THESE LYRICS ARE AMAZING! Grateful Dead | Ripple | Reaction | First Listen | Lyric Analysis

[@stuBdoc]

The Grateful Dead had a dedicated lyricist, Robert Hunter, who was not a performing member of the band, but was quite the poet. Beautiful song with gorgeous lyrics, as are most of their songs.

[@otherstar1]

Indeed and their other lyricist, John Perry Barlow (who usually wrote songs with Bob Weir) was no slouch either!

[@cevinwillson9113]

Robert Hunter is still the only non performing member of a band in the Rock and Roll hall of fame

[@dansweeney9377]

​@@otherstar1Hunter stopped writing with Bobby after Bobby changed his lyric to Jumped like a Willy's in four wheel drive in Sugar Magnolia. And then Bobby wrote songs like Black throated wind with Barlow. The music never stops.

[@Savagedbd]

he has performed with them and even The Dead played with Hunter saw them in Red rocks......... mmmmm 09 i think maybe 04 i forget lol

[@bobschenkel7921]

9/3/88 at the Cap Center in Landover, Maryland, the Grateful Dead were live in concert, and were finishing up the show, a Saturday night, with the song "One More Saturday Night", and some folks decided to leave. Bad mistake. The band stayed on stage at the end and smiled at each other. Then they started to play the first Electric version of "Ripple" in more than 17 years. I thought the arena as going to lift off from the ground with the emotion that went throughout the crowd. It was played as a "Wish Come True" for a Dead Head who had cancer, and the band was fulfilling a special request. So glad I was there. I walked around the parking lot for about three hours after just saying "Did I really see that?" Amazing but true. It's why we toured, you never knew.

[@nevets3164]

I was there.

[@humboldtharry1289]

I was there too and was almost thrown out for sparking up higher up in the nosebleeds. I have never had that happen anywhere else, but great show and a good place for concerts. Saw Rush in ‘87 there and it was top 10 for me. Sorry for rambling, a little lifted. Be well

[@sarahcushing939]

I'm a dead head so I loved the deep dive. Very inspiring! So glad you felt this song. 💖

[@janna2245]

On the album, this leads seamlessly into Brokedown Palace. They are basically one song. Do Brokedown next. Also, David Grisman on mandolin: a genius

[@billc2147]

If you were to ask Robert Hunter "What do these lyrics mean?" He would reply "What do they mean to you?"

[@benhinds2971]

I have never seen anyone on YT analyze the lyrics or even discuss the lyrics of a Grateful Dead song. To Deadheads it really means a lot that you are drawing attention to something that so overlooked. Robert Hunter is one of my heroes. Thank You!

[@maineiacial]

@TheCharismaticVoice

[@Hartlor_Tayley]

Robert Hunter was a genius lyricist. Thanks for digging into this song. The dead have such meaningful and beautiful songs. My sympathies about person who died. RIP.

[@patriciawoodhead6205]

Thank you but you unleashed my heartbreak and finely cried my greaf I've held for my lost loves.friends loves ands realities. My broken my heart may now have a chance to heal. Loved Ripple ,but I broke today. Cried like I needed to do and relieved so much pain I held within.

[@samuellord8576]

Great reaction John. You do great honor to the artists when you look so deeply into their art. The Dead had so many messages of love, they were compelled to play live so much for so many years! Thousands of concerts. And their endless catalog of music was created with superhuman effort. Peace.

[@maineiacial]

Straight facts

[@jmcc199]

Actually they were compelled to road trip because they had amassed a gigantic family on the payroll that they needed to support - cause they appreciated their work and loved them all.

[@maineiacial]

@@jmcc199 it was symbiotic

[@andylawson87]

You need to do Box Of Rain next. Same album..even more food for thought.😊

[@lisarainbow9703]

Condolences for your loss, Jason~ May the good memories bring you some comfort as you grieve ~ 💜

[@benhinds2971]

You should listen to the other two songs he wrote that day. Brokedown Palace is lyrically one of the most beautiful songs I have ever heard.

[@crazyfingers19]

In my world, Ripple and Brokedown will always be played together! ☮💟🤪

[@PMichael100]

This was wonderful. In my 20s I had a very deep spiritual experience listening to this piece after smoking what I thought was just herbs but might have been marijuana. Regardless, the experience was as if I was hearing the voice of God, Goddess, All That Is, or Jawhe, or the "I AM." I have never forgotten it. (Around 1976 or so). But I learned more about this from your analysis. Hunter, the lyricist, I consider one of the best lyricists from America ever. I wrote about him as part of an article for the old Gnosis Magazine. You have many more gems to uncover, like Althea, Brokedown Palace, Black Muddy Water, Standing On the Moon, and many others.

