Well, I guess I have to think it could matter, depending, or else-why bother to think about the lyrics at all? There is the whole thing about the word “jones,” itself, which was later used in the addiction sense by Barlow and Weir in “Throwing Stones.” Could “Casey Jones” be a reference to that sense of the word? Some have said that Hunter may have written it during the Festival Express tour, while the band was on a train, possibly high on something or other, making their way across Canada. Speculation abounds that Hunter wrote the song as a cautionary tale, with many hidden drug-reference meanings tucked away into the lyrics (including a wonderfully byzantine theory that if “white lady” is a nickname for cocaine, then “lady in red” is a reference to intravenous delivery of cocaine). Robert Hunter, it is said, thought of the line: “Driving that train, high on cocaine,” and wrote it down, stuck it in his pocket, and pretty much forgot about it until it struck him that he might write a song around the line. (You can jump on over to if you really want the background.) The bare facts of the historical basis for the legend have been pretty well documented. I wrote a fairly complete annotation about the character of Casey Jones, whose story was told in “The Ballad of Casey Jones,” which was, in turn, performed by the Dead at least a couple of times during acoustic sets in 1970. Maybe someday someone will write a song called “Daddy, What’s a Typewriter?” to go with “Daddy, What’s a Train?” Someday, scholars will have to add a footnote to Garcia’s statement, explaining what a “typewriter” was, and what kind of sound it made, and why it is or is not an apt metaphor for the way the vocal track sounds on the song. Upcoming generations will draw a blank when they encounter this typewriter analogy-although the characterization of the vocal mix having a mechanical-sounding split second delay is pretty evocative. Let’s focus on the typewriter for a minute, because frankly, I think every aspect of this song has been pretty much talked through from beginning to end quite a number of times! Seriously. And also that sing-songy thing, because that's what it is, a sing-songy thing, a little melody that gets in your head." It's got a split-second little delay, which sounds very mechanical, like a typewriter almost, on the vocal, which is like a little bit jangly, and the whole thing is, I always thought it's a pretty good musical picture of what cocaine is like. He replied: "Sometimes, but that's what it's supposed to do. In the Charles Reich interview with Jerry Garcia, published as Garcia: Signpost To New Space, Garcia was asked if this song grates on him when he hears it. (I’ll consider requests for particular songs-just private message me!) 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. The song is featured on Roots of Creation's "Grateful Dub: A Reggae-Infused Tribute To The Grateful Dead," which refreshes the Dead's most beloved songs for a new audience and hit #1 on Billboard's Reggae Albums chart.įronted by Brett Wilson, Roots of Creation has become known for their high energy live shows, packing venues all over the country, and has shared the stage with some of their legendary influences, including Slightly Stoopid, The Wailers, and Michael Franti.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. "Casey Jones" features Dan Kelly of California-based reggae band Fortunate Youth and was brought to life by the production of original Bob Marley engineering legend Errol "Tuff Sound" Brown. Filmed between the East and West Coasts, the video celebrates the 50th anniversary of the original Grateful Dead release and showcases iconic locations in NYC and Los Angeles. "Casey Jones" tells the tale of a locomotive engineer who became a folk hero after his death in a train crash in 1900. Billboard #1 charting reggae-rock band Roots of Creation has returned with their new music video "Casey Jones," an infectious revival of the Grateful Dead classic.
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