Going Down the Road Feelin' Bad

[Old and In the Way]

"Going where the water tastes like wine......don't want to be treated this old way."

Is there any more song that is Americana?

[Earth_First]

1. Right ON OAITW...

B-)

[Taverner]

2. The Dead seemed to be the last ones flying the flag for Americana

They managed to ressurect old standards that were old for even them....

I don't think anyone does that today...

[HornBuckler]

3. Are You Guys Forgetting Dylan?

The air is getting hotter
There's a rumbling in the skies
I've been wading through the high muddy water
With the heat rising in my eyes
Every day your memory grows dimmer
It doesn't haunt me like it did before
I've been walking through the middle of nowhere
Trying to get to heaven before they close the door

When I was in Missouri
They would not let me be
I had to leave there in a hurry
I only saw what they let me see
You broke a heart that loved you
Now you can seal up the book and not write anymore
I've been walking that lonesome valley
Trying to get to heaven before they close the door

People on the platforms
Waiting for the trains
I can hear their hearts a-beatin'
Like pendulums swinging on chains
When you think that you lost everything
You find out you can always lose a little more
I'M JUST GOING DOWN THE ROAD FEELING BAD
Trying to get to heaven before they close the door

I'm going down the river
Down to New Orleans
They tell me everything is gonna be all right
But I don't know what "all right" even means
I was riding in a buggy with Miss Mary-Jane
Miss Mary-Jane got a house in Baltimore
I been all around the world, boys
Now I'm trying to get to heaven before they close the door

Gonna sleep down in the parlor
And relive my dreams
I'll close my eyes and I wonder
If everything is as hollow as it seems
Some trains don't pull no gamblers
No midnight ramblers, like they did before
I been to Sugar Town, I shook the sugar down
Now I'm trying to get to heaven before they close the door

[Taverner]

4. Dylan writes standards, he doesn't play them

[Old and In the Way]

6. Check out 'Postcards at the Hanging'

Nobody, not even Dylan, played Dylan like the Dead. Awesome album.

[HornBuckler]

9. How Can Someone Play A Cover Song Better Than

The Man That Wrote It? It Doesn't Happen, The Dead Were Good - But They Couldn't Write Like Dylan.

[latebloomer]

10. What about Hendrix doin "All Along the Watchtower"?

Smokin!!!

[Old and In the Way]

13. weakest tune on that album.

That's how good it is.

Desolation Row.....totally awesome.

[HornBuckler]

14. Well That Is A Good Cover -

I Can't Honestly Say It's Better Than The Original - But It's A Damn Fine Effort From A Man Who Absolutely Idolized Bob - His Versions Of Like A Rolling Stone, Please Crawl Out Your Window, And Drifter's Escape Are Also Very Well Done. Just Not Better Than The Original - Writing A Song Is The Hardest Part. No One Can Deliver A Song Properly Without Having A Deep Understanding Of The Material, Who Better Than The Composer?

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

19. The definitive version....

...love it!

[HornBuckler]

7. What's That Supposed To Mean?

Dylan Oozes Americana - No One Plays His Songs Better Than Him. I Must Be Misunderstanding You.

[Old and In the Way]

11. Have you heard that album?

Serious, Dylan toured with the Dead. He has always thought the Dead played his stuff the way it was meant to be played.

"Postcards" is a compilation of every Dylan tune. The waekest tune on this album is the last one....and Dylan is lead singer on the album. Bob Wier sings Dylan....better 'n Dylan.

[HornBuckler]

16. Yes, I have The Album

It's Postcards "OF" The Hanging By The Way :) I Simply Disagree That Anyone Does Dylan Better Than Dylan.

[Old and In the Way]

20. Well, of course you are correct....about the wording.

;-)

I'm toasted right now......but, you have to admit the Dead played Dylan tunes pretty damn well. I buddy of mine who toured with the Dead told me about a night he spent with Phil Lesh and Bob Dylan back in the 70's. According to my friend, Dylan thought the Dead played his stuff the way he wanted to hear it....there you go.

[HornBuckler]

24. Well, I'll Agree With You On That

Dylan, Is A Pretty Damn Nice Guy From What I Gather. He Said The Same Thing About Johnny Cash. I Never Said They Didn't Play Them Well, Just Not As Good As Dylan Himself - Just My Opinion Bro!