[@davidpahlka6301]

Promise me not to ever apologize again for your deep thoughts! It means you truly understood the song. Few people would have gotten it. I've always liked the Dead ever since I was 18 but I wasn't a Deadhead. I grew up at the period they came out and when living near Haight-Ashbury, I lived only a couple of blocks away from where they'd practiced. Despite the drugs and the commotion, of the times which are as complex and confusing as today, the Dead brought peace. Their music is hypnotic. It was fitting you smoked before listening but the last time I saw them, I was straight and still got high! I call myself a closet intellectual and you can dig them on a simple level, not knowing why but your commenters did an excellent job. Most of the time, I hate critics but despite hearing this song a hundred times, I couldn't have made the connections. I've dabbled into world philosophy but not those which influenced this song. I've read them but not deeply. It was a real learning experience. This past week has been as harrowing as any in my life and this song was what I needed to heal. Like in '67 we have two wars going on and either may lead us into WWIII. The strange thing is, somehow we survived despite the screw ups of our leaders and brilliant but errant minds. The Dead had only one commercial song but on our local jukebox they have 2700 and something. They were better live than studio and every concert was different. Kirk Kovaine was a fool, jealous of them. It is only lately I've listened to their interviews and all the band were brilliant in their own way. How they can improvise together and still make it work amazes professional musicians. I am also a big Bob Dylan fan. Few can understand his music either completely but he won the Nobel Peace Prize! When Jerry Garcia died, he said he felt like he lost a brother. There can never be another band like the Grateful Dead. There will be those who will imitate them and do a decent job but it won't be the same. It's like people who write great literature or paint a masterpiece, as time goes by their genius will be more appreciated and the super stars of today will be forgotten with their glitz and glitter catering to the shallowness of the music industry and thoughtless sense seeking shallow masses. Yet, they knew in many ways, they were like them. Despite the protests of the '60's and '70's they weren't political. They were higher than that. (Sometimes not in the altruistic way!). PEACE! See...I can be just as boring as you!

[@garysteinert8040]

Between 77 and Jerry’s death, maybe 50 shows between GD, JGB, and RH twice. It really is/was an amazing time.

[@leelane9929]

It’s spiritual journey to heaven with a message to the love left behind,.

[@TrojansFirst]

And Heaven equals living in the present. Thats where Heaven is found, in the present moment. It’s an endless well of novelty within, referred to in the New Testament as the “Kingdom of God”

[@musicman2001]

Much love brother cool you get it. I seen the boys over a hundred times before Jerry left us. Never heard this song broke down like you did very cool. Yes words to all songs have deferent meanings for everyone. To me and I think to most of us when we where there at a show with them. The line "If I knew the way I would take you home" The crowd would always go off. It was a moment in time we wish could last forever and take home with us. I don't know who felt that way more us or the band but we both loved that feeling with each other and you could feel it in the room. The dead is some deep stuff. 🤪🍄

[@JackCerro]

Jane's Addiction did a cool and unique cover of this tune. Cheers, John.

[@otherstar1]

The mashup that Jane's Addiction did with the lyrics/melody from Ripple and the drums/rhythm from The Other One made that cover one of my favorite tracks on Deadicated! (the rain forest benefit album)

[@Tommil]

Really enjoyed that . Try “China Cat Sunflower”. Meaning sometimes has less meaning than image and flow . “Look for a while at the China Cat Sunflower, Proud walking jingle in the midnight sun….”

[@fearsomeforce2904]

John, thank you so much for such a thoughtful reaction and deep dive! Robert Hunter was an amazing singer songwriter and musician in his own rite let alone his immense contribution to the Grateful Dead. You could literally immerse yourself researching and reading through multiple books that have been published over the decades that explore the many facets contained within his words. I have done that myself. Rush is my all-time favorite band since 1977 and Neil Peart is a more contemporary version of Robert Hunter lyrically but head and shoulders above everyone else when you combine the lyrics with his superb drumming. Fav Rush lyrics are The Fountain of Lamneth, The Necromancer, Hemispheres, and the entire Permanent Waves and Moving Pictures albums... just for starters. Fav Grateful Dead lyrics are China Cat Sunflower, St. Stephen, Eyes of the World, Sugar Magnolia, Ripple and Brown-Eyed Women. Cheers Brahhh!!

