The Grateful Dead was founded in the San Francisco Bay Area amid the rise of the counterculture of the 1960s. The founding members were Jerry Garcia (lead guitar, vocals), Bob Weir (rhythm guitar, vocals), Ron "Pigpen" McKernan (keyboards, harmonica, vocals), Phil Lesh (bass, vocals), and Bill Kreutzmann (drums). Members of the Grateful Dead had played together in various San Francisco bands, including Mother McCree's Uptown Jug Champions and the Warlocks. Lesh was the last member to join the Warlocks before they became the Grateful Dead; he replaced Dana Morgan Jr., who had played bass for a few gigs. Drummer Mickey Hart and non-performing lyricist Robert Hunter joined in 1967. With the exception of McKernan, who died in 1973, and Hart, who took time off from 1971 to 1974, the core of the band stayed together for its entire 30-year history. The other official members of the band are Tom Constanten (keyboards; 1968–1970), John Perry Barlow (nonperforming lyricist; 1971–1995), Keith Godchaux (keyboards; 1971–1979), Donna Godchaux (vocals; 1972–1979), Brent Mydland (keyboards, vocals; 1979–1990), and Vince Welnick (keyboards, vocals; 1990–1995). Bruce Hornsby (accordion, piano, vocals) was a touring member from 1990 to 1992, as well as a guest with the band on occasion before and after the tours.
The name "Grateful Dead" was chosen from a dictionary. According to Phil Lesh, "[Jerry Garcia] picked up an old Britannica World Language Dictionary ... [and] ... In that silvery elf-voice he said to me, 'Hey, man, how about the Grateful Dead?'" The definition there was "the soul of a dead person, or his angel, showing gratitude to someone who, as an act of charity, arranged their burial". According to Alan Trist, director of the Grateful Dead's music publisher company Ice Nine, Garcia found the name in the Funk & Wagnalls Folklore Dictionary, when his finger landed on that phrase while playing a game of Fictionary. In the Garcia biography, Captain Trips, author Sandy Troy states that the band was smoking the psychedelic DMT at the time. The term "grateful dead" appears in folktales of a variety of cultures.
Live performances
The Grateful Dead toured constantly throughout their career, playing more than 2,300 concerts. They promoted a sense of community among their fans, who became known as "Deadheads", many of whom followed their tours for months or years on end. Around concert venues, an impromptu communal marketplace known as 'Shakedown Street' was created by Deadheads to serve as centers of activity where fans could buy and sell anything from grilled cheese sandwiches to home-made t-shirts and recordings of Grateful Dead concerts.
In their early career, the band also dedicated their time and talents to their community, the Haight-Ashbury area of San Francisco, making available free food, lodging, music, and health care to all. It has been said that the band performed "more free concerts than any band in the history of music".
With the exception of 1975, when the band was on hiatus and played only four concerts together, the Grateful Dead performed many concerts every year, from their formation in April 1965, until July 9, 1995. Initially all their shows were in California, principally in the San Francisco Bay Area and in or near Los Angeles. They also performed, in 1965 and 1966, with Ken Kesey and the Merry Pranksters, as the house band for the Acid Tests. They toured nationally starting in June 1967 (their first foray to New York), with a few detours to Canada, Europe and three nights at the Great Pyramid of Giza in Egypt in 1978. They appeared at the Monterey Pop Festival in 1967, the Woodstock Festival in 1969 and the Festival Express train tour across Canada in 1970. They were scheduled to appear as the final act at the infamous Altamont Free Concert on December 6, 1969 after the Rolling Stones but withdrew after security concerns. "That's the way things went at Altamont—so badly that the Grateful Dead, prime organizers and movers of the festival, didn't even get to play", staff at Rolling Stone magazine wrote in a detailed narrative on the event.
