![]() ![]() (Both albums appeared in May 1972.) At that show, at the Capitol Theater in Port Chester, NY, “Greatest Story” was joined by a number of other firsts: “Bertha,” “Loser,” “Playing in the Band,” and “Wharf Rat.” It remained fairly steadily in the rotation, with a hiatus between Octoand February 17, 1979-207 shows. ![]() The song entered the Dead’s live repertoire prior to its release on either Rolling Thunder or Ace, on February 18, 1971. I always loved the credits for the track, crediting Jerry Garcia with “insect fear.” The Tower of Power horn section also appears on the track. “Pump Song,” as recorded on Hart’s Rolling Thunder album, was released as the B-side of a single, with “Blind John” as the A-side. And now we have a blog on, carrying on the tradition. There was a 1965 movie by that title, and the movie, in turn, was based upon a book by Fulton Oursler, published in 1949. The eventual title that stuck with the song, “Greatest Story Ever Told,” has been used, generally, as a reference to the biblical story of Jesus. It was also in the repertoire of the New Riders of the Purple Sage in the late 1970s. “Froggy” dates back to at least the 16th century, and was recorded notably by Burl Ives, Bob Dylan, Elvis Presley, and Bruce Springsteen, among countless others. Gave three loud raps and a very big roar, uh-huh Well he rode up to Miss Mousey's door, uh-huh With a sword and a pistol by his side, uh-huh Here are just a few lines from that song, to give a taste:įrog went a-courtin', and he did ride, uh-huh (Similarly, Hunter notes that Weir changed “guitar” to “quasar,” and while at first he thought that was all right, he came to think that no, it just didn’t fit the atmosphere of the song, which is more “wooden.”)Īnd the other wonderful nugget contained in the feature that gives some insight into the songwriting process is Mickey’s suggestion early on that maybe the song that might come to be laid on top of the rhythm of the pump could be something like “Froggy Went a Courtin’”-so the line that kicks the song off bears some of that heritage, with Moses riding up instead of Froggy. Mickey states that for him, it was always “The Pump Song.” Hunter says that it was called “Moses.” Weir says he called it “Greatest Story Ever Wrote,” and adds that he doesn’t know how it came to be called “Greatest Story Ever Told.” Gotta love that! ![]() My favorite elements have to do with the evolution of the song’s title. Gans’s feature contains some wonderful interview material with Mickey Hart, Weir, and Hunter. I followed the documentary with a composite of the song edited together from four very different-sounding live renditions. ![]() Bobby also changed the title "That song was 'Moses,'" Hunter told me. "Moses come ridin' up on a guitar" became ".on a quasar"). Hunter added lyrics, which Weir altered a bit (e.g. The song began with a recording of a pump on his ranch, to which Mickey added some log drums he then gave the tape to Bob with a challenge to turn it into a song. "Greatest Story Ever Told" opens Bob Weir's 1972 solo album Ace, but an earlier version appears on Mickey Hart's 1972 solo album Rolling Thunder as "The Pump Song." I had interviews with Weir, Hart, and lyricist Robert Hunter talking about how this song came to be, and Mickey did me the gigantic favor of inviting me up to his studio, hauling out the multitrack master of "The Pump Song," and soloing up the individual tracks. "Greatest Pump Song Ever Wrote" is the documentary I produced for my first appearance on the KFOG Deadhead Hour. (I’ll consider requests for particular songs-just private message me!)Īny song featuring a 6 foot 10 inch Moses uttering a phrase like “You can’t close the door when the wall’s caved in,” deserves some concerted thought, don’t you think?ĭavid Gans did an entire segment on The Grateful Dead Hour tracing the development of this song. Therefore, the best part, I would hope, would not be anything in particular that I might have to say, but rather, the conversation that may happen via the comments over the course of time-and since all the posts will stay up, you can feel free to weigh in any time on any of the songs! With Grateful Dead lyrics, there’s always a new and different take on what they bring up for each listener, it seems. Here’s the plan-each week, I will blog about a different song, focusing, usually, on the lyrics, but also on some other aspects of the song, including its overall impact-a truly subjective thing. ![]()
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