Mars Hotel is a great Grateful dead Album. It was the first Dead album that i purchased the vinyl of. I can’t even tell you the number of times i have listened to this album and the immense joy that i get from each song on it.
U.S. Blues is the first song on From the Mars Hotel. It’s has a unique sound that is reminiscent of old time 50’s shuffle music. Because of this, it’s beat is very catchy and extremely easy to dance to. The lyrics are full of analogies to American culture and history. While the song sounds extremely positive, it was released as the Vietnam War was coming to an not-so-popular end. A lot of the lines that sound like they are complimenting US culture are actually tongue in cheek insults. U.S. Blues was used as the intro song to the Grateful Dead movie. Here is a link to the video—https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DPBLfzTPCDc. The cartoon part is a lot more elaborate in the movie going for a whole 7 minutes. I always thought the beginning cartoon was cool and shows some of the meaning in the song.
The next song is “China Doll”. It has incredibly slow tempo and it seems if though Garcia is drawing out each word as he says it. This song is a brief snap of a conversation between someone who has committed suicide and one of their loved ones back on earth. The lyrics are deep and reveal Hunter’s unique opinions on death and suicide with lines such as “I will not condemn you”. It always seemed to me that by the end of the song the loved one had reached closure and the angelic “La, La, La”‘s were angels taking the soul of the person who committed suicide away.
The Next song on the album is my personal favorite “Unbroken Chain”. This was the first song that Phil Lesh ever sang for the dead. Phil Lesh’s voice is extremely tender and paints a beautiful picture when combined with the lyrics. I always thought of this song as a personal who is feeling alone and begins to question everything around him. An “Unbroken Chain” of society if you will. This song is full of religious references as well as unique sound effects that allow the listener to go on a mental journey with the lyrics.
The next song is “Loose Lucy”. This song could has an upbeat feel and matches U.S. Blues in its ability to be a dance song. In my opinion (along with comments the dead have hinted at during interviews) this song is a one big metaphor for acid (Lucy being a common nickname). It was during this time that the Dead began to move onto harder substances, cocaine use had become more prevalent with the band and Jerry’s Heroin use reached its zenith a year or two after this album released, and this song seems to be like an almost thank you to LSD, a non harmful, non-addictive drug. It feels as if they are reminiscing about their trips. Lines such as “Loose Lucy is my delight, she come runnin’ and we ball all night”, “She’s my yo-yo, I’m her string, listen to the birds on the hot wire sing, yeh-yeh yeh-yeh yeh-yeh yeh, singing, “Thank you, for a real good time!””, and “Went back home with two black eyes, you know I’ll love ya till the day I die,”( dilated pupils) are all references to LSD and its side effects.
Next comes scarlet begonias. This is one of the better known Dead Songs. There isn’t much i can say that you can’t get from listening to it so here http://https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj_kK1j3CV0. Enjoy
Next comes Pride of Cucamonga. This is Phil Lesh’s second time ever sining for the dead. This song gives a feeling of being on the open road and traveling away from home with lines such as “The Northern sky stinks with greed”. The dead never performed this song live in all there years of touring.
Next is Money, Money. This is one of the few dead songs that i as a fan really hate. Bob Weir does a good job singing but everything else is horrible. I don’t want to wage anymore time thinking of this atrocious song.
The final song is Ship of Fools. I love Ship of Fools. Sometimes it can be a little slow, Jerry sings it in a similar manner to China Doll, but this helps to contextualize the narrator in the song. This song is about dealing with all the struggles in life. Jerry is being dragged down by people around him (possibly a drug reference since he was using heroin) and realizes he needs to make a few changes. 