A perhaps stupid question, but I can’t figure out how to search for an answer to it.
I have heard two versions thus far of Going Down the Road Feeling Bad where Garcia plays a Southern-sounding theme toward the end of the song. He plays the theme twice through, and it is a sweet little thing that sounds like a quote from a Civil War-era folk tune or maybe a bluegrass melody. Kind of like something Duane Allman or Dickey Betts would work into an Allman Brothers song back in the day.
One example is in the MSG Felt Forum show 1971-12-05, the other, and better example, is 1971-08-26, my Gaelic Park show, about 5:25 into the track. The Gaelic version features some amazing Phil Lesh bass alongside Garcia’s playing.
Can anyone help?
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May 25, 2009 at 17:05
Joseph
I was planning on answering this for you, but didn’t feel like typing it out on my iPhone. Glad you figured it out on your own.
I have to say, this is a really neat idea for a blog. And as a long time deadhead, I’m so happy to see someone “getting” it for the first time. If you ever have questions or need help finding an answer, let me know, I’d be happy to help!
May 26, 2009 at 23:23
Me
It was a big thrill for me to figure out that quote, as obvious as it turned out to be.
I am impressed that the band taught through their playing and not through preaching or a lot of talk. The connections are there for those that want to chase them down, but the music works on the more obvious level as well. There’s going to be a lot of learning and expanding of my musical repertoire as a result of the Grateful Dead, I am sure.
The sense of wonderment of getting into a new band can be lost at some point, and I remember the thrills of my childhood as I fell in love with certain albums now so overplayed that I can’t bear to listen to them anymore. I figured that this would be the biggest enchilada of them all to undertake, and that once familiar to me, I would never be able to go back and capture the spirit of the early days of being a Dead fan, so here it is.
Also, frankly, I needed to give myself a chance to express myself again, for better or worse. The burst of “creativity” (my self-centered reporting is not really creative, but it is better than none at all) has been a boon to my seeing life in a slightly different way for the past few weeks.
May 25, 2009 at 00:38
Me
Well, I came across something by chance and answered my own question.
The tune “And We Bid You Goodnight” or “Bid You Goodnight Jam” found in live shows is the melody sometimes played by Garcia at the end of GDTRFB.
The song itself is a traditional, and apparently has both European and Bahamian roots, where it is a funeral song.
After stumbling across the song on the 1969-12-30 Boston Tea Party tape, I read about the song here: http://www.well.com/conf/deadsongs.vue/topics/10/And-We-Bid-You-Goodnight-page01.html.