There's a reason you haven't figured out what genre The Dead are. They are a mix of folk, country, jazz, bluegrass, blues, rock and roll, gospel, reggae, psychedelic rock. As a famous promoter once said, “They're not the best at what they do, they're the only ones that do what they do.” - Bill Graham (Uncle Bobo) Let's just say they're The Grateful Dead Genre. :-)

The Dead are their OWN genre. Want something funky? Try “Shakedown Street” . Live?? You could be on KZfaq for YEARS, checking out all the live stuff

Althea is Dead song with great lyrics.

The Grateful Dead "Hell In A Bucket"...Nuff Said.

China Grove was the Doobie Brothers. Other Grateful Dead gems: Music Never Stopped Cassidy Shakedown Street Eyes of the World Easy Wind

Finest Band in the Land. They defy genera …Try Shakedown street for a funk/disco vibe, Hell in a Bucket For a straight ahead rock ‘n’ roll vibe, little red rooster for a blues vibe, easy to love you for a yacht rock vibe, eyes of the world for a jazz vibe, help on the way>Slipknot! for a Prog rock vibe, and Dark Star for pure, entropic psychedelia. Keep going down the rabbit hole Alice…

Shakedown Street, by The Grateful Dead!!

A short while back the door flung wide We all saw good luck on the other side The door blew shut but here's the deal Dreams are lies, it's the dreaming that's real

This song was about Jerry coming out of his stroke and the recovery that came after that.

I love this song.

Live? Morning Dew from 74 at the Winterland. Enjoy!

Saw them when I was stationed in Germany. They were with Skid Row, two great bands, but strange together.

I am honestly not a follower of the Grateful Dead but my favorite song of theirs is "Ripple." It's very gentle and sweet and never fails to bring a tear to my eye as it's just really beautiful.

C'mon Biz. Grateful Dead has to be live. This is their only MTV video. They have so many great songs. They allowed people to record their shows. The internet is chock a block full of live Grateful Dead videos. You want to see an older song? Too Hot to Handle from Festival Express or something from Veneta Oregon in 1972 (the crowd scenes will freak you out), maybe Jack Straw or China Cat Sunflower. Then there's the Winterland videos 1974 (Sugar Magnolia, Morning Dew, Scarlett Begonias, etc) or 1978 Samson and Delilah, etc. 1980 Radio City Ripple, All sorts of songs from their 1989 tour.....there is just no reason to listen to their studio stuff

Saw them twice at Kansas City's outdoor Starlight Theater. For kind of a philosophical, storytelling Dead, try 'Jack Straw'. Blues rockish side? 'Truckin'.'

Seems like you got "the gist of it". Drummer Bill Kreutzman, the one with the cigarette, said in an interview that what "Touch Of Grey" meant to him was the line "we will survive", like you said. This was a fun video, it was shot at the Laguna-Seca Raceway near Carmel, Ca. and the crowd was very enthusiastic. It was directed by Gary Gutierrez, who directed the opening animated sequence of The Grateful Dead Movie, which was recorded in 1974 and was finished and released in 1977. For more songs try "U.S. Blues", "Help On The Way/Slipknot/Franklin's Tower", and "Shakedown Street" for starters.

WE will !!!!!!!!!!!

ahh one of my faves..

As others mentioned The Dead are a vibe, the lyrics of most dead songs have whatever meaning they might bring to your life at the time you hear them. The next time you hear the same dead song the meaning could be very different as you are in a different place in your life. Their music is about enjoying life and taking it as it comes to you. Check out "Ripple" for another groove from the Dead!!!!

Lesser requested but one of my favorite studio Dead songs-Loose Lucy. Very fun song!!

Lovely reaction BM. I always thought the lyrics were 'everything's wrong, but it's alright, we'll survive'. The pause you did was right where the dog (who's not been fed in years) legs it with a shinbone. The Dead don't block, in case you didn't know. A live '81 Rockpalast 'Althea' (the pro-shot) reaction next please, it's a goody.

I WHEEL GET HIIIGHAGHHAGHHAGHH. You can't stop me, mom.

Have you ever listened to "Dear Mr. Fantasy / Hey Jude"? They did these covers during the late '80s, with Brent Midland singing the lead. I don't think I've come across any reactions for this online, but you've heard enough Dead that you might enjoy it as much as I do.

The song lyrics were written in the early 80s and are essentially about the band itself and the fact that they were getting older

