Grateful Dead Songs - Touch Of Grey Lyrics

Grateful Dead - Touch Of Grey

Grateful Dead - Touch Of Grey Lyrics and Youtube Music Videos

Album: In The Dark
Released: 1987

Touch Of Grey Lyrics

Must be getting early clocks are running late
Faint light of the morning sky looks so phony
Dawn is breaking everywhere
Light a candle curse the glare
Draw the curtains I don't care 'cause it's alright

I will get by I will get by
I will get by I will survive

I see you've got your fist out say your piece and get out
Yes I get the gist of it but it's alright
Sorry that you feel that way the only there is to say
Every silver lining's got a Touch Of Grey

I will get by I will get by I will get by I will survive

It's a lesson to me the eagles and the beggars and the seas
The ABC's we all must face try to keep a little grace

It's a lesson to me the deltas and the east and the freeze
The ABC's we all think of and try to win a little love

I know the rent is in arrears the dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears but it's alright
Cow's giving kerosene, kid can't read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene but it's alright

I will get by I will get by I will get by I will survive

The shoe is on the hand that fits, there's really nothing much to it
Whistle through your teeth and spit 'cause it's alright
Oh well a touch of grey kinda suits you anyway
And that was all I had to say and it's alright

I will get by I will get by I will get by I will survive

We will get by we will get by we will get by we will survive
We will get by we will get by we will get by we will survive

Writer/s: GARCIA, JEROME J. / HUNTER, ROBERT C.
Publisher: Universal Music Publishing Group
Lyrics licensed and provided by LyricFind

Touch Of Grey

Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics, as he did with many Dead songs, although Garcia wrote the line, "Light a candle, curse the glare." This is according to the book Box Of Rain, which was written by Hunter and is a collection of his published songs. In the book, it is "A Touch of Grey" and has an asterisk next to the line Jerry wrote. There is no definite reasoning for the song - many feel it's about aging, but many also feel it's about all the drugs they've done. (thanks, Eric - Houston, TX)

The Mighty Diamonds covered this in 1996 on Fire On The Mountain, an album of Reggae versions of Grateful Dead songs.

According to David Dodd in The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics, the line "Light a Candle, curse the glare" is a play on Adlai Stevenson's 1962 reference to Eleanor Roosevelt's death. He said, "She would rather light a candle than curse the darkness." The line, "The Ables and the Bakers and the Cs" refers to the first two words in an older version of the military communication alphabet, "Able" and "Baker." The modern version starts with "Alpha" and "Bravo." (thanks, Amy - Chicago, IL, for above 2)

The song is about the band aging gracefully. The phrase "Touch Of Grey" is a reference to getting older. For most people, their hair starts getting grey as they age.

This was The Grateful Dead's first and only hit song. They had a huge following and were never concerned with chart hits. They didn't have to be because their albums sold well and their tours sold very well.

They made a video for this, which was the first one they made for MTV. They shot it during a concert at Laguna Seca Raceway in California, which let them use a real audience. The video shows the band playing the song as skeleton puppets. At the end, they transform into the real band members.

At their famous live shows, the band refused to capitalize on the commercial success of this song. Even though it was a hit, band members wouldn't play it at many of their concerts. (thanks, Mike - Mountlake Terrace, Washington - USA)