Please forget you know my name, my darling Sugaree Pre-chorus to “Sugaree” by the Grateful Dead. Just one thing I ask of you, is just one thing for me In the pre-chorus, we get some insight as to the relationship between these two people: Garcia addresses someone who is in trouble with the law, and they are coming down with the paddy wagon to drag his “poor body down” to the local jail. With all of this in mind, let’s take a look at the story being told by the lyrics, starting with the first verse:Īnd drag your poor body down First verse to “Sugaree” by the Grateful Dead. Hunter heard this and popped the name “Sugaree” right into his song, which went on to become one of the most beloved Grateful Dead songs. The renowned North Carolina folk singer Elizabeth “Libba” Cotten wrote and recorded “Shake Sugaree” in 1966, as part of an album that she made with her granddaughters. Robert Hunter’s liner notes for “Sugaree” Robert Hunter with Jerry Garcia in 1990. And yes, I knew Libba’s song, and did indeed borrow the new name from her, suggested by the ‘Shake it’ refrain. The song, as I imagined it, is addressed to a pimp. Why change the title to ‘Sugaree’? Just thought it sounded better that way, made the addressee seem more hard-bitten to bear a sugar-coated name. What he said, when departing, was: ‘Hold your mud and don’t mention my name.’ The phrase ‘just don’t tell them that you know me’ was prompted by something said by an associate in my pre-Dead days when my destitute circumstances found me fraternizing with a gang of minor criminals. People assume the idea was cadged from Elizabeth Cotten’s ‘Sugaree,’ but, in fact, the song was originally titled ‘Stingaree,’ which is a poisonous South Sea manta. Sugaree was written soon after I moved from the Garcia household to China Camp. However, Robert Hunter himself revealed the meaning of “Sugaree” in the liner notes for the All Good Things box set released in 2004, as seen on : This allows fans to relate with the music in their own way, and get creative with it thanks to the band’s encouragement toward improvisation and thinking outside the box. Perhaps the beauty of the Grateful Dead and Robert Hunter’s songwriting particularly is that many aspects of them are open to a variety of interpretations. It has a playful energy, thanks to Garcia’s singing, yet the lyrics are somewhat ambiguous in their meaning, leading to speculation amongst deadheads over the years. The pair created a whole lot of great songs together that way, and “Sugaree” is certainly one of them. The song is a classic Garcia/Hunter collaboration, one of many with Robert Hunter penning the lyrics and Jerry Garcia providing the musical composition. It still remains a favorite among fans today. From then on it was a staple in their live show right up until the very end, plus in Jerry Garcia’s solo projects. The bouncy, palatable single was included on Jerry Garcia’s 1972 album, Garcia, and it first entered the Grateful Dead live rotation on July 31st, 1971 at the Yale Bowl at Yale University. “Sugaree” is one of those Grateful Dead songs that anybody can enjoy, regardless of whether or not they’re a deadhead. Jerry Garcia backstage in London in 1972.
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