Grateful Dead Lyrics

Truckin
Truckin' got my chips cashed in.
Keep truckin', like the do-dah man
Together, more or less in line,
just keep truckin' on.

Arrows of neon and flashing marquees out on Main Street.
Chicago, New York, Detroit and it's all on the same street.
Your typical city involved in a typical daydream
Hang it up and see what tomorrow brings.

Dallas, got a soft machine
Houston, too close to New Orleans
New York's got the ways and means
but just won't let you be, oh no.

Most of the cast that you meet on the streets speak of true love,
Most of the time they're sittin' and cryin' at home.
One of these days they know they better get goin'
Out of the door and down on the streets all alone.

Truckin', like the do-dah man.
Once told me "You've got to play your hand"
Sometimes your cards ain't worth a dime,
if you don't lay'em down,

Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurres to me
What a long, strange trip it's been.

What in the world ever became of sweet Jane?
She lost her sparkle, you know she isn't the same
Livin' on reds, vitamin C, and cocaine,
All a friend can say is "Ain't it a shame?"

Truckin', up to Buffalo.
Been thinkin', you got to mellow slow
Takes time, you pick a place to go,
and just keep truckin' on.

Sittin' and starin' out of the hotel window.
Got a tip they're gonna kick the door in again
I'd like to get some sleep before I travel,
But if you got a warrant, I guess you're gonna come in.

Busted, down on Bourbon Street,
Set up, like a bowlin' pin.
Knocked down, it get's to wearin' thin.
They just won't let you be, oh no.

You're sick of hangin' around and you'd like to travel
Get tired of travelin' and you want to settle down.
I guess they can't revoke your soul for tryin',
Get out of the door and light out and look all around.

Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me
Other times I can barely see.
Lately it occurres to me
What a long, strange trip it's been.

Truckin', I'm a goin' home.
Whoa whoa baby, back where I belong,
Back home, sit down and patch my bones,
And get back truckin' on.
Hey now get back truckin' home.


Casey Jones
Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey Jones is ready, watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, trouble behind,
And you know that notion just crossed my mind.

This old engine makes it on time,
Leaves Central Station 'bout a quarter to nine,
Hits River Junction at seventeen to,
At a quarter to ten you know it's travlin' again.

Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Casey Jones is ready, watch your speed.
Trouble ahead, trouble behind,
And you know that notion just crossed my mind.

Trouble ahead, Lady in red,
Take my advice you'd be better off dead.
Switchman's sleeping, train hundred and two is
On the wrong track and headed for you.

Driving that train, high on cocaine,
Trouble ahead, trouble behind,
And you know that notion just crossed my mind.

Trouble with you is the trouble with me,
Got two good eyes but you still don't see.
Come round the bend, you know it's the end,
The fireman screams and the engine just gleams...


Sugar Magnolia
Sugar magnolia, blossoms blooming,
heads all empty and I don't care,
Saw my baby down by the river,
knew she'd have to come up soon for air.

Sweet blossom come on, under the willow,
we can have high times if you'll abide
We can discover the wonders of nature,
rolling in the rushes down by the riverside.

She's got everything delightful,
she's got everything I need,
Takes the wheel when I'm seeing double,
pays my ticket when I speed

She comes skimmin' through rays of violet,
she can wade in a drop of dew,
She don't come and I don't follow,
waits backstage while I sing to you.

Well, she can dance a Cajun rhythm,
jump like a willys in four wheel drive.
She's a summer love for spring, fall and winter.
She can make happy any man alive.

Sugar magnolia, ringing that bluebell,
caught up in sunlight, come on out singing
I'll walk you in the
come on honey, come along with me.

She's got everything delightful, she's got everything I need,
A breeze in the pines and the sun and bright moonlight,
lazing in the sunshine yes indeed.

Sometimes when the cuckoo's crying,
when the moon is half way down,
Sometimes when the night is dying,
I take me out and I wander around, I wander 'round.

Sunshine, daydream, walking in the tall trees,
going where the wind goes
Blooming like a red rose, breathing more freely,
Ride our singin', I'll walk you in the morning sunshine
Sunshine, daydream. Sunshine, daydream.
Walking in the sunshine.


Uncle John's Band
Well the first days are the hardest days, don't you worry any more,
'Cause when life looks like Easy Street, there is danger at your door.
Think this through with me, let me know your mind,
Wo, oh, what I want to know, is are you kind?

It's a buck dancer's choice my friend; better take my advice.
You know all the rules by now and the fire from the ice.
Will you come with me? Won't you come with me?
Wo, oh, what I want to know, will you come with me?

Goddamn, well I declare, have you seen the like?
Their wall are built of cannonballs,
their motto is "Don't tread on me".
Come hear Uncle John'n Band playing to the tide,
Come with me, or go alone, he's come to take his children home.

It's the same story the crow told me; it's the only one he knows.
Like the morning sun you come and like the wind you go.
Ain't no time to hate, barely time to wait,
Wo, oh, what I want to know, where does the time go?

I live in a silver mine and I call it Beggar's Tomb
I got me a violin and I beg you call the tune,
anybody's choice, I can hear your voice.
Wo, oh, what I want to know, how does the song go?

Come hear Uncle John's Band by the riverside,
Got some things to talk about, here beside the rising tide.

Come hear Uncle John's Band playing to the tide,
Come on along, or go alone, he's come to take his children home.
Wo, oh, what I want to know, how does the song go.


Mexicali Blues
Laid back in an old saloon, with a peso in my hand,
Watchin' flies and children on the street,
And I catch a glimpse of black-eyed girls who giggle when I smile,
There's a little boy who wants to shine my feet.

And it's three days ride from Bakersfield and I don't know why I came.
I guess I came to keep from payin' dues.
So instead I've got a bottle and a girl who's just fourteen,
And a damn good case of the Mexicali Blues. Yeh!

Is there anything a man don't stand to lose,
When the devil wants to take it all away?
Cherish well your thoughts, and keep a tight grip on your booze,
Cause thinkin' and drinkin' are all I have today.

She said her name was Billy Jean and she was fresh in town.
I didn't know a stage line ran from Hell.
She had raven hair, a ruffled dress, a necklace made of gold,
All the french perfume you'd care to smell.

She took me up into her room and whispered in my ear,
"Go on, my friend, do anything you choose."
Now I'm payin' for those happy hours I spent there in her arms,
With a lifetime's worth of the Mexicali Blues.

Is there anything a man don't stand to lose,
When the devil wants to take it all away?
Cherish well your thoughts, and keep a tight grip on your booze
Cause thinkin' and drinkin' are all I have today.

And then a man rode into town, some thought he was the law.
Billy Jean was waitin' when he came.
She told me he would take her, if I didn't use my gun,
I'd have no one but myself to blame.

I went down to those dusty streets, blood was on my mind.
I guess that stranger hadn't heard the news
Cause I shot first and killed him, Lord, he didn't even draw
And he made me trade the gallows for the Mexicali Blues.

Is there anything a man don't stand to lose
When he lets a woman hold him in her hands?
He just might find himself out there on horseback in the dark
Just ridin' and runnin' across those desert sands.


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