Their first UK performance was at the Hollywood Music Festival in 1970. Their largest concert audience came in 1973 when they played, along with the Allman Brothers Band and the Band, before an estimated 600,000 people at the Summer Jam at Watkins Glen. They played to an estimated total of 25 million people, more than any other band, with audiences of up to 80,000 attending a single show. Many of these concerts were preserved in the band's tape vault, and several dozen have since been released on CD and as downloads. The Dead were known for the tremendous variation in their setlists from night to night—the list of songs documented to have been played by the band exceeds 500. The band has released four concert videos under the name View from the Vault.
In the 1990s, the Grateful Dead earned a total of $285 million in revenue from their concert tours, the second-highest during the 1990s, with the Rolling Stones earning the most. This figure is representative of tour revenue through 1995, as touring stopped after the death of Jerry Garcia. In a 1991 PBS documentary, segment host Buck Henry attended an August 1991 concert at Shoreline Amphitheatre and gleaned some information from some band members about the Grateful Dead phenomenon and its success. At the time, Jerry Garcia stated, "We didn't really invent the Grateful Dead, the crowd invented the Grateful Dead, you know what I mean? We were sort of standing in line, and uh, it's gone way past our expectations, way past, so it's, we've been going along with it to see what it's gonna do next." Furthermore, Mickey Hart stated, "This is one of the last places in America that you can really have this kind of fun, you know, considering the political climate and so forth." Hart also stated that "the transformative power of the Grateful Dead is really the essence of it; it's what it can do to your consciousness. We're more into transportation than we are into music, per se, I mean, the business of the Grateful Dead is transportation." One of the band's largest concerts took place just months before Garcia's death — at their outdoor show with Bob Dylan in Highgate, Vermont on June 15, 1995. The crowd was estimated to be over 90,000; overnight camping was allowed and about a third of the audience got in without having purchased a ticket.
Their numerous studio albums were generally collections of new songs that they had first played in concert. The band was also famous for its extended musical improvisations, having been described as having never played the same song the same way twice. Their concert sets often blended songs, one into the next, often for more than three songs at a time.
Tapes
Like several other bands during this time, the Grateful Dead allowed their fans to record their shows. For many years the tapers set up their microphones wherever they could, and the eventual forest of microphones became a problem for the sound crew. Eventually, this was solved by having a dedicated taping section located behind the soundboard, which required a special "tapers" ticket. The band allowed sharing of their shows, as long as no profits were made on the sale of the tapes.
Of the approximately 2,350 shows the Grateful Dead played, almost 2,200 were taped, and most of these are available online. The band began collecting and cataloging tapes early on and Dick Latvala was their keeper. "Dick's Picks" is named after Latvala. After his death in 1999, David Lemieux gradually took the post. Concert set lists from a subset of 1,590 Grateful Dead shows were used to perform a comparative analysis between how songs were played in concert and how they are listened online by Last.fm members. In their book Marketing Lessons from the Grateful Dead: What Every Business Can Learn From the Most Iconic Band in History, David Meerman Scott and Brian Halligan identify the taper section as a crucial contributor to increasing the Grateful Dead's fan base.
After the death of Garcia in 1995, former members of the band, along with other musicians, toured as the Other Ones in 1998, 2000, and 2002, and the Dead in 2003, 2004, and 2009. In 2015, the four surviving core members marked the band's 50th anniversary in a series of concerts that were billed as their last performances together. There have also been several spin-offs featuring one or more core members, such as Dead & Company, Furthur, the Rhythm Devils, Phil Lesh and Friends, RatDog, and Billy & the Kids.
Saint Stephen
Grateful Dead Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Country garden in the wind and the rain,
Wherever he goes the people all complain.
Stephen prospered in his time, well he may and he may decline.
Did it matter, does it now? Stephen would answer if he only knew how.
Wishing well with a golden bell, bucket hanging clear to hell,
Hell halfway twixt now and then,
Lady finger, dipped in moonlight, writing "What for?" across the morning sky.
Sunlight splatters, dawn with answer, darkness shrugs and bids the day good-bye.
