Grateful dead who is shannon

Same story, different context. Jerry , Sep 17, RayS , Sep 17, Linolad and CybrKhatru like this. Location: Los Angeles. I am fascinated by the story in this song too..

CybrKhatru , Sep 17, Location: Pottstown, PA. Mad Dog , Sep 17, CybrKhatru likes this. John Bonham , musicalbeds , Mad Dog and 1 other person like this. Location: Fresno, California. Robin L , Sep 17, I always pictured a "Treasure of the Sierra Madre" scene where three friends made a haul, one got injured and one double-crossed the other two. Gammondorf , Sep 17, Location: A province which is neither British, nor Colombian.

Location: Montclair, New Jersey. Good stuff. The fact that they are riding on trains adds a different angle to the song than their typical cowboy songs.

For me, that one little fact creates a very different image of the characters. Ellsworth , Sep 17, We can jump the watchman, right outside the fence, leave his rings but take his change. Next Article:. Grateful Dead Hour no. Jerry Garcia Jerry Garcia. Bob Weir Bob Weir. Bill Kreutzmann Bill Kreutzmann. Phil Lesh Phil Lesh. Mickey Hart Mickey Hart.

Robert Hunter Robert Hunter. Tom Constanten Tom Constanten. Keith Godchaux Keith Godchaux. Brent Mydland Brent Mydland. Vince Welnick Vince Welnick. Log in or register to post comments. Custom Sidebar. Listen on Spotify. Display on homepage featured list. Custom Teaser.

Feature type. Greatest Stories Ever Told. Jack Straw. My old buddy you're movin' much too slow This is a great tune musical wise. The evolution from slower to faster was fascinating to see evolve. Like a lot of the Dead's tunes where death occurs there tends to be a lot of energy. It seemed in the last 5 years or so they were just about screaming the last verse.

About the lyrics. There never was a train called The Detroit Lightning but the words make sense if you say the Detroit lighting leaving out of Santa Fe. The Great Northern probably originated out of Missoula, Montana. The last verse I do consider to be enigmatic but my interpretation is that Jack Straw cut Shannon down like the other characters in the song -- the watchman, the score to settle in Tulsa.

The enigmatic part for me is that after saying this the narrator goes on to say "One man down and another to go. The geography suggests yet another interpretation. We have Jack Straw from Wichita cutting down a watchman, presumably in Texas. The pair leave and catch a train out of Santa Fe, then one out of Cheyenne. Then Jack Straw decides they have to catch the first train going to Tulsa.

What happens in Tulsa is never clear and the extra lyrics seem to provide a clue there. Lastly Jack Straw cuts down and I think this means kill somebody, perhaps not Shannon, half a mile from Tuscon. Could have been his new buddy.

As for "We can share But I didn't cheer during songs. I listened to them. Spartan Stadium I always love to read an article that mentions my favorite all-time show!! I also love the "Sugaree" and "Passenger" from the first set. No "Space" though Oh yes gotta love the "Shakedown Street" encore.

I've asked Dave Lemieux a number of times and I think he's tired of me asking!!! Sorry, Dave. I'm not sure what my favorite version is-I generally always like the one I'm hearing at that point in time.

Endlessly fascinating to try to parse-again Yes. Sort of like reading Henry James-"Turn of the Screw" -endless speculation about what did or did not occur. Timeless art. The "we can share Cause we done shared all of mine Jack Straw was my Dead "getting it" song listening to Europe '72, my gold-standard version , so it holds a very special place in my head and heart.

The first few hundred times I listened to the song, I heard "Jack Straw from Wichita SHOT his buddy down," so there was never any doubt in my mind about what happened at that point in the story. I suppose that my optimistic side doesn't want to believe that Jack Straw killed his friend, but given his "might as well be me" proclamation, I'm pretty sure that he did.

I do love this song. Europe 72 JS I remember hearing the instrumental part after "you keep us on the run" in my dorm room years ago, and "getting it. The current British politician by the same name was probably not on Hunter's mind. We used to play for silver Another great post, thank you David! That is interesting, I didn't know that Bob Weir wrote some of the verses for this song. Like I feel about many GD songs, I feel that this song is partly about playing in a band, especially the verse "we used to play for silver Im not great with words So maybe they just started doing what they knew best and could hopefully get some bread from it.