:)

[Old and In the Way]

30. I can respect that

:toast:

[Old and In the Way]

40. Sugar Magnolia............

Did you ever make love to a better tne?

[jpgray]

18. He has his heroes, though

[Old and In the Way]

5. You are correct.

The Dead kept a lot of 'old standards" alive....and creted a few themselves.

If you haven't heard, check out "Whiskey in the Jar". This was a tune that Garcia was practicing with Dave Grisman. Garcia started jammin' with the Dead in rehearsal.....if people want to hear how good the Dead were, they ought to listen to this. 5 guys playing it for the 1st time....a great American band, no doubt.

[Old and In the Way]

29. My point, exactly.

I remember the "British Invasion". But I was always partial to a band that was homegrown....."American Beauty" was simply a great piece of music.

[Old and In the Way]

8. More Americana: Tennessee Jed

Blues? Bluegrass? Jazz? I don't know, but I know Americana when I hear it.

[jpgray]

12. My avatar approves of this thread. (nt)

[Old and In the Way]

15. One of my favorite posters on the DU

Coincidence? I think not!

[jpgray]

23. I actually listened to this song a few hours ago

I was spinning the first volume of the Asche Recordings--great stuff.

[Old and In the Way]

32. Asche Recordings? What's that?

[jpgray]

36. A collection of what Guthrie recorded for Moses Asch

It's a four disc set.

[Radical Activist]

51. Oh that's it! Now you've done it!

I'm gonna hafta pull out the Asch recordings and start listening too. All this talk of Guthrie songs finally got to me.

Pretty Boy Floyd sounds good right now.

[Old and In the Way]

61. Pretty Boy Floyd

I kinda like the Byrds version....anyone else?

[Radical Activist]

17. It's a mighty hard row that my poor hands have hoed

I've wandered all over your green growing land,
Where ever your crops are I've lent you my hand,
On the edge of your cities you'll see me and then,
I come with the dust and I've gone with the wind.

Green pastures of plenty from dry desert ground
From the Grand Coulee dam where the waters run down,
Every state of this union us migrants have been,
We come with the dust and we're gone with the wind.


Guthrie had a lot of great songs like that. The man was a musical genius and an inspiration. He didn't just sing about great American leaders or events like many do. He sang about the American people, especially the downtrodden.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

21. thats a bluegrass standard....

..i first heard this as a cover by the SW Ohio bluegrasser Dave Evans. It sent chills down my spine......


Friggin outstanding!

[Radical Activist]

48. really?

I'm surprised I've never heard a bluegrass version of that song since I'm a bluegrass fan. I can imagine it would sound good as bluegrass song though.
Pastures of Plenty is one of my all-time favorites. I'm trying to learn acoustic guitar and I want to start with some Woody Guthrie songs.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

52. ive heard it peformed locally.

,,,but a local recorded version would be by Dave Evans.

[Old and In the Way]

26. Never heard that, but will look for it.

The Dead obviously have a great compilation of their own tunes, but they also amplified a lot of other great Americana-

Dylan
Kris Kristofferson
Elvis Presley
Chuck Berry
Buddy Holly
Warren Zevon
Merle Haggerd
Woody Guthrie


But most of all, Bob Dylan....

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

22. Jerry Garcia started out doing bluegrass....

,,hes a banjo player.

So, yeah, hes jakced in to those old trad sounds for sure.

[Old and In the Way]

27. 'Bluegrass Breakdown'

One of the most awesome flat pickin' banjo playing "i've ever heard. Garcia on Meth, I think.

[Whitacre D_WI]

25. Way down in Columbus, Georgia,

I wanna be back in Tennessee.
Way down in Columbus stockade,
My gal, she turned her back on me.

Go and leave me if you wish to,
Never let me cross your mind.
If in your heart you love another;
Go, little darlin', I don't mind.

[Old and In the Way]

28. What's that tune?

I'm not familiar with this one.....

[Whitacre D_WI]

31. "Columbus Stockade"

By... well, everybody.

Everybody who has ever played traditional American music has played that one.

[Old and In the Way]

33. Not Fade Away.................

Buddy would have been proud with the Dead's renditions, I think. Gawd, they rocked this...

