Thursday, March 15, 2007

Happy Birthday Phil !!!


Today is Phil Lesh's 67th birthday !!!
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Phil is responsible for two of my top 10 favorite Grateful Dead songs, "Box Of Rain"(probably my favorite Dead tune, correction, favorite tune, period-ever) and 'Unbroken Chain". Plus, one that I think is greatly underrated-"Pride Of Cucamonga"
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These songs always succeed at lifting my spirits and putting a wide wide grin on my face.
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My personal favorite Phil moment of all time: In 2001, I think it was, My Special Lady and I went to see Phil Lesh and Friends when they were touring with Bob Dylan. We saw them at one of the more than 500 Theaters in the U.S. named the Verizon Wireless Amphitheater-this one was in Orange County, CA.
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Dylan played first, and was pretty good(played a weird singalong,anthemic rock version of "Blowin' In The Wind" that i must say I didn't love).
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Phil and Friends came out, and kicked things off with an instrumental jam that was really cookin'- about 6 or 7 minutes into it, I hear this woman behind us ask her companion,"Um...Phil Lesh sings, right ?" She was clearly terrified that she was going to be subjected to 2 hours of hippies noodling around. It was too funny. Even funnier to think of all the "We Want Phil" and "Let Phil Sing" chants that you would hear at Dead shows. I think it was an interview with Bob Weir that I once read, where he was asked about those chants ,and he said that it's not like the band wouldn't let him sing or anything. They love it when he sings too. I'm afraid I'm not doing it justice, but it was pretty funny.
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I remember a t-shirt that I saw occasionally-It was a picture of a dollar bill(I'm not sure what the denomination was) with Phil's picture in the middle, and underneath it the words-"In Phil We Trust". Amen to that.
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Happy Birthday Phil, and here's to many more.
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Box Of Rain- Hunter/Lesh
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Look out of any window
any morning, any evening, any day
Maybe the sun is shining
birds are winging or
rain is falling from a heavy sky -
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What do you want me to do,
to do for you to see you through?
This is all a dream we dreamed
one afternoon long ago
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Walk out of any doorway
feel your way, feel your way
like the day before
Maybe you'll find direction
around some corner
where it's been waiting to meet you -
What do you want me to do,
to watch for you while you're sleeping?
Well please don't be surprised
when you find me dreaming too
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Look into any eyes
you find by you, you can see
clear through to another day
I know it's been seen before
through other eyes on other days
while going home -
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What do you want me to do,
to do for you to see you through?
It's all a dream we dreamed
one afternoon long ago
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Walk into splintered sunlight
Inch your way through dead dreams
to another land
Maybe you're tired and broken
Your tongue is twisted
with words half spoken
and thoughts unclear
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What do you want me to do
to do for you to see you through
A box of rain will ease the pain
and love will see you through
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Just a box of rain -
wind and water -
Believe it if you need it,
if you don't just pass it on
Sun and shower -
Wind and rain -
in and out the window
like a moth before a flame
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It's just a box of rain
I don't know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
or leave it if you dare
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But it's just a box of rain
or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long long time to be gone
and a short time to be there

1 comment:

Deadman said...

I love Unbroken Chain.

Around the time I had to put my dog down last year, a friend and I happened to be discussing her seeing the UC breakout at the Philly Spectrum.

She sent me a tape of it, and a note inside the cover with the line "But I can only hear the preacher and the baying of his hounds".

I can't listen to that song now without thinking about that dog.

I got to see Phil and Friends do UC this past April. Also Box of Rain.