Grateful Dead

Released: July 16, 1988

Songwriter: Bob Dylan

Producer: Grateful Dead

[Verse 1]
Well, the ragman draws circles, up and down the block
I'd ask him what's the matter, but I know that he don't talk
And the ladies treat me kindly, and they furnish me with tape
But deep inside my heart, I, I know I can't escape
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

[Verse 2]
Shakespeare, he's in the alley
With his pointed shoes and bell
Speaking with some French girl, who says she knows me well
And me, I'd send a message, to find out if she's talked
But the post office has been stolen, and the mailbox is locked
But oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

[Verse 3]
Now, Mona, she tried to warn me, stay away from the railroad line
She says all the railroad men
Drink up your blood like wine
And I said, "Oh, I didn't know that"
But then again there's only one I've met
He just smoked my eyelids, and he punched my cigarette
Whoa, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

[Verse 4]
Grandpa died last week, and they buried him in the rocks
Everyone still talks about how badly they are shocked
But me, I expected it to happen, I knew he'd lost control
When he built a fire on Main Street, and he shot it full of holes
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

[Instrumental break]

[Verse 5]
Now the Senator, he came down here, showing everyone his gun
Handing out free tickets to the wedding of his son
And me, I nearly got busted, and wouldn't it be my luck
To get caught without a ticket and be discovered beneath a truck
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

[Verse 6]
Now the preacher looks so baffled
When I asked him why he dressed
With twenty pounds of headlines stapled to his chest
And he cursed me when I proved it to him
Then I said, "You see, not even you can hide
You see, you're just like me, and I hope you're satisfied"
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

[Verse 7]
Now the rainman gave me two cures, then he said jump right in
The first was Texas medicine, the second was just railroad gin
And like a fool I mixed them, and it strangled up my mind
Now people just get uglier, and I've got no sense of time
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

[Verse 8]
Now, when Ruthie says come see her in her honky-tonk lagoon
Where I can watch her waltz for free, 'neath her Panamanian moon
And I said, "Ah, come on now, you know about my debutante
And she says, "Your debutante knows just what you need
But I know what you want"
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

[Verse 9]
Now the bricks, they lay on Grand Street where the neon madmen climb
They all fall there so perfectly, it all seems so well timed
And here I sit so patiently, waiting to find out what price
You have to pay to get out of
Going through all of these things twice
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again
Oh, mama, can this really be the end
To be stuck inside of Mobile with the Memphis blues again

Amidst the growing counter-culture scene in the San Francisco Bay Area, The Grateful Dead were founded by lead guitarist/vocalist Jerry Garcia, bass player Phil Lesh, rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, keyboardist Ron “Pigpen” McKernan, and drummer Bill Kreutzmann in Palo Alto in 1965, originally as The Warlocks. Percussionist Mickey Hart later joined the group in 1967 and other members cycled through the group in following years as the core remained intact. Their eclectic music formed the archetype for the “Jam Band” genre, combining elements from rock, blues, folk, country, bluegrass, and psychedelic music into improvisational performances.

Over the years the Dead released 22 recorded albums, although they were most famous for their improvisational jams at concerts, earning them a cult-like following of self-proclaimed “Dead Heads” who would follow the band from concert-to-concert throughout the band’s career.

The band was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1994 and they’ve sold more than 40 million albums in total; all that with only one top 40 hit (“Truckin”), and one Top 10 hit (“Touch of Grey”) that came near the end of the band’s run, shortly before Jerry Garcia’s death in 1995. Grateful Dead was also ranked 57th in Rolling Stone’s “The Greatest Artists of All Time” issue in 2004 and 2005. Since then, various incarnations of the Dead have continued to tour, although a 2015 farewell tour was said to be the band’s last.

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