[Whitacre D_WI]

34. I'm not a Dead fan...

...but I really like the Stones' cover of "Not Fade Away."

[Old and In the Way]

35. Well, I like the old Stones.....

And I know the Stone's version of "Not Fade Away"......but the Dead own this tune, IMHO. We can agree to disagree, though... ;-) .

[Old and In the Way]

37. "Around and Around"

Know they sounded so sweet
I had to take a chance
rose out of my seat
I jez had to dance......

[Old and In the Way]

38. Truckin'......how more Americana can you get than that?

All a friend can say is "ain't it shame"......

Busted, down on Burboun St......

sometimes the soft light shinning on me....other times, I can bearly see.....what a long, strange trip its been.


American Beauty, was an amazing album....this was what I was listening to back in the very early 70's.

[Old and In the Way]

39. Dark Hollow

Dark Hollow
Lyrics: Bill Browning
Music: Bill Browning

Played by the Dead in acoustic sets in 1970 and again in 1980, with a couple of electric performances in 1971. The versions differ a little (thanks to John Krulish for pointing this out to me). This is the 1980s version of the lyrics, with changes noted:

I'd rather be in some dark hollow (note 1)
Where the sun don't ever shine
Than to be in some big city
In a small room with a girl on my mind (note 2)

Chorus
So blow your whistle freight train
Take me far on down the track
I'm going away, I'm leaving today
I'm going but I ain't coming back

I'd rather be in some dark hollow (note 3)
Where the sun don't ever shine
Than to see you another man's darling
And to know that you'll never me mine



I'd rather be in some dark hollow
Where the sun don't ever shine
Than to be home alone, knowing that you're gone
Would cause me to lose my mind


I'm going away, I'm leaving today
Well I'm going, but I ain't coming back

Notes
(1) on the version on "Bear's Choice", Weir reverses the order of the first and last verses
(2) on "Bear's Choice", Weir sings "... with you on my mind"
(3) Weir sang this verse in the 1980 version on "Reckoning" but not in the early 1970s versions

Grateful Dead Recordings
14 Feb 1970 Bear's Choice (History Of The Grateful Dead Vol 1)
29 Apr 1971 Ladies And Gentlemen ... The Grateful Dead
? Oct 1980 Reckoning

Roots
The first verse of "Dark Hollow" is part of a traditional song East Virginia Blues, and a similar verse also appears in the song Little Birdie. Garcia sang both of these songs in pre-Dead days.

The Grateful Dead versions are credited to Bill Browning. He recorded it on the 'B' side of his single "Borned With The Blues" in 1958 (see Terry Gordon's discography). The lyrics in the Bill Browing version are very close to what Weir sings, with some small differences:
I'd rather be in some dark hollow
Where the sun don't never shine
Than to be at home alone, just knowing that she's gone
That would cause me to lose my mind

Chorus
So freight train blow your whistle
Take me far on down the track
I'm going away, I'm leaving today
I'm going but I ain't coming back

I'd rather be in some dark hollow
Where the sun don't never shine
Than to be in some big city
In a small room with her on my mind



This version of the song was a minor hit for Jimmy Skinner (to be found on the cassette of his 20 greatest hits) and was a favourite of Del McCoury, who first sang it as a member of Bill Monroe's Blue Grass Boys, which may be the source for Weir's version. It was also recorded by Mac Wiseman and others.

Clarence Ashley recorded a song called "Dark Holler" in 1929 that shows its close links to East Virginia Blues:
I was born in old Virginia
South Carolina I did go
There I courted a pretty little women
But her age I did not know

Well her hair was brown and curly
And her cheeks was rosy red
On her breasts she wore white lilies
For the tears that I have shed

When I'm asleep I'm dreaming about you
When I wake I have no rest
Ever moment seems like an hour
All the pain rolls through my breast

I'd rather be in some dark hollow
Where the sun don't ever shine
Than for you to be some other man's darling
When you ain't no longer mine

Papa says I must not marry
Papa says it'll never do
But little girl if you are willing
I will run away with you

For I'd rather be in some dark hollow
Where the sun don't ever shine
Than for you to be some other man's darling
When you ain't no longer mine

When I'm asleep I'm dreaming about you
When I wake I have no rest
Every moment seems like an hour
All the pain rolls through my breast



Futher Information
For an online discussion of the lyrics to this song see the deadsongs.vue conference on The Well.
For more information on recordings see Matt Schofield's Grateful Dead Family Discography
For online chords and TAB see www.rukind.com

[darkstar]

41. The Dead's mythic America:

card games
rivers
shacks on county lines
trains and rail line names
guns
assorted con men
floods, bitter winters, heat waves, rain
drifters and grifters
mines
circuses
cowboys
violent death
dozens--hundreds?--of U.S. place names
liquor
labor
flower and tree names
troubles with the law

Hit a snag. I'm sure there's more.

