China cat sunflower chords and lyrics free#

This was performed on at the Olympia Theatre in Paris, France. Grateful Dead - China Cat Sunflower / I Know You Rider (5-3-72) - China Cat Sunflower into I Know You Rider by the Grateful Dead. Lyrically, this song has many literary references, including Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, George Herriman's Krazy Kat, and Dame Edith Sitwell's 'Polka'.

The first live recording of this song appeared on Europe '72, paired (as was typical) with 'I Know You Rider'. The song was typically sung by Jerry Garcia.

The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music composed by Jerry Garcia. Here’s the plan-each week, I will blog about a different song, focusing, usually, on the lyrics, but also on some other aspects of the song, including its overall impact-a truly subjective thing.' China Cat Sunflower' is a song performed by the Grateful Dead which was first recorded for their third studio album Aoxomoxoa.

China cat sunflower chords and lyrics free#

Therefore, the best part, I would hope, would not be anything in particular that I might have to say, but rather, the conversation that may happen via the comments over the course of time-and since all the posts will stay up, you can feel free to weigh in any time on any of the songs! With Grateful Dead lyrics, there’s always a new and different take on what they bring up for each listener, it seems. (I’ll consider requests for particular songs-just private message me!) #China cat sunflower lyrics meaning free# It seems to be about one, thing, then blossoms into being about everything. Or maybe some cosmic teaching? “Once in a while you get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right.” How about some hard-fought wisdom? “I had to learn the hard way to let her pass by.” This song, come to think of it, has it all.ĭo you need encouragement and inclusion? “Everybody’s playing in the heart of gold band.” It’s got lyrical motifs aplenty (flowers, nursery rhymes, gambling, shapes, colors, musical forms, precious metals, and more). This song is laced with memorable and meaningful lines, showcasing Robert Hunter at the height of his songwriting chops, and paired perfectly with a similar accomplishment from Jerry Garcia. Few songs in the Dead repertoire can get at us in so many ways, make us see our lives from so many angles simultaneously, and immediately launch us all into a groove of furious dancing. “Scarlet Begonias.” It’s the one Dead tune I’ve heard played repeatedly at San Francisco Giants games. It debuted on March 23, 1974, at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California-a show that also featured the first “Cassidy,” and the sound test for the Wall of Sound. After that, it was never long out of rotation, and from 1977 on, it was rarely without its mate, “Fire on the Mountain.” The song’s final performance by the Dead was on July 2, 1995, at Deer Creek Music Center, in Noblesville, Indiana. “Scarlet Begonias” was played 316 times in concert. The song was recorded on Grateful Dead From the Mars Hotel, on June 27, 1974, and it opened side two of the LP. (Who cares? I do-it was a memorable moment in my music listening life.) It was the first song I played on my new stereo system at college. Like most of Hunter’s story songs, it has an uncertain outcome, and the sequence of events is a bit up for grabs. Our narrator is in London, walking around in the neighborhood of the US Embassy, and sees a pretty girl-his gaze is drawn to her. They meet, she either is or is not impervious to his charms, they engage in a (likely metaphorical) game of cards, and he learns to let her pass by-but what is meant by learning the hard way? “Do they, or don’t they”, as I believe Blair Jackson summarized the central mystery of the song.īut does it matter whether they did or didn’t? Clearly, he wanted to. There is nothing wrong about it, it’s just the way of the world.

There’s nothing wrong with the way she moves, there’s nothing wrong with her other charms, and there isn’t anything wrong with the reciprocating look in her eye. I’ve gone round and round in my head about all the clues in the song.Īfter all, sings the narrator: “I ain’t often right, but I’ve never been wrong,” adding, “It seldom turns out the way it does in the song.” Hmmmm. “She was too pat to open, and too cool to bluff.” Sounds like a card game metaphor for a one-night-stand courtship.

#China cat sunflower lyrics meaning free#.