Speeding arrow, sharp and narrow,
What a lot of fleeting matters you have spurned.
Several seasons with their treasons,
Wrap the babe in scarlet colors, call it your own.
Did he doubt or did he try? Answers aplenty in the bye and bye,
Talk about your plenty, talk about your ills,
One man gathers what another man spills.
Saint Stephen will remain, all he's lost he shall regain,
Seashore washed by the suds and foam,
Been here so long, he's got to calling it home.
Fortune comes a crawlin', Goliath be warnin', spinnin' that curious sense of
your own.
Can you answer? Yes I can. But what would be the answer to the answer man?
The lyrics to "Saint Stephen" by Grateful Dead are full of mythical imagery and metaphorical language that can be open for interpretation. The song starts talking about Saint Stephen with a rose, moving in and out of the garden where he is incessantly complaining about his troubles. The garden, however, is not limited to just a physical space, but rather symbolizes the universe or the world, where Saint Stephen is merely a wanderer.
The lyrics then describe that Stephen may prosper or decline, which ultimately does not matter. He is then seen at a wishing well with a golden bell, where he fills up the bucket and lowers it down to hell, halfway between now and then. The song then talks about Lady Finger dipped in moonlight, portraying how nature interacts with us humans. The lyrics question life's fleeting matters and seasons with their treasons while wrapping a babe in scarlet colors, representing the cycle of life.
The final verse of "Saint Stephen" talks about how he is still the legend, even after losing everything, and he shall regain it all. Fortune is crawling, and Goliath needs to beware as Stephen's sense of curiosity will make him work towards the answer. The audience is then left with the question, “Can you answer?" implying that life does not provide easy answers, but Stephen can come close to finding them.
Line by Line Meaning
Saint Stephen with a rose, in and out of the garden he goes,
Stephen, carrying a rose, moves in and out of the garden.
Country garden in the wind and the rain,
The garden located in the countryside where Stephen frequents is exposed to harsh weather conditions.
Wherever he goes the people all complain.
People who Stephen encounters along his travels have complaints about him.
Stephen prospered in his time, well he may and he may decline.
Stephen experienced success at one point, but his fortunes may change.
Did it matter, does it now? Stephen would answer if he only knew how.
Stephen ponders whether his past fortune still has any significance, but he is unsure how to answer.
Wishing well with a golden bell, bucket hanging clear to hell,
A well with a golden bell and a bucket hanging precariously over the inferno is present.
Hell halfway twixt now and then,
Hell lies in between Stephen's past and present.
Stephen fill it up and lower down and lower down again.
Stephen fills the bucket and brings it down into the well repeatedly.
Lady finger, dipped in moonlight, writing "What for?" across the morning sky.
A finger, illuminated by moonlight, writes the question 'What for?' in the sky at dawn.
Sunlight splatters, dawn with answer, darkness shrugs and bids the day good-bye.
The morning sun illuminates the sky, providing an answer to the previous question, and night falls again.
Speeding arrow, sharp and narrow,
A fast and precise arrow is present.
What a lot of fleeting matters you have spurned.
The artist comments on how many trivial things the arrow has disregarded.
Several seasons with their treasons,
Multiple seasons and their associated betrayals are present.
Wrap the babe in scarlet colors, call it your own.
A baby is wrapped in crimson cloth and claimed as someone's own.
Did he doubt or did he try? Answers aplenty in the bye and bye,
The singer questions whether someone had doubts or attempted something, and numerous answers will eventually come.
Talk about your plenty, talk about your ills,
The artist urges the listener to discuss both their successes and their troubles.
One man gathers what another man spills.
One person accumulates what another person leaves behind.
Saint Stephen will remain, all he's lost he shall regain,
Stephen will persist, and all his losses will be recouped.
Seashore washed by the suds and foam,
The ocean's shore is foamy and airy.
Been here so long, he's got to calling it home.
Stephen has been at the seashore for so long that it feels like home to him.