"From sea to shining sea-ee-ee-ee...."

P.S. It just struck me that Jack Straw alone contains, what, nearly half of the above?

[Old and In the Way]

42. Hahahahaha

Yes, I think you tapped into the idea. These were the ideas that run through out our culture.

Yor forgot card games, though.

:-)

[darkstar]

44. My uncle here is willing to wager you that bag of gold he's holding

that I didn't ferget no card games in that list.

Draw!

:hi:

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

54. Has the Dead covered Lilly Rosemary & the Jack of Hearts?

Of all the Dylan tunes I think this would fit into their "mythic America" reptoire....

[Old and In the Way]

56. That would have been awesome, but not that I'm aware of...

Blood on the Tracks....my favorite Dylan album.

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

59. heh..mine too....

Dylan aces that one bigtime.

[darkstar]

60. "Dylan aces that one...."

Well, er, played.

[darkstar]

58. No kidding!

And you know that *every single verse* would be in there. I really admire that about their Dylan covers.

[Old and In the Way]

43. Soory, I'm hammered......

You did have that #1.....

And isn't that the way life is? Draw that next card......

[darkstar]

45. Wow! Great cross posting!

:toast:

[Old and In the Way]

47. I'll meet your Queen of Diamonds......

and call my flush!

:-)

[Waverley_Hills_Hiker]

53. Heh..thats pretty good....

Not bad!

"The Great Nothern out of Cheyenne...."

[darkstar]

57. Hey WHH !

I wish I was a headlight on the Great Northern out of Cheyenne, I'd cruise on down to the Gulf....

:toast:

[Old and In the Way]

46. Ramblin' On Rose

Just like Jack the Ripper
Just like Mojo Hand
Just like Billy Sunday
In a shotgun ragtime band
Just like New York City,
Just like Jericho
Pace the halls and climb the walls
Get out when they blow
(Chorus)
Did you say your name was
Ramblin' Rose?
Ramble on, baby
Settle down easy
Ramble on, Rose

Just like Jack and Jill
Mama told the sailor
One heat up and one cool down
Leave nothin' for the tailor
Just like Jack and Jill
My Papa told the jailer
One go up and one come down
Do yourself a favor

(Chorus)

(Bridge)

I'm gonna sing you a hundred verses in ragtime
I know this song it ain't never gonna end
I'm gonna march you up and down the local county line
Take you to the leader of the band


Just like Crazy Otto
Just like Wolfman Jack
Sittin' plush with a royal flush
Aces back to back
Just like Mary Shelley
Just like Frankenstein
Clank your chains and count your change
Try to walk the line

(Repeat chorus and bridge)

Goodbye, Mama and Papa
Goodbye, Jack and Jill
The grass ain't greener, the wine ain't sweeter
either side of the hill.

Did you say your name was
Ramblin' Rose?
Ramble on, baby
Settle down easy
Ramble on, Rose

Words by Robert Hunter, coolness by Jerome Garcia.

[darkstar]

50. Yep

That's the Dead's America right there.

And, hey, for all these years we been crossing paths, it's nice to have a proper GD exchange w/ you, OAITW. Kind of funny how our two handles which kinda represent the poles of the Jerry Garcia Experience have never really compared notes or anything.

Anyhow, sorry if I wind up cutting this short. Eating pizza while my wife warms up the tv for a DVD. Take care.

[Old and In the Way]

55. You are right about that....

Darkstar....the Other One........The Elevan.....yeah, I can relate..

:-)

[Old and In the Way]

49. Nobody, but nobody kept the beat

like Bill Kruetzman. period. End of report.

[Old and In the Way]

62. Allman Brothers did this too.....

Duane playing a nasty Dobro.....