the grateful dead, “unbroken chain”
from: from the mars hotel, 1975
“Blue light rain
Whoa, unbroken chain
Looking for familiar faces
In an empty window pane
Listening for the secret
Searching for the sound
But I could only hear the preacher
And the baying of his hounds
Willow sky
Whoa, I walk and wonder why
They say love your brother
But you will catch it when you try
Roll you down the line boy
Drop you for a loss
Ride you out on a cold railroad
And nail you to a cross
November and more
As I wait for the score
They’re telling me forgiveness
Is the key to every door
A slow winter day
A night like forever
Sink like a stone
Float like a feather
Lilac rain, unbroken chain
Song of the saw-whet owl
Out on the mountain, it’ll drive you insane
Listening to the winds howl
Unbroken chain of sorrow and pearls
Unbroken chain of sky and sea
Unbroken chain of the western wind
Unbroken chain of you and me”
I never did see the Grateful Dead live though I had many chances, but so filled with trepidation was I of being overcome by patchouli oil that I feared entering their roving denizens. That said, they were the tied-dyed poster children of progressive music from their day, smashing the stereotypes of three minute songs which had dominated radio airplay well into the sixties. Toward that end, their repertoire sported two drummers and extended instrumental solos writ large. Plus serious road warriors. Against the larger backdrop of youth dissatisfaction with the family, church and state, the Dead built their airplane of sound while they were flying it! “Unbroken Chain” is from the quieter edge of their catalogue, but carefully scripted and poetic, with a tiny Dead jam ensconced near the song’s end. It features bassist Phil Lesh in a convincing vocal appearance.
““Of offering more than what I can deliver,
I have a bad habit, it is true.
But I have to offer more than I can deliver,
To be able to deliver what I do.””