Jerry Garcia Songs Ranked
Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American singer-songwriter and guitarist, best known for being a principal songwriter, the lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band the Grateful Dead, of which he was a founding member and which came to prominence during the counterculture of the 1960s. Although he disavowed the role, Garcia was viewed by many as the leader or “spokesman” of the group. Garcia was also renowned for his musical and technical ability, particularly his ability to play a variety of instruments, and his ability to sustain long improvisations with the Grateful Dead. Garcia believed that improvisation took the stress away from his playing and allowed him to make spur-of-the-moment decisions that he would not have made intentionally. In an interview with Rolling Stone, Garcia noted that “my own preferences are for improvisation, for making it up as I go along. The idea of picking, of eliminating possibilities by deciding, that’s difficult for me”. Here are all of Jerry Garcia’s songs ranked.
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10. Bertha (Grateful Dead, 1971)
“The simple surface interpretation of “Bertha” is that some unnamed character runs from a window, into a tree, and then into a bar, where he takes shelter from the rain. The song is fun and upbeat, so the silliness of the lyrics seems fitting. Going by Hunter’s statement, though, the song is far more interesting than that.”
9. Eyes of the World (Wake of the Flood, 1973)
“The song that turned me into a Deadhead. It is beautiful and mind-altering in itself. I think the song talks about how you need to live in your own world and do what you think will make a difference in you. Can’t get enough of this song.”
8. Wharf Rat (Grateful Dead, 1971)
“It only took me a hundred times listening to this that I realized the narrator is in the same boat as the wharf rat. “I got no dime, but I got some time to hear his story”, “wandered downtown, nowhere to go but just to hang around”. He assures the wharf rat that his girl has been true to him because he has to believe that his own girl has been true to him.”
7. Franklin’s Tower (Blues for Allah, 1975)
“I never over-thought this lyric. It seems like it’s just karma. What happens if you “plant” ice? Nothing….ice melts and gets the soil wet. So, you harvest…nothing…the wind is fleeting and not usable UNLESS you’re using something besides “ice” to harvest it.”
See more: Jerry Garcia Albums Ranked
6. Friend Of The Devil (American Beauty, 1970)
“Many of Robert Hunter’s lyrics don’t carry “Secret Meanings” and are fairly obvious if read as narrative. Hunter & Garcia were also interested in American Folk Narrative and would take old songs and rework them into modern tunes with that touch of timelessness to it. This song is about a regular guy who has his troubles with love and money like the rest of us do & is relating it to the listener who if agreeing with him (we’re all sinners) are in the same boat or Friends of the Devil.”
5. He’s Gone (Europe ’72 (Live), 1972)
“Lots of songs evolve and mutate for me over time. The good ones do this for most of us, don’t they? My early impressions of the song were connected to the dissociation that happens when having a psychedelic experience.”
See more: Grateful Dead Albums Ranked
4. Truckin’ (American Beauty, 1970)
“Grateful Dead songs are known by their family to be full of abstract musical imagery and visual lyricism, to be interpreted individually and correctly by anyone that listens to them. Another words, there is no absolutely correct interpretation of any Grateful Dead lyric, their beauty and meaning is truly and correctly in the eye, and ear, of the individual beholder.”
3. Sugaree (Steal Your Face, 1976)
“This song, it seems to me, captures the plea of a fugitive American slave to his covert wife that she did not reveal their relationship (“forget my name”) to the slave master. The appeal, therefore, is not so much for the benefit of the escaped, but rather, for the one who remains. The speaker seeks to spare his wife punishment at the hands of the master once his absence is revealed.”
2. Scarlet Begonias (From the Mars Hotel, 1974)
“The song is about a chance encounter with a woman. A game of cards is used as a metaphor for their flirtations. By the end, we’re left with meditations of the cosmic and existential.”
1. Touch of Grey (In the Dark, 1987)
“First off this is the greatest pick-me up song, and conforming to the crowd i believe it to be about getting by and knowing good times are right around the corner so as to never get down on yourself. Grateful Dead, they’ve saved me so many times.”