Well, by , things had changed too many times too count, but the one thing that hadn't changed was that they were still playing and its probably impossible to stop this train now the breaks dont work on this grade so steep But there is still the business behind it all, which Im sure is the last thing anyone in the band wanted to think about but its no secret.

They ain't no winner because if you are still alive you are always chasing the rush that music creates or can create. This may be quite a stretch but this is what my simple mind has always perceived this verse to be about One man gone and David, I think it is a killing at the end, and not perhaps Jack Straw cutting his hanged buddy down from the tree or gallows.

The course of the narrative increases Shannon's oppressive and aggressive weight so that I think the act outside Tucson is what he has coming from the jack straw maybe set up for this ambiguous moral lesson. There's some sure, or mere, tenderness, though, for the killed companion, his buddy, that Jack Straw "dug FOR him a shallow grave," maybe as good as he could give him.

I loved to here this song, especially at the end of the first set. Opening a show it had nice jams to here how each musician was playing and for me the climax had hope of how in sync the boys were or weren't for that night.

When it ended the first set I thought it said to the audience we're in sync, buckle up and get ready to be shot out of a cannon. Rochester 77 comes to mind. For me the second set Jack Straws were fun but I loved those late 1st set ones the best. Playing in the band In a sense Playing in the Band was recorded on a studio album - but it was Bob's "solo" Ace. I've always loved this version, especially the acoustic feel. That whole album is great, especially Bob and Donna on Cassidy.

That is a definitive line in the song. Regarding the share the women share the wine. The roar of applause and approval is not consistent with the spirit of the song if taken literally. In context, then repeated at the end Losaiko on June 20, There is the narrator, his buddy who is moving much too slow , the man that was robbed and possibly murdered by the narrator , Shannon and Jack Straw.

If the man robbed was murdered by the narrator who says it might have been just as easily him that leaves 4 people left: The narrator, his "slow buddy", Shannon and Jack Straw. Considering that they played a card game where the stakes weren't for money but for life instead, it could be surmised that Shannon was the winner of the hand. Or, Shannon could be the narrator's female love interest. Hard to tell. The next murder occurs when Jack Straw murders his buddy and buries him.

Who is Jac Straw's buddy? An unnamed card player at the game? Next, it is said that one man is down and another to go. This would leave now only the Narrator, his "slow buddy", Jack Straw and Shannon assuming the man robbed was murdered. This leaves 4 people left. Now, either Jack Straw's buddy that he murdered, was a member of the dangerous card game that was not mentioned before in the song, or Jack Straw IS the narrator who has now killed his buddy that is "moving too slow".

Or, Shannon is Jack Straw and has killed the before unmentioned other card player in the game. If Shannon is Jack Straw who killed the unknown card player then it makes sense as to why the narrator continues with the admonition towards his slow moving buddy to pick up the pace; as they are next one man down and another to go.

Of course, I still can't reconcile why the narrator communicates with Shannon twice in the song, but his second reference to Shannon keeping them on the run is damning evidence that Shannon is Jack Straw and is trying to kill the narrator and his slow buddy. What do you think? Only because it seems to me that your point on it being either Shannon OR his acquired buddy after the first murder Thank you I do have to say, in addition the the impact of lyrics on our psyche, when I sing this song I feel like an angel.

Especially this whole verse: "Leaving Texas Leavin' Texas, fourth day of July, Sun so hot, the clouds so low, the eagles filled the sky. This verse reminds me of seeing the Dead in Vegas in General Comment First off, freakin' incredible song! The version I listen to is Europe '72, and nuts to you if you have a problem with that. Go get it. There are three entities singing this song to you.

The first is the narrator we can share Disclaimer: this is my badass opinion, nothing more. The third is the innocent whose eyes are hurt and ears are burned ominously at the beginning of the song, and who is murdered at the end. The narrator is Phil and Jerry singing in harmony. Jack Straw is sung by Jerry.