Fortune comes a crawlin', Goliath be warnin', spinnin' that curious sense of your own.
Good luck appears slowly, but one must be careful not to become too prideful.
Can you answer? Yes I can. But what would be the answer to the answer man?
The artist asks if the listener can answer a question, but then poses a rhetorical question about who provides answers to the people who claim to have all of them.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
Written by: Jerome J. Garcia, Philip Lesh, Robert C. Hunter
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@adultstorebob
Saint Stephen with a rose, in and out of the garden he goes,
Country garden in the wind and the rain,
Wherever he goes the people all complain.
Stephen prospered in his time, well he may and he may decline.
Did it matter, does it now? Stephen would answer if he only knew how.
Wishing well with a golden bell, bucket hanging clear to hell,
Hell halfway twixt now and then,
Stephen fill it up and lower down and lower down again.
Lady finger, dipped in moonlight, writing "What for?" across the morning sky.
Sunlight splatters, dawn with answer, darkness shrugs and bids the day goodbye.
Speeding arrow, sharp and narrow,
What a lot of fleeting matters you have spurned.
Several seasons with their treasons,
Wrap the babe in scarlet colors, call it your own.
Did he doubt or did he try? Answers aplenty in the bye and bye,
Talk about your plenty, talk about your ills,
One man gathers what another man spills.
Saint Stephen will remain, all he's lost he shall regain,
Seashore washed by the suds and foam,
Been here so long, he's got to calling it home.
Fortune comes a crawlin', calliope woman, spinnin' that curious sense of your own.
Can you answer? Yes I can. But what would be the answer to the answer man?
@Rodsupremos
Saint stephen with a rose, in and out of the garden he goes,
Country garden in the wind and the rain,
Wherever he goes the people all complain.
Stephen prospered in his time, well he may and he may decline.
Did it matter, does it now? stephen would answer if he only knew how.
Wishing well with a golden bell, bucket hanging clear to hell,
Hell halfway twixt now and then,
Stephen fill it up and lower down and lower down again.
Lady finger, dipped in moonlight, writing what for? across the morning sky.
Sunlight splatters, dawn with answer, darkness shrugs and bids the day good-bye.
Speeding arrow, sharp and narrow,
What a lot of fleeting matters you have spurned.
Several seasons with their treasons,
Wrap the babe in scarlet colors, call it your own.
Did he doubt or did he try? answers aplenty in the bye and bye,
Talk about your plenty, talk about your ills,
One man gathers what another man spills.
Saint stephen will remain, all hes lost he shall regain,
Seashore washed by the suds and foam,
Been here so long, hes got to calling it home.
Fortune comes a crawlin, calliope woman, spinnin that curious sense of your own.
Can you answer? yes I can. but what would be the answer to the answer man?
@kyliej9641
my dad was in a bad car wreck when i was 17 and i brought him one of my dead bears to have in the hospital...the surgeon who was treating him saw it and he asked my dad if he was a fan..of course my dad said yes..and told him the last time he seen them was in chicago in 93..the surgeon laughed and said "me too". The surgeon operated on my dad listening to greatest hits. I think that is awesome. Just surreal how music can connect us to each other.
@sandywilson7510
Dr bombay
@antimurphy8212
That's an incredible story! God Bless you your dad the surgeon and of course, The Grateful Dead!
@coughpillbox748
Beautiful story, I hope your dad is still strong and going.
@garynoling
awesome
@billyoung6939
Epic story, he was in "dead mode" the best surgery he ever performed. Lol
@SnowTheJamMan
"If you wanna hear St. Stephen listen to the record" - Jerry to the crowd at an early 70's show
@giffordhampshire9645
@@haydenfields3900 there’s gotta be at least one where they do? no?
@giffordhampshire9645
@@haydenfields3900 oh yeah for sure!
@blazintommydblazintommyd4416
lol that might have been me. Actually Phil Lesh said "we don't do that one anymore"