Before Workingman’s Dead became my new favorite, Wake of the flood was my favorite Grateful Dead album. This was their first studio album to be released after a three year hiatus after the release of their previous album, workingman’s dead. This was the first studio dead album to not feature Ron “Pigpen” McKernan because of his death in 1972 due to liver failure. Because of this, the dead was missing a major blues and country influence on this album. There new piano player, Keith Godchaux, had a lot of jazz tendencies, so his addition drastically affected the sound of the album.
I first began to listen to this album because of an amazing 1989 live version of “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo” i had found on youtube. This song is one of the more popular dead songs not on the greatest hits album. It’s lyrics are very deep and Jerry’s voice is perfectly suited for this song. The next song on the album is “Let Me Sing Your Blues Away”. It has heavy jazz influence as anyone even listening to it for the first time can tell. My favorite lines of this song are
“Only two things in the world I love,
That’s rock ‘n’ roll and my turtle dove.
When I was a young man I needed good luck,
But I’m a little bit older now and I know my stuff.”
These lines were written by Hunter Moore and he knew that Keith was going to be singing this song. The first two lines are a nice homage to Keiths love of his wife and rock and roll. The second two lines are funny and sad at the same time. Keith was the youngest member of the band at this time, 23 years old to be exact, and hunter intended the part about being a young man to be both comical now and meaningful when Keith got older and would perform this song. Unfortunately Keith would die in a car accident in 1980, so this final meaning would never be reached.
The next song is “Row Jimmy”, but I’m going to discuss that song at the end. The next song is “Stella Blue”. This song is slow and gives a feeling of longing for someone or something. It is a unique and beautiful song. After that is “Here Comes the Sunshine”. This song is extremely upbeat and is the only song to contain the lyrics “Wake of the Flood”. I used to listen to this song when my day at High School was over and i was walking in the sun to my car. It would express me level of happiness and my feeling of freedom perfectly. For some reason the lyrics
“Good to know you got shoes to wear when you find the floor,
Why hold out for more?”
always connected with me. The next song is “Eyes of the World”. This song is featured on several greatest hits albums. It’s lyrics are extremely deep and take hours of analyzing and deciphering to truly understand all the subtle meanings. It is up near the top for my favorite dead songs. The final song is “Weather Report Suite”. I was never a big fan of this song. Something always just sounded off to me. However, during liver versions that could last up to 30 minutes the Dead got it right and fixed whatever sounded off.
Now i would like to discuss my all-time favorite Grateful Dead song, “Row Jimmy”. While not being included on any greatest hits album or even being a frequently played song at concerts, any true deadhead will tell you it is one of the most beautiful songs every written. It is supposed to convey they struggles of two poor lovers down in Mississippi. They live in a “shack” and struggle to get by. This song perfectly displays the struggle of poverty and the worrying that comes along with that. My favorite live version is from a 1989 concert. Jerry at this point looks old and the years of struggling with drug abuse has begun to take its toll. However, he still looks somewhat cheery during his performance of this song. I think this matches the intention of this song perfectly and creates an incredible performance. Below i have posted the lyrics as well as a link to the video. I have bolded the most meaningful lyrics to me and i have bolded and italicized my favorite four lines.
Julie catch a rabbit by his hair
Come back steppin’ like to walk on air
Get back home where you belong
And don’t you run off no more
Don’t hang your head, let the two time roll
Grass shack nailed to a pine wood floor
Ask the time baby I don’t know
Come back later, gonna let it show
And I say row, Jimmy row
Gonna get there, I don’t know
Seems a common way to go
Get down and row, row, row, row, row
Here’s a half a dollar if you dare
Double twist when you hit the air
Look at Julie down below
The levee doin’ the dopaso
And I say row, Jimmy row
Gonna get there, I don’t know
Seems a common way to go
Get down and row, row, row, row, row
Broken heart, don’t feel so bad
You ain’t got half of what you thought you had
Rock your baby to and fro
Not too fast and not too slow
And I say row, Jimmy row
Gonna get there, I don’t know
Seems a common way to go
Get down and row, row, row, row, row
That’s the way it’s been in town
Ever since they tore the juke box down
Two bit piece, don’t buy no more
Not so much as it done before
And I say row, Jimmy row
Gonna get there, I don’t know
Seems a common way to go
Get down and row, row, row, row, row
I had never heard of the band Grateful Dead before this post. However, I found the meaning behind the lyrics and the context the songs were written in to be interesting. As your analysis demonstrates, a lot more meaning can be found in a song when we know the context and the people behind it. This is something that I definitely miss in my most of my music!