"China Cat Sunflower" | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Single by Grateful Dead | ||||
from the album Aoxomoxoa | ||||
B-side | "St. Stephen" | |||
Released | June 20, 1969 | |||
Studio | Pacific Recording Studios San Mateo, California | |||
Genre | Psychedelic rock | |||
Length | 3:40 | |||
Label | Warner Bros. | |||
Composer(s) | Jerry Garcia | |||
Lyricist(s) | Robert Hunter | |||
Producer(s) | Grateful Dead | |||
Grateful Dead singles chronology | ||||
|
"China Cat Sunflower" is a song by the Grateful Dead, which was first recorded for their 1969 studio album Aoxomoxoa . The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music composed by Jerry Garcia. The song was typically sung by Jerry Garcia. The first live recording of this song appeared on Europe '72 , paired (as was typical) with "I Know You Rider". Lyrically, this song has many literary references, including Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland , George Herriman's Krazy Kat , and Dame Edith Sitwell's "Polka". [1]
The Grateful Dead first performed "China Cat Sunflower" on January 17, 1968, at the Fillmore West (then called the Carousel Ballroom) in San Francisco. During the following year after its introduction into the band's set list, the song was played by itself or often in the middle of an extended jam between the songs "Dark Star" and "The Eleven"—a position more familiarly (to Deadheads) filled by "St. Stephen". [2] Four instances of this arrangement have been released on official recordings, the first on the compilation album So Many Roads (1965–1995) , the second on Dick's Picks Volume 22 , and the other two on Road Trips Volume 2 Number 2 .
On September 30, 1969, the Grateful Dead first segued "China Cat Sunflower" into "I Know You Rider" (a traditional folk song) at Cafe Au Go Go in New York City. [3] Over the next 26 years the Dead would pair these songs together over 500 times, most often as a second set opener. Only twice during this extended period was "China Cat Sunflower" played without this pairing. [2]
The song begins with two distinct guitar riffs. The first is played by Jerry Garcia and then a second one played by Bob Weir is interwoven on top of it. This second riff has been described by author Eric F. Wybenga as "that dodgy little Bobby intro that scratches your brain just behind the ears." [4]
Wybenga described the lyrics as "acid-drenched", and said, further: "China Cat Sunflower's lyric—composed, Robert Hunter has said, in a state where contemplation of a cat served as touchstone for an interplanetary journey—is a real masterwork. It's one of the very few rock-and-roll lyrics (including Dylan's) that has as much impact on the page as it does sung, if not more. ... 'It's about acid' does it less justice than the observation that it's about seeing, sensing, and making connections in a sensuous world. Anyone out there remember what it was like to be three years old?" [4]
The song is available in the Rock Band video game series as downloadable content, along with 17 other Grateful Dead songs.
In the 2009 Ang Lee film Taking Woodstock , the version of the song from Europe '72 is used in the part of the film showing everyone arriving at Woodstock in 1969.
In 2020 entomologist J.H. Epler named a new species of diving beetle (family Dytiscidae) for the song; it is called Uvarus sinofelihelianthus. The specific epithet can be interpreted as (sino) China (feli) cat (helianthus) sunflower. [5]
Robert C. Christie Hunter was an American lyricist, singer-songwriter, translator and poet, best known for his work with the Grateful Dead. Born near San Luis Obispo, California, Hunter spent some time during his childhood in foster homes as a result of his father abandoning his family, and took refuge in reading and writing. He attended the University of Connecticut for a year before returning to Palo Alto, where he became friends with musician Jerry Garcia. Hunter and Garcia began a collaboration that lasted through the remainder of Garcia's life.
Download Series Volume 8 is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It was released as a digital download on December 6, 2005. It contains most of the concert that the band performed on December 10, 1973 at the Charlotte Coliseum in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Hundred Year Hall is a two-CD live album by the Grateful Dead. It was the first album to be released after Jerry Garcia's death, and one of the first releases in a continuing rush of live albums from the band's vault. It contains about two thirds of the April 26 concert at the Jahrhunderthalle in Frankfurt, West Germany, during the Dead's Spring 1972 tour of Europe. Disc one includes a number of songs from the first set, followed by the last part of the second set. Disc two includes the first part of the second set.
Dick's Picks Volume 10 is the tenth live album in the Dick's Picks series of releases by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded at Winterland Arena in San Francisco on December 29, 1977, with extra tracks recorded on the following night.