Robert Hunter's lyrics are always a little cryptic, but this is how I interpret this song: To begin with, he does a lot of flipping old idioms around. First 2 lines: "It must be getting early / Clocks are running late" sets that expectation, because of course time doesn't work like that. Get ready to have your old way of thinking turned around! "Light a candle, curse the glare," isn't the expression people usually say. People usually say, "Light a candle or curse the darkness" when they mean that action is better than complaining. With "Light a candle, curse the glare," the song is telling the listener that he's complaining about the results of his own actions. To me, "I see you got your list out / Say your piece and get out / Yes, I get the gist of it / But it's alright" sounds like an intervention. I imagine all my friends gathered around telling me how I've hurt them, and being totally unreceptive to it. This continues in the next verse, "Sorry that you feel that way..." The song's title appears in the third verse, and it's the central image of the song. Again, it's a play on an old cliche: "Every dark cloud has a silver lining," which means that some good comes out of misfortune. Here, Hunter writes: "Every silver lining has a touch of grey." Every dark cloud might have a silver lining, but the silver lining has a touch of grey. To me, this means that the positive outcome from misfortune also kinda sucks a little. That's the lesson. Every silver lining has a touch of grey, but I will get by. I will survive. He describes it as the ABCs of life: "the Ables and the Bakers and the C's." "The Deltas and the East and the Freeze" (D,E,F). "The ABCs / We all must face / And try to keep a little grace," or to put it more prosaically: that's just life, and you have to deal with it. The song describes a life wrecked by neglect: "I know the rent is in arrears / The dog has not been fed in years / It's even worse than it appears." But, he says, "it's alright." The next verse continues to describe a life full of problems in a humorous way: "Cows are giving kerosene / The kid can't read at seventeen / The words he knows are all obscene." But again, he says "it's alright." I relate this to my own personal stuggle with addiction, because it is overwhelming to sober up and see what a mess you've made of things. When you wake up in the hospital after you've destroyed your life, you have to confront the real problem, which isn't all the surface stuff he's talking about. The surface stuff is just consequences of past actions, but all that stuff gets better when you change your behavior. All that stuff is really alright. The life lesson is to try to keep a little love when you're dealing with all these touches of grey. More wordplay: "The shoe is on the other hand, it fits." This time, there are two cliches: "The shoe is on the other foot," which people say when you're in a situation that you've previously criticized others for, and "If the shoe fits, wear it," meaning that when someone tells you the truth about yourself, you need to accept what people are telling you. I imagine the patient saying, "On the other hand," to avoid facing facts, and a therapist saying, never mind about the other hand, stop running from the problem! Finally, the punchline of the song: "Oh, well, a touch of grey / Kind of suits you anyway." He emphasizes the importance of this line by saying, "That was all I had to say, and / It's alright." To me, this contrasts with the earlier line, "Paint by numbers morning sky / looks so phony." Did you ever do those Paint By Numbers kits when you were young? Did you ever see a sunrise that reminded you of those paint kits? Well, this is real life, and the ABCs of real life are that silver linings aren't the whole story; real life has lots of darkness and shadows. That's the lesson we all must face, and "try to keep a little grace," because you will survive. You will get by. No matter what happens, you'll get through it. Not because of silver linings, but because of the fact that you can be resilient enough to survive a little touch of grey.

Their best song. imho

They played over 400 different songs live over a 30 year live concert career. They play everything from bluegrass to disco and everything in between. May I suggest Shakedown Street, China Cat Sunflower >I know you Rider (commonly called China Rider), Franklins Tower, Sugaree, Rambe on Rose.

the song is about getting older! the line “oh well, a touch of grey kinda suits you anyway” means you learn to accept aging. and of course, the song is about gettin’ by!

Ashes, Ashes, We All Fall Down ...

gotta try "Iko Iko" live by the grateful dead

I see you got your fists out....say your peace and get out 🤘

It's about the morning after a coke binge.

More DEAD

I think they're just talking about getting older; that they're going to survive, and no longer going sweat the small stuff.

I promise Robert Hunter cared deeply about the lyrics, & so do we.

The Dead care about the lyrics too- just like rappers. I think it is a question of context and GETTING IT if you know what I mean.

Makes u sing did u miss the dog 🐕 yup good music good drugs good fans 🎉

I want you to check out the Jerry Garcia Band. There’s tons of live vids, recordings to watch. I’d like you to listen to an early incarnation-Jerry Garcia Band “Live at the Keystone “…the tune-Funny Valentine “. Then check out their later stuff-a bigger and far different band. You’ll LOVE them if you like the Dead.

The abc’s are thc LCD ammong others and draw the curtains means I been up all night and the morning sky looks fake cause of the good stuff!!!

Check out Ripple by the Dead.

This means “ you could pick out 1000 reasons why shit is super fucked up in your life and probably your family’s life to. It may not even be your fault, but here your are in this fucked reality… you CAN get by. You will survive.”

Listen to Europe 72

STEVIE WONDER LOL

They did this video because they hadn't done one. They made their money from touring, they did 300 shows a year for 35 years

I give the video a 2-3 out of 10. A live big performance would be an Eleven.

Peggy-O 5/9/77

I'd have to agree, rap the lyrics are important, in rock they are important too but if the music sucks, you got nothin, on the other hand, in rock, if the music is kickin ass, who gives a sht about lyrics lol ✌️

Tons of live shit. It's all about the live shit.

I doubt the Dead blocks many reaction vids as well.

This is Grateful Dead Lite. Easily their most commercial effort. Made them famous with a new generation. This is my least favorite and I will be happy to never hear it again. So much Dead to be heard, skip this piffle...

If you care about lyrics, then how can you listen to what hip hop has become? The days of an actual emcee telling vivid stories etc are long gone, sadly…real rap died around 2000 imo….the last 10 yrs especially has been truly awful…wearing women’s clothes…this mumble horse shit, etc….same goes for rock n roll,which as a guitarist will always be my heart/soul, but now it’s corporate sissy rock…plastic computer”music “