One of its founders, Garcia performed with the Grateful Dead for their entire thirty-year career (1965–1995). Garcia also founded and participated in a variety of side projects, including the Saunders–Garcia Band (with longtime friend Merl Saunders), the Jerry Garcia Band, Old and in the Way, the Garcia/Grisman acoustic duo, Legion of Mary, and the New Riders of the Purple Sage (which Garcia co-founded with John Dawson and David Nelson). He also released several solo albums, and contributed to a number of albums by other artists over the years as a session musician. He was well known for his distinctive guitar playing and was ranked 46th in Rolling Stone's "100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time" cover story.
Later in life, Garcia was sometimes ill because of his diabetes, and in 1986 went into a diabetic coma that nearly cost him his life. Although his overall health improved somewhat after that, he also struggled with heroin and cocaine addictions, and was staying in a California drug rehabilitation facility when he died of a heart attack in August 1995.
Lonely Avenue
Jerry Garcia Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
You know it's always dark and dreary since I broke off, baby, with
you!
CHORUS:
I live on a lonely avenue,
My little girl wouldn't say, "I do".
Well, I feel so sad and blue
and it's all because of you.
I could die, I could die, I could die,
because I live on a lonely avenue, lonely avenue.
2. (Now my) covers they feel like lead and my pillow it feels like
stone,
Well, I've tossed and turned so ev'ry night,
I'm not used to being alone!
CHORUS
3. Now I've been so sad and lonesome since you've left this town,
If I could beg or borrow the money, child, I would be a highway
bound!
CHORUS
The song "Lonely Avenue" expresses the feelings of a heartbroken man who lives in a dreary room with no sunshine. The singer is consumed by sadness since breaking up with his girlfriend. He reflects on how his life has taken a downward spiral ever since the breakup. Every night, he lies in bed not used to being alone and unable to find solace in his covers and pillow. He feels as if he could cry or die, and the reason for his plight is his lost love. He longs to leave town but does not have the means to do so.
The repetitive use of "lonely avenue" in the chorus creates a sense of isolation and despair, emphasizing how his life has become after losing his girlfriend. The imagery of dark and dreary windows, covers feeling like lead, and a pillow feeling like a stone add to the sense of heaviness and misery that the man feels.
Line by Line Meaning
Now my room has got two windows but the sunshine never comes through,
My physical space is abundant with light sources, but I remain in a perpetual state of darkness and despair, incapable of seeing the brighter side of things, since you left me.
You know it's always dark and dreary since I broke off, baby, with you!
The atmosphere around me is consistently bleak and gloomy ever since we parted ways, my darling.
I live on a lonely avenue, My little girl wouldn't say, "I do".
I find myself living a solitary existence on this barren avenue, as my beloved refused to commit to a lifelong union with me.
Well, I feel so sad and blue and it's all because of you.
My heart is heavy with sorrow and melancholy, and it's entirely attributable to you, my dearest.
I could cry, I could cry, i could cry, I could die, I could die, I could die, because I live on a lonely avenue, lonely avenue.
The level of emotional pain and agony that I am experiencing is so profound that it could make me cry an endless stream of tears, or even contemplate the idea of ending my own life, as I go on living a life of isolation and loneliness on this road to nowhere.
(Now my) covers they feel like lead and my pillow it feels like stone, Well, I've tossed and turned so ev'ry night, I'm not used to being alone!
The bed that I sleep on feels as though it's weighed down by lead, and my pillow is akin to a slab of cold, hard rock. Every night, I toss and turn, unable to find a comfortable position in my newfound solitude, and I struggle to adjust to this unfamiliar situation.
Now I've been so sad and lonesome since you've left this town, If I could beg or borrow the money, child, I would be a highway bound!
Ever since you departed from this place, I've been overcome with an immense sense of sadness and desolation. If it were within my power to do so, I would beg, borrow, or do whatever it takes to leave this sorrowful town behind and embark on a journey to find a new life and a new love.
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Written by: DOC POMUS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@ScarlettFire341
"Jerry is gone in one form, but like the magician that he is, he has explosively been transformed into a million Jerrys—one improvising in each of our hearts." – Ram Dass
@herby1presents604
one of the best releases so far.... amazing!
@eggman615
It's hard to pick a fav
@eggman615
Vol. 3 tho ooooo wee
@jamesrumbaugh3283
Holy growling Jer Bear, Batman!.... listen up people, best take notes....you ain't gonna hear that "lonely" growl from cap trips only 5 or six times in his recorded career(which is EXTENSIVE) so that should tell you how special this track is.....smooth all over, but just rough enough to let you know its breathing hot fire...damn. miss that dude.....love
@upyanuts
Brought me back from the dead once upon a time
@tomb613
This release is pure lightning in a bottle. The female vocalist on a few of the tracks that aren't on youtube are sensational.
@thomasredfern5039
It' s too late and this song are the best tracks from this recording.
@FunkHitsTheFan
Need some more Jerry and Merl on lp!
@steveg6035
now youre talking