Grateful Dead songwriter, Robert Hunter, dead at 78

UPI ^ | 24 Sept 2019 | By Fred Topel

[Red Badger]

Sept. 24 (UPI) -- Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter died Monday night, Rolling Stone first reported. He was 78.

The family of Hunter provided a statement to the New York Times, The Wrap and Rolling Stone.

"He died peacefully at home in his bed, surrounded by love," the statement read. "His wife Maureen was by his side holding his hand. For his fans that have loved and supported him all these years, take comfort in knowing that his words are all around us, and in that way he is never truly gone."

"Uncle John's Band," "China Cat Sunflower," "Scarlet Begonias," "Box of Rain" and "Dark Star" are among the songs for which Hunter provided lyrics.

Grateful Dead founder Jerry Garcia invited Hunter to play with his jug band in 1961, but Hunter preferred to write, according to Rolling Stone's tribute bio. He took part in LSD studies at Stanford and sent Garcia lyrics from the Southwest before moving to San Francisco, where Hunter became the official Grateful Dead lyricist.

In an interview published as an Amazon Kindle ebook in 2015, Hunter said he usually wrote the lyrics first. In unusual cases like "Foolish Heart" and "Uncle John's Band," he wrote lyrics after he heard the melody.

Hunter also wrote songs with Bob Dylan from 1980 to 2009. He reunited with Grateful Dead drummer Mickey Hart to write new music and collaborated with Elvis Costello, Bruce Hornsby, and Jim Lauderdale.

[VietVet876]

Saw them live twice. First time in San Diego in a smaller indoor arena downtown in 1968 when they were doing the “Live Dead” double album songs. Sat about twenty feet from the drummers. Then again in 1974 at the Spectrum in Philadelphia. We got there around 9PM when the Dead started playing and left around 2AM while they were still playing.

[Vision]

“He’s Gone”
Robert Hunter

Rat in a drain ditch
Caught on a limb
You know better but
I know him
Like I told you
What I said
Steal your face
right off you head

Now he’s Gone
Lord he’s gone
Like a steam locomotive
rolling down the track
He’s gone
He’s gone
and nothing’s gonna bring him back
He’s gone

Nine mile skid
on a ten mile ride
Hot as a pistol
but cool inside
Cat on a tin roof
Dogs in a pile
Nothing left to do but
smile, smile, smile

Now he’s gone
Lord he’s gone
Like a steam locomotive
rolling down the track
He’s gone
He’s gone
and nothing’s gonna bring him back
He’s gone

Going where the wind don’t blow so strange
Maybe on some high cold mountain range
Lost one round but the price wasn’t anything
Knife in a back and more of the same
Same old rat in a drain ditch
Out on a limb
You know better but I know him

Now he’s gone
Lord he’s gone
Like a steam locomotive
rolling down the track
He’s gone
He’s gone
and nothin’s gonna bring him back
He’s gone....

[SaveFerris]

[pissant]

Good to see you here too! They were quite the thing in the 1969-70 timeframe. Back when San Fran was a top notch city.

I saw them about a dozen times from 77 thru the early 90s.