[@cevinwillson9113]

Wharf Rat 71

[@maineiacial]

Ok im not gonna address Peart vs Hunter. For Rush though you gotta give props to those guys. The only other 3 piece bands that have ricked so hard are Primus(they suck) and Stevie Ray Vaughn(if youve never seen Live At El Mocambo then have you ever actually even heard a guitar?)

[@desperateambrose5373]

The lyrics "Ripple in still water, / When there is no pebble tossed, / Nor wind to blow. . . ." always remind me of the story of The Pool of Bethesda (John 5:4)

[@darkstardan3309]

"It's Too Short" is a phrase you don't often associate with Grateful Dead songs. :]

[@peaceofpiety]

This song is about going on the inner journey to Psychological and Emotional Maturation. The Tarot is a tool, in which we learn about the 22 Archetypes of Psychology. Along our path to Enlightenment AKA Spiritual Growth (Maturity of energies), we meet with each energy/character to teach us lessons so that we can embody Forgiveness, Compassion, and ultimately in the end we become the highest energy of unconditional love. Watch the animated video for Ripple, it shows the entire Fool's Journey of the tarot.

[@sixbladeknife44]

Thanks again John for going above and beyond, it truly means a lot…this will be shared with his family, RIP my special friend Tyler 🙏

[@maineiacial]

Fare thee well Tyler!

[@maineiacial]

For Tyler: kzbin.info/www/bejne/fYO7gXibf5mHZ8k

[@humboldtharry1289]

Six Blade Knife, great song on a fantastic debut album, one of my favorites 🌜💨

[@allanmacdonald1825]

A brief scan of the comments and I didn't notice anyone already posting something interesting I had heard about Robert Hunter. His birth name was Robert Burns which he later changed to Hunter, I think to do with some bad vibes with his father. The roots of where Hunter's poetic mojo may partially be coming from a genetic link. He is the great-great-great grandson of the famous Scottish poet Robbie Burns. Add to that, the band collectively experimented with psychedelic drugs and Hunter volunteered himself to be a subject in testing the behavior of these drugs. He wrote "China Cat" and possibly some others while under the influence. Garcia grew around musical parents, and Phil Lesh was a classically trained musician, who had to learn how to play the bass which he mastered quickly.

[@cevinwillson9113]

There's a college in California where you can get a degree in Grateful Dead music

[@judyorta-locati719]

Jason, our hearts are with you ❤ Thank you for the song 💎

[@sixbladeknife44]

❤

[@Lala22292]

So many awesome Grateful Dead songs. I think you would be smiling at the lyrics and guitar duet in Looks like Rain from the Without a Net live album. 😂

[@stupid1537]

This is a great song off of an amazing album another great song is box of rain

[@kenanexpress2760]

So cool to see a young person break this down. It’s so old that the context is not there like it would be if it were 2003. Dead were so interesting with a strong following and toured almost everyday of their life. (They would regularly tour 200 days a year) Studio albums were secondary. Robert Hunter was the lyricist and not a great player or singer. But the words were special. Peace.

[@Hugh-Jorgan]

All 3 songs robert wrote that day are 3 works of art that are absolute genius. All beautiful. He was definitely "feeling it" that day. I could only imagine.

[@bretthardin9239]

will be played at my funeral

[@russellfranks3811]

Mine as well

[@Turiyaom]

Thanks for this! I have loved this song for a long time. I sing and play it on y guitar with apoligies.

[@mackdeen7021]

Nicely done. Glad I found your channel!

[@jonathanlund590]

They only played this version during their acuostic shows in 1980. But only once electric

[@mrmxyzptlk-imp]

2 more Grateful Dead tracks to listen to are So Many Roads and Black Muddy River

[@haroldbrodie]

do Wharf Rat next. make sure it's a live version, my pick would be 5/22/77

[@cevinwillson9113]

71

[@UranusHz420]

To me, it’s about how everyone has to forge their own way through life.

[@steveullrich7737]

This song is a perfect masterpiece. You need to listen to those other songs that Robert Hunter wrote, "Brokedown Palace" and "To Lay Me Down" and another one "Box of Rain". I think the lyrics in these songs will also blow you away.

[@maineiacial]

Do yourself a favor John. Look up the Wall of Sound and how this band changed arena concerts forever. Geowing up i was told that Led Zeppelin were the first to do massive shows and book arenas...i wonder why....

