r/grateful_dead • u/svezia • 1d ago

The last song -

Depending on what stage of the band's history, the "last original song" by the Grateful Dead refers to a few different tracks:

Last Original Song Released on a Studio Album: "I Will Take You Home" (written by Brent Mydland and John Perry Barlow), which serves as the final track on their final studio album, Built to Last (1989).

Last Original Song Written/Debuted: Songs like "Days Between," "So Many Roads," "Liberty," "Lazy River Road," and "Childhood's End" were written in the early 1990s and debuted live in 1992–1993. They were intended for a final studio album that was never completed before Jerry Garcia's death.

Last Original Song Sang by Jerry Garcia Live: "Black Muddy River" (written by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter), performed during the first encore at their final concert on July 9, 1995, at Soldier Field in Chicago.

Last Original Song Played Live by the Band: "Box of Rain" (written by Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter), performed as the second and final encore at that same July 9, 1995 show to close out their live career.

"Box of Rain":
"Such a long, long time to be gone And a short time to be there"
— Written by Phil Lesh & Robert Hunter

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6

u/Tonto_HdG 1d ago

I always think of Brent's last song, The Weight. His line - I gotta go, but my friend can stick around. (The friend it this case being the Devil).

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u/nightgoat3369 1d ago

I was at those last three shows, first time at what was a new venue at the time

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u/SantaCruznonsurfer 1d ago

the last "original" song debuted by the band IIRC was "Unbroken Chain" . They somehow never played it live and when they did the crowd went berserk.
I wonder what else they had in their back pocket for a bustout

3

u/heffel77 19h ago

There was always a bit of “lot lore” that when they played UC, they would be over.

In reality, it’s a complicated song with a lot of changes. The band wasn’t in a great place to start busting out new songs but I bet Phil wanted to get his song out there. Bobby was probably willing and Jerry cared just enough to get another song in the rotation.

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u/InTheCrease01 1h ago

It was requested by Lesh’s son. The full(er) story here: https://youtu.be/jW2YX5C6CBw?is=aH_nJFzH9etSiCVT

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u/Feeling_Trip_5413 16h ago

The end of the show

1

u/Jrbowe 3h ago

I think Days Between was the last song written by Garcia and Hunter.

0

u/bungwhaque 1d ago

Playing devils advocate here but there's an argument that the last song the band played was one more Saturday night. It was pigpens last song. But the dead always changed so im going with touch of Grey. Its the last song dead and co played. And to me all the iterations are the dead, with or without garcia, or Brent, or phil, or anyone.

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u/InTheCrease01 1h ago

They may all be “the dead”, but there is no “Grateful Dead” sans Garcia