Morning Open Thread is a daily, copyrighted post, from a host of editors and guest writers. We support our community, invite and share ideas, and encourage thoughtful, respectful dialogue in an open forum. This series was conceived as a haven where folks can drop in to share conversation, ideas, weather reports, and music. Feel free to leave a note, comment, picture, or tune. As always the diarist gets to sleep in, and may show up long after the post is published. Or not. So you know, it's a feature, not a bug.
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Jerome John Garcia was born on August 1, 1942. Jerry Garcia died on August 9, 1995
The nine days from August 1 through August 9 are now celebrated around the world as “The Days Between.”
These are the days between….
... Grateful Dead - that's it !! ... nobody in the band liked it. I didn't like it, either, but it got around that that was one of the candidates for our new name, and everyone else said, 'Yeah, that's great.' It turned out to be tremendously lucky. It's just repellent enough to filter curious onlookers and just quirky enough that parents don't like it.
- Jerry Garcia
Jerry observed that the Grateful Dead’s fans and followers, called Deadheads, were like black licorice. He said, “There aren't many people that like black licorice, but the ones that do, REALLY REALLY like it! Or buttermilk, or whatever.”
One of the great contributions the Grateful Dead did, under the leadership of Jerry Garcia, was to lift rock music out of the monochromatic Do-Wop era into true musicianship. Jerry could not have done it alone. He had the support of lyricist/poet Robert Hunter who wrote some of the most interesting songs ever to come out of popular music. Then there was the band itself, with Bob Weir, Bill Kreutzmann, Mickey Hart, Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, and Phil Lesh.
Behind the scenes was technical soundboard genius Owsley “Bear” Stanley.
Then there was Bill Graham, who said, “ "They're not the best at what they do, they're the only ones that do what they do."
Influenced by a wide variety of musical styles, including the Beatles, country & western, soul, blues and many others, the Grateful Dead’s performances left room for wide spacious soundscapes and excursions into uncharted musical alleyways. As Jerry himself said on occasion, they never did the same thing twice in exactly the same way. That was part of the appeal of the Dead, and what turned ordinary fans into Deadheads. They followed the band, knowing that every single performance was going to be totally unique.
Their last truly great song was The Days Between. Lyrics were by Robert Hunter, and the melody by Jerry Garcia. The Days Between promised to take the Dead into new and relatively uncharted musical waters. It was different.
The first performance of The Days Between took place on February 22, 1993 at the Coliseum Arena in Oakland, California.
David Dodd, Research Associate, Music Department, University of California at Santa Cruz, analyzes the lyric structure of The Days Between:
“[Robert] Hunter has laid out the lyric in an interesting manner, comprising four verses of fourteen lines each. While fourteen lines is the traditional length of the sonnet form, Hunter's lines are much shorter than strict sonnet form would allow, but this may nevertheless be an homage to the form. More significant than the number of lines in each verse is the quite subtle reference to one season of the year in each verse, in the manner of a poet using the seasons as a metaphor for the cycles of life. The first verse is autumn, the second spring, the third winter, and the fourth summer. So it's a nonlinear year.”
There were days, and there were days
And there were days between
Summer flies and August dies
The world grows dark and mean
Comes the shimmer of the moon
On black infested trees
The singing man is at his song
The holy on their knees
The reckless are out wrecking
The timid plead their pleas
No one knows much more of this
Than anyone can see
Anyone can see
There were days, and there were days
And there were days besides
When phantom ships with phantom sails
Set to sea on phantom tides
Comes the lightning of the sun
On bright unfocused eyes
The blue of yet another day
A springtime wet with sighs
A hopeful candle lingers
In the land of lullabies
Where headless horsemen vanish
With wild and lonely cries
Lonely cries
There were days, and there were days
And there were days I know
When all we ever wanted
Was to learn and love and grow
Once we grew into our shoes
We told them where to go
Walked halfway around the world
On promise of the glow
Stood upon a mountain top
Walked barefoot in the snow
Gave the best we had to give
How much we'll never know
We'll never know
There were days, and there were days
And there were days between
Polished like a golden bowl
The finest ever seen
Hearts of Summer held in trust
Still tender young and green
Left on shelves collecting dust
Not knowing what they mean
Valentines of flesh and blood
As soft as velveteen
Hoping love would not forsake
The days that lie between
Lie between
Steve Silberman observed, "Days Between" was the final battlefield where the Dead dared to face the elementary questions of existence, and refused to flinch. It has the same fated, tragic majesty that bears witness to the life force in all truly great art.”
This is a live recording of The Days Between, February 22, 1993.
It is the only one in existence, apparently. There is no video of that concert found online. Listen as you read along from the lyrics.
Sockpuppet was there.
My beloved says it was a powerful and moving experience.
Judging from the faraway look in her eyes as she told me about that long ago concert, I can see the power and poignancy of that priceless memory for her.
She is not alone in that feeling.
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Don’t forget the music and memories.