[@iwbcman]

your reaction is spot on : there is a joy, sadness and an appeal to that which transcends language, something beyond mankind, all at the same time. "If I knew the way, I would take you home" is for me the most beautiful line, at once assuring there is a way to where you belong, while admitting that know one can tell another how to get there, you only know it when you arrive. Rainbow Gatherings, a counter-cultural phenomena inspired by the grateful dead which arose in the early 70's and continues to this day, has a motto : "Welcome Home"- back in the day one only knew about these gatherings if one was at the right place in their lives, ie. no one would tell you about them unless you were ready to be there, ie. you had already arrived, hence Welcome home, the place where you belong....Beautiful song, rich with inspiration from gospel and mysticism, dense and packed with a minimalist aesthetic reminiscent of haiku's. References to the the Tao Te Ching and the New Testament are definitely apropos. The tao that can be told is not the eternal tao, there is no one path of the tao, each must find their own, no simple highway. It's is wonderful to see the youth of today inspired by songs that date back to my birth....

[@bwilliams463]

The last verse is my favorite. It even makes me tear up, sometimes.

[@maineiacial]

This is your first hearing of the Dead, huh. Man are you in for a Captain Trips! Idk if youre old enough to 'get it' but I have hope for you

[@toddhumphreys2186]

Man you nailed it, this band changed my life after 1 show at Alpine ‘85. Grateful to see Jerry 36 times, 35 with Dead, if I could go back in time I would have taken more risks to see as many shows as possible. All shows were magic now I’m going to looking into God having a hand in it, can’t explain to most, have to see live!

[@feetheweasel]

3 absolute gems in a single afternoon. On Aug 1st, Jerry Garcias birthday...you should do a react to "To Lay Me Down". And on Aug 9th, the anniversary of Jerry's passing, you should do "Brokedown".....do live versions.

[@richdiddens4059]

I believe there may be a mistake in the early part of the lyric's transcription. To me it sounds like the words are "cold of sunshine" which would match up with the "harp unstrung". Two deliberate oxymorons. How can the sun make you cold and how can a harp with no strings make music? The next two lines about "hear my voice" and holding it near "as it were your own." To me this speaks of internalization. We all must make our own choices and choose our own path. We can help each other but we are individually responsible for where we end up. Leaders must put their own needs behind the needs of those they seek to lead. I may be full of crap but that's what is says to me.

[@g.e.5723]

Jason, sorry for your loss. God Bless.

[@sixbladeknife44]

❤

[@kateb560]

Grateful Dead lyrics mean different things to different people. That’s the way they wanted it.

[@traumalama8663]

Great job on the deep dive. If you haven’t done it already, deep dive the other songs Hunter wrote on that eventful day. Also Birdsong (dedicated to Janis Joplin) and Eyes of the World (with Branford Marsalis on sax if you want a super treat) are great songs from the Dead

[@MrWhit30]

Theres a lot that goes into to what makes the Dead... but Hunter's lyrics were just impeccable.

[@jimmorris7712]

It's a surreal exposition of a mystical experience of life and death.

[@JRKDZ76]

This is why many prestigious colleges around the world have Grateful Dead courses. The music and lyrics are much deeper than you think. Hence the legions of fans that followed them around as if they were cult leaders. The band would "turn ppl on" as they put it to a mystical, philosophical, and musical experience that would change lives forever. With the aid of LSD they handed out to ppl. Them and Ken Kesey. "The Merry Pranksters" as they called themselves. Ken Kesey wrote the book, "One flew over the cuckoos nest"

[@rockodilechannel3509]

Next to Ripple, Terrapin Station is my favorite, both musically and lyrically.

[@lisawilliams8180]

I loved this deep dive. Subbed!

[@williamshirey8597]

The ripple in still water also refers to the Bethesda pool motioned in John's Gospel. Angel would trouble the water the someone bathed in the water would receive healing

[@paulkeniston5699]

"its a hand me down" Hunter has said he has borrowed many times from other inspirations. He was well acquainted with literature and arts of all sorts. I'd say this song refers to the inflow of inspiration and the expression of the inspiration that results. The fountain is a constant flow and it is made by the spirit, not by human means, but the spirit needs the human to express the inspiration in words or music or images in wonderful ways that can be communicated to the five senses.

[@timshelton8535]

This is one of the songs I want played at my funeral

[@alpetrocelli4465]

It’s impossible to get “too deep” into Ripple or many other Hunter/Garcia works. I always took the Ripple in still waters the effect the songwriter/person has on others in life. Great song & reaction.✌️🎈🎶

[@kevinkuschel2457]

One of the great albums of 1970 working man’s dead another great album

[@cosmonaut9942]

Anyone who has taken a lot of psychedelics is very familiar with the fountain not made by the hands of men. Big archetype.