Dick's Picks Volume 16 is the 16th live album in the Dick's Picks series of releases by the Grateful Dead. It was recorded on November 8, 1969 at the Fillmore Auditorium in San Francisco, California. It contains the first live performance of "Cumberland Blues". There is a monologue by someone not in the band during the song "Caution" shortly before the segue to "The Main Ten," who has never been definitively identified.
Winterland 1973: The Complete Recordings is a 9 CD live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains three complete concerts, missing only the encore of the first concert. It was recorded on November 9, 10, and 11, 1973, at the Winterland Ballroom in San Francisco, California. The album was released on April 1, 2008.
Road Trips Volume 2 Number 1 is two-CD live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. The fifth in their "Road Trips" series of albums, it was recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City on September 18, 19, and 20, 1990. It was released on December 10, 2008.
Road Trips Volume 2 Number 3 is a two-CD live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. The seventh in their "Road Trips" series of albums, it was recorded on June 16, 1974, at the Iowa State Fairgrounds in Des Moines, Iowa, and on June 18, 1974, at Freedom Hall in Louisville, Kentucky. A third, bonus disc included with some copies of the album was recorded at the same two concerts. The album was released on June 18, 2009.
Road Trips Volume 3 Number 3 is a live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. Recorded on May 15, 1970, and released on June 14, 2010, it was the 11th of the "Road Trips" series of albums, and the first to contain three discs instead of two.
Road Trips Volume 3 Number 4 is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. The 12th of the Road Trips series of archival releases, it was recorded on May 6, 1980, at Recreation Hall, Pennsylvania State University, State College, Pennsylvania, and on May 7, 1980, at Barton Hall, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York. It was released on September 7, 2010.
Road Trips Volume 4 Number 2 is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. The 14th of the Road Trips series of archival releases, it was recorded on March 31 and April 1, 1988, at the Brendan Byrne Arena in East Rutherford, New Jersey. It was released as a three disc CD on February 1, 2011.
Road Trips Volume 4 Number 3 is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. Subtitled Denver '73, it contains the complete concert recorded on November 21, 1973, at Denver Coliseum in Denver, Colorado. It also includes three songs recorded the previous night at the same venue. The 15th of the Road Trips series of archival albums, it was released as a three-disc CD on April 26, 2011.
Dave's Picks Volume 13 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded on February 24, 1974, at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco, California. It was produced as a limited edition of 16,500 numbered copies, and was released by Rhino Records on February 1, 2015.
Dave's Picks Volume 22 is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded at the Felt Forum in New York City on December 7, 1971. It also includes the second set and the encore recorded at the same venue the previous night. It was produced as a limited edition of 16,500 copies, and released on May 1, 2017.
Pacific Northwest '73–'74: The Complete Recordings is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains six complete concerts recorded in the Pacific Northwest in 1973 and 1974, on 19 CDs. It was released, in a limited edition of 15,000 copies, on September 7, 2018.
Dave's Picks Volume 30 is a 3-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete early and late shows recorded on January 2, 1970 at the Fillmore East in New York City, along with five songs from the band's performances at the same venue the following night. It was released on May 3, 2019 in a limited edition of 20,000 copies.
Dave's Picks Volume 35 is a 3-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded at the Philadelphia Civic Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania on April 20, 1984. It also includes bonus tracks comprising most of the second set of the concert recorded at the same venue on the previous night. It was released on July 31, 2020, in a limited edition of 22,000 copies.
Dave's Picks Volume 38 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded on September 8, 1973 at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, New York. It also contains two bonus tracks recorded on the previous night at the same venue. Some copies of the album include a bonus disc with eight more songs from the September 7 concert. It was released on April 30, 2021 in a limited edition of 25,000 copies.
Lyceum '72: The Complete Recordings is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. Packaged as a box set of 24 LPs, it contains four complete concerts recorded at the Lyceum Theatre in London on May 23, 24, 25, and 26, 1972. It was released on July 29, 2022, in a limited edition of 4,000 copies.
In and Out of the Garden: Madison Square Garden '81, '82, '83 is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. Packaged as a box set, it contains six complete concerts on 17 CDs. It was recorded at Madison Square Garden in New York City in 1981, 1982, and 1983. It was released on September 23, 2022, in a limited edition of 12,500 numbered copies.