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Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodeloo Lyrics
On the day that I was born
Daddy sat down and cried
I had the mark just as plain as day
Which could not be denied
They say that Cain caught Abel
Rolling loaded dice,
Ace of spades behind his ear
And him not thinking twice
Half-step
Mississippi Uptown Toodleloo
Hello baby, I'm gone, goodbye
Half a cup of rock and rye
Farewell to you old southern sky
I'm on my way, on my way
If all you got to live for
Is what you left behind
Get yourself a powder charge
And seal that silver mine
I lost my boots in transit babe
A pile of smoking leather
Nailed a retread to my feet
And prayed for better weather
Half-step
Mississippi Uptown Toodleloo
Hello, baby, I'm gone, good-bye
Half a cup of rock and rye
Farewell to you old southern sky
I'm on my way - on my way
They say that when your ship comes in
The first man takes the sails
The second takes the after-deck
The third the planks and rails
What's the point to calling shots?
This cue ain't straight in line
Cueball's made of styrofoam
And no one's got the time
Half-step
Mississippi Uptown Toodleloo
Hello baby, I'm gone, goodbye
Half a cup of rock and rye
Farewell to you old southern sky
I'm on my way - on my way
Across the Rio Grande
Across the lazy river
Across the Rio Grande
Across the lazy river
Daddy sat down and cried
I had the mark just as plain as day
Which could not be denied
They say that Cain caught Abel
Rolling loaded dice,
Ace of spades behind his ear
And him not thinking twice
Mississippi Uptown Toodleloo
Hello baby, I'm gone, goodbye
Half a cup of rock and rye
Farewell to you old southern sky
I'm on my way, on my way
Is what you left behind
Get yourself a powder charge
And seal that silver mine
I lost my boots in transit babe
A pile of smoking leather
Nailed a retread to my feet
And prayed for better weather
Mississippi Uptown Toodleloo
Hello, baby, I'm gone, good-bye
Half a cup of rock and rye
Farewell to you old southern sky
I'm on my way - on my way
The first man takes the sails
The second takes the after-deck
The third the planks and rails
What's the point to calling shots?
This cue ain't straight in line
Cueball's made of styrofoam
And no one's got the time
Mississippi Uptown Toodleloo
Hello baby, I'm gone, goodbye
Half a cup of rock and rye
Farewell to you old southern sky
I'm on my way - on my way
Across the lazy river
Across the Rio Grande
Across the lazy river
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based on liner notes from Wake of the Flood's 50th Anniversary Edition
Wake of the Flood was the band's 1st album since American Beauty and their 1st to be recorded at The Dead's own studio called The Record Plant.
Prior to recording, the band lost members Pigpen and Mickey Hart.
There are plenty of biblical references throughout the songs on the album. Hunter's lyrics got at a deeper set of truths including the sense of promise that followed the great flood in the book of Genesis. God ended the cataclysm with a new covenant and Rick Griffin drew on that story for the cover with not only the water on the front cover but also with the raven on the back cover which symbolized the raven sent out by Noah to see if the flood was receding. The bird also evoked that context; it came from the old card game Rook, marketed as a Christian alternative to traditional playing cards.
Thoughtful observers noted wakes followed both floods and deaths and much of what the band recorded August 1973 would also honor their fallen friend Pigpen.
"Mississippi Half-Step reads like an allegory, a story that revolves around fate and ends in transition, crossing a river that defines America and symbolizes hope for those who cross it."
The Wake of the Flood album weaves the fabric of the Dead's history into its themes in ways that highlight its ambition and achievement.
In one line of this song, the narrator loses his boots in transit which is a veiled reference to the 1961 car crash that took the life of Jerry Garcia's friend Paul Speegle Jr. Garcia always called that accident a turning point, "the slingshot for the rest of my life" as he put it. "It was my 2nd chance and I got serious." This was not a well known story back in 1973, but it was an allusion that resonated deeply with everyone in the band's inner circle who also saw the new label and studio as a 2nd chance for the band.
There are so many other elements covered by the lyrics on just this one song that require a deeper dive. Generally some can feel stuck in what they were handed in life or just let ones' past and connections to negative thoughts GO by philosophically sealing them away in a silver mine and setting a powder charge to let them all GO away and next taking a small dose of medicine "half cup of rock & rye" and "nailing retreads to your feet" and pray for good weather as you journey on with a new sense of optimism.
No comments? Dang. I have no idea what this song's about.
No drugs have nothing to do with this. Don't cheat Cain (or Abel). Well actually drugs have a lot to do with this song. And every song the Grateful Dead wrote. This should be a historical comment.
All boils down to
If all you got to live for is what you left behind, Get yourself a powder charge and seal that silver mine.
Starting over...