[@bobsawin1920]

you can lead from behind if your aim is true.

[@russellfranks3811]

My all-time favorite song.

[@Noodleboy56]

Fun fact, the la da da da part at the end was sung by the Dead's office staff and other's involved in the bands day to day workings. You might also listen to the two other tunes that Hunter wrote in the same afternoon as this one. "To Lay me Down" and Brokedown Palace". All 3 are masterpieces.Oops, you mention the other tune later in the vid. Give these tunes a listen, they are just as deep.

[@joed1950]

Try listening to Uncle John's Band . Hunter and Garcia were creative and often profound. PS, a 1/2 bottle of Retsina is not a lot. Hunter probably was not drunk. But who knows?!

[@redrum482]

Great analysis. More Robert Hunter, please!

[@mrgrey101]

i vote to do brokedown palace next, then black peter, then to lay me down

[@Soundhypno]

Great reaction

[@ChicoEscuela]

Contectually I feel this may allude to the sunset of the pure optimist of the hippie era, looking for salvation from anything but one's self. Find your path in the light.

[@jazzfan999]

Ripple and Box of Rain are two Dead songs that I prefer to let wash over me. The final verse in Ripple makes me cry every time. Not sure why, and I don't care. The same goes for the close of Box of Rain. Every time. Tears of joy and gratitude, to whom or what? Everything.

[@depsny]

Now you need to do terrapin station

[@kevinlese633]

The whole album is great

[@johnathanstruble1064]

The sermon on the Mount...hippie style.

[@hitchhikemike1]

Thanx! Love the dead!!

[@raynavarro7997]

Great song! You should check out the Playing For Change version of this song...

[@douglasg.9271]

A great classic

[@11BlackLamb]

ie; your trip is your own but I'm here for ya

[@janna2245]

Brokedown Palace is next

[@christophercampbell1677]

Greatest band ever

[@paulwhite7972]

Ha ha! Welcome to the Grateful Dead.

[@DonLaVange]

You did good

[@johngrenier3265]

first off , you need to listen to the entire album. .... this is a hunter / jerry song. hunter is a bard...(you can find him solo live all over the internet.... jerry is kind of a parting low level christian. the other writing team is bob and john barlow .... barlow is more of a outlaw cowboy ..... so there is a dichotomy in each and every outing..... there are also several other writers in the band..... anyway , great job , and you might want to try black peter.... really , try this whole lp and the same years workingmans dead for the other side of the coin...

[@jeremiahvolk5100]

All I can say is… yup

[@AndySo2000]

You're a musician and never heard the Dead, I mean that's on the radio quite a bit.

[@nevets3164]

I started listening to the Dead in 1975. Don`t analyze the lyrics. Just enjoy it. Try finding the a meaning of Dark Star.

[@antarcticorb9197]

Is that really your last name? Slop?

[@Stephen-nd1sx]

Terrepin station/ grateful dead.

[@dougpeterson3356]

Hunter would be amused.

[@hansevers]

what's your title song?

[@paulschersten2381]

My advice to anyone is a. Don't read the lyrics when you listen to a song, maybe ever but especially the first time and b. Dont immediately go seek out what some other say the song is about. Nevertheless I admire your pluck and would urge you to lose what you read as thoroughly as possible. Not that it's necessarily wrong. But it is also definitely not right.

[@aquagrump]

Robert Hunter lyrics,

[@thomasjefferson216]

go aHead and breakdown the other 2 songs he wrote that day...

[@powellmountainmike8853]

Sorry, but the analysts whose writings you are reading from don't understand the song at all. You need to understand that the Dead were into some pretty deep philosophical exploration. The band's original name, "The Warlocks" might give you a clue. Regarding the opening lines, WHO's words might "glow with the gold of sunshine", and WHO can play on a harp unstrung ? The lines mean "Were I Deity, would you listen to me." This is a song about the Old Way. "It's a hand me down, the thoughts are broken, perhaps they're better left unsung. I don't know, don't really care. Let there be songs to fill the air" It is a song about studying comparative theology, ancient belief systems, and developing an understanding of the continuum in which we find ourselves, out place in it, our relationship with Deity, and teaching about what we have deciphered.

[@elmoblatch9787]

And not many of the Ripple lyrics actually rhyme.