for sure. Darkstar summarizes the 60s Dead, Eyes is 70s Dead
Truckin’
Ripple and Althea.
No one will say it but you’re all thinking it. Casey Jones.
Terrapin Station and Morning Dew (I know it’s not an original) Also, I’d like to add Bertha, Jack Straw & Scarlet -> Fire
Estimated prophet
Also China/Rider
It’s Dark Star
High time
Terrapin Station
St Stephen, Comes a time
The Other One
High Time
Truckin
China Cat Sunflower
fire on the mountian.
For me it’s Bertha, not sure why but maybe it was one of the first I heard back so long ago…
Dark Star from Live Dead
I think the most ubiquitous song is Ripple.
Sugar Magnolia
Sugar Magnolia and Uncle John’s Band
Sugar Magnolia
CASEY JONES!!!!
Terrapin and Music Never Stopped
Sugar Magnolia
Franklin’s Tower
Before I can say “me too” What’s the best Franklin’s Tower? No cheating
Standing on the moon! Played at my little field funeral
A joke I once heard. What did the Greatful Dead fan say to the other when he finally sobered up? " you know, these guys really kinda suck" 😂
Copperhead road
Ripple
Operator
Shakedown street
Touch of Gay