External links
- Dead.net, the official homepage of the Grateful Dead.
- Full lyrics with notations
| "Scarlet Begonias" | |
|---|---|
| Song by the Grateful Dead | |
| from the album From the Mars Hotel | |
| Released | June 27, 1974 |
| Recorded | 1974 |
| Genre | Rock, funk rock, psychedelic rock, reggae fusion |
| Length | 4:20 |
| Label | Grateful Dead Records |
| Composer(s) | Jerry Garcia |
| Lyricist(s) | Robert Hunter |
| Producer(s) | Grateful Dead |
"Scarlet Begonias" is a song by the Grateful Dead. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music by Jerry Garcia. [1]
The song begins in Grosvenor Square in London and also references "Tea for Two" from No, No, Nanette by Irving Caesar and Vincent Youmans.
The third stanza uses gambling/loss imagery that occurs in many Grateful Dead songs. [2] The line "As I picked up my matches and was closing the door" uses the symbolism of playing poker with matchsticks to indicate a very low stakes gamble that was made for fun.
The line "Everybody's playing in the Heart of Gold Band" was used by Keith and Donna Godchaux to name their new group Heart of Gold Band when they left Grateful Dead in 1979.
The recording first appears on the 1974 release From the Mars Hotel .
The group first performed the song live on March 23, 1974, at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California. [1] When "Fire on the Mountain" was incorporated into the band's repertoire in 1977, "Scarlet Begonias" would often be paired with it when played live, resulting in what would be nicknamed "Scarlet > Fire" with the first iteration of this iconic pairing on Friday, March 18th, 1977. [3]
40oz. to Freedom is the debut studio album by American ska punk band Sublime, originally released on June 1, 1992, on Skunk Records. It was later reissued by MCA. 40oz. to Freedom's sound blended various forms of Jamaican music, including ska, rocksteady, roots reggae, and dub along with hardcore punk and hip hop.
Terrapin Station is the ninth studio album by the Grateful Dead, released July 27, 1977. It was the first Grateful Dead album on Arista Records and the first studio album after the band returned to live touring.
Shakedown Street is a tenth studio album by rock band the Grateful Dead, released November 8, 1978, on Arista Records. The album came just over a year after previous studio album Terrapin Station. It was the final album for Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux, who left the band a few months after its release. The record was produced by Lowell George and John Kahn.
From the Mars Hotel is the seventh studio album by rock band the Grateful Dead. It was mainly recorded in April 1974, and originally released June 27, 1974. It was the second album by the band on their own Grateful Dead Records label. From the Mars Hotel came less than one year after their previous album, Wake of the Flood, and was the last before the band's then-indefinite hiatus from live touring which began in October 1974.
Download Series Volume 1 is the first in a series of digital download albums by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It was released on May 3, 2005. The album features the complete show from April 30, 1977, which was the second of a five night run at New York City's Palladium. In addition, in order to fill out the third disc, bonus material is included from the previous night at the same location.
Live at the Cow Palace is a live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. It was recorded at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California, on New Year's Eve, 1976. Released in 2007, it was the first Grateful Dead album produced under contract with Rhino Records. Pre-orders through the Grateful Dead Store received a bonus disc. The album was created by remixing and remastering the original 24-track concert soundboard tapes.
The Closing of Winterland is a four-CD live album by the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert performed on December 31, 1978. The concert was also released as a two-disc DVD. The title derives from the fact that it was the last concert in San Francisco's Winterland Arena, which was shut down shortly thereafter. The Dead celebrated the closing as an approximately five-hour-long party and invited some guests including guitarist John Cipollina of Quicksilver Messenger Service and Ken Kesey as well as actor Dan Aykroyd who provided the midnight countdown. It was certified Double Platinum by the RIAA on December 15, 2003 under the category of longform video, selling 200,000 units. The New Riders of the Purple Sage and Blues Brothers opened the show.
"Fire on the Mountain" is a song by the Grateful Dead. The lyric is by Robert Hunter and the music by drummer Mickey Hart. It was commercially released on the album Shakedown Street in November 1978. An earlier instrumental version titled "Happiness is Drumming" appeared in 1976 on Mickey Hart's album Diga with the Diga Rhythm Band.
"Shakedown Street" is a song by the Grateful Dead. It was written by lyricist Robert Hunter and composed by guitarist Jerry Garcia. It was released as the title track on the album Shakedown Street in November 1978. The song was first performed live on August 31, 1978, at the Red Rocks Amphitheatre, in Morrison, Colorado. The song "From the Heart of Me" was also played for the first time during the performance. It depicts the reasons for inner-city urban decay. The album Shakedown Street reached number 41 on the Billboard Top 200 for 1979.
Backstage Pass is a music documentary video by the Grateful Dead. It was directed by Justin Kreutzmann, son of Grateful Dead drummer Bill Kreutzmann, and produced by Gillian Grisman, daughter of musician David Grisman. It was released in 1992, and is 35 minutes long.
"Casey Jones" is a song by the American rock band the Grateful Dead.
Rex (Live at the Fillmore) is the thirteenth album by Keller Williams, recorded live on February 8, 2006 at the Fillmore Auditorium in Denver, Colorado.
Road Trips Volume 1 Number 4 is a two-CD live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. The fourth in their "Road Trips" series of albums, it was released on September 30, 2008. It was recorded at the Winterland Arena in San Francisco, California, on October 21 and 22, 1978.
The Heart of Gold Band is an American rock band formed by Keith and Donna Jean Godchaux in 1980 following their departure from the Grateful Dead. The band took its name from a line in the Dead song "Scarlet Begonias".
Dave's Picks Volume 9 is a three-CD live album by the American rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert from May 14, 1974, at the Harry Adams Field House in Missoula, Montana. It was produced as a limited edition of 14,000 numbered copies, and was released on February 1, 2014.
Dave's Picks Volume 12 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded on November 4, 1977 at Colgate University in Hamilton, New York. It was produced as a limited edition of 14,000 numbered copies, and was released by Rhino Records on November 1, 2014. The album also includes over 75 minutes of bonus tracks recorded on November 2, 1977 at a concert at Seneca College in Toronto.
Dave's Picks Volume 18 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded on July 17, 1976 at the Orpheum Theatre in San Francisco, California. It was produced as a limited edition of 16,500 copies, and released on May 1, 2016.
July 1978: The Complete Recordings is a live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. Packaged as a box set, and produced as a limited edition of 15,000 copies, it contains five complete concerts on twelve CDs. It was released on May 13, 2016.
Dave's Picks Volume 37 is a three-CD live album by the rock band the Grateful Dead. It contains the complete concert recorded on April 15, 1978, at the College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, as well as selections from the April 18 concert at the Civic Arena in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. It was released on January 29, 2021, in a limited edition of 25,000 copies.
"Terrapin Part 1" is a song suite by the Grateful Dead. Released on their 1977 album Terrapin Station, it takes up the album's entire second side. The piece, split up into seven distinct movements, is the band's longest studio recording at sixteen minutes and twenty-three seconds long. While the Grateful Dead never performed the song live in full, the first three sections of the song became commonplace in the band's setlists. The song's lyrics were written by Robert Hunter, with the music being written by Jerry Garcia, Mickey Hart, and Bill Kreutzmann.
