Honestly, I think there is a misconception that Grateful Dead songs are super happy. I think it’s easy to perceive Jerry as being this super happy, jolly, hippie. But was he really?
I think within a lot of the Dead’s songs there is an underlying sadness.
In yesterdays post I mentioned the 3 songs that played on my drive to my friends funeral. “Black Muddy River”, “Brokedown Palace”, and “Sing Me Back Home”.
I wanted to share these songs on here and invite all of you to listen to them. I think buried in a lot of Dead songs there’s a lot of despair.
Black Muddy River
Songwriter, Robert Hunter in a 1987 interview says:
“Black Muddy River is about the perspective of age and making a decision about the necessity of living in spite of a rough time, and the ravages of anything else that’s going to come at you. When I wrote it, I was writing about how I felt about being 45 years old and what I’ve been through. And then when I was done with it, obviously it was for the Dead.”
Brokedown Palace
To me, this song is about someone you love leaving or perhaps you leaving someone you love. That could be leaving this life, a relationship, or even as simply a scenario that no longer serves or suits you.
Sing Me Back Home
Sing Me Back Home was written about a death row inmate being walked down the hallway to his death asking another inmate that would often play guitar and sing to play a song to sing him back home.
Undeniably, that is sad.
The humanity that is hidden in some of the Grateful Dead songs often proves to me why I have invested so much of my time and energy into listening to and enjoying their music.