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Althea Lyrics
I told Althea I was feeling lost, lacking in some direction.
Althea told me upon scrutiny that my back might need protection.
I told Althea that treachery was tearing me limb from limb.
Althea told me now, cool down boy, settle back, easy Jim.
You may be Saturday's child, all grown, moving with a tinge of grace.
You may be a clown in the burying ground, or just another pretty face.
You may meet the fate of Ophelia, sleeping and perchance to dream.
Honest to the point of recklessness, self-centered in the extreme.
Ain't nobody messing with you, but you, your friends are getting most concerned.
Loose with the truth, and baby, it's your fire, but baby i hope you don't get burned.
When the smoke has cleared, she said, that's what she said to me.
Gonna want a bed to lay your head and a little sympathy.
There are things you can replace, and others you cannot.
The time has come to weigh those things.
This space is getting hot, you know this space is getting hot.
I told Althea I'm a roving son, and I was born to be a bachelor.
Althea told me, okay, that's fine, so now I'm trying to catch her.
Can't talk to you without talking to me, we're guilty of the same old thing.
Been talking alot about less and less and forgetting the love we bring.
Althea told me upon scrutiny that my back might need protection.
I told Althea that treachery was tearing me limb from limb.
Althea told me now, cool down boy, settle back, easy Jim.
You may be Saturday's child, all grown, moving with a tinge of grace.
You may be a clown in the burying ground, or just another pretty face.
You may meet the fate of Ophelia, sleeping and perchance to dream.
Honest to the point of recklessness, self-centered in the extreme.
Ain't nobody messing with you, but you, your friends are getting most concerned.
Loose with the truth, and baby, it's your fire, but baby i hope you don't get burned.
When the smoke has cleared, she said, that's what she said to me.
Gonna want a bed to lay your head and a little sympathy.
There are things you can replace, and others you cannot.
The time has come to weigh those things.
This space is getting hot, you know this space is getting hot.
I told Althea I'm a roving son, and I was born to be a bachelor.
Althea told me, okay, that's fine, so now I'm trying to catch her.
Can't talk to you without talking to me, we're guilty of the same old thing.
Been talking alot about less and less and forgetting the love we bring.
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The story of Althea always struck me as being similar to other stories about missing an opportunity at the critical chance that it presents itself due to ignorance about the significance of the situation. It expresses the regret felt when one realizes too late that everything they wanted was right in front of them and the despair when one realizes that the opportunity can most likely never be regained. In this sense the meaning for "Alethea" (the unhidden truth - or the truth that was always there, but you couldn't see it due to psychic blindness) fits very well. I think the song also uses the image of the mystical woman as a symbol of the Anima, so that the missed opportunity is not just for love, but for joining with the spiritual feminine inside that provides inspiration, vision and passion for the work of our lives.
hate that feeling!!!
hate that feeling!!!
@trpnstn1 - “a simple twist of fate” as it were ;-)
@trpnstn1 - “a simple twist of fate” as it were ;-)
The song Althea, one of my favorites by the amazing Jerry G and Robert Hunter, is a profound meditation on death, on world weariness, on the inner anguish that life can put you through and that your own mind can lead you to. And on the process of having the divine speak to you and point out the path that can free you. And how so many times, we ultimately reject that path, we reject the guidance.
Alethea in Greek Mythology is the daughter of Zeus and is the personifiation of TRUTH. My sense of this song is that the singer is having a dialogue with the GODDESS/the divine in it's manifestation as TRUTH.
In the first three lines, the singer is describing his anguish to the divine:
"I told Althea I was feeling lost, lacking in some direction. Althea told me upon scrutiny that my back might need protection. I told Althea that treachery was tearing me limb from limb."
In the next number of lines, the divine is speaking to him about his predicament:
"Althea told me better cool down boy, settle back, easy Jim."
"You may be Saturday's child, all alone, moving with a tinge of grace. You may be a clown in the burying ground, or just another pretty face. You may meet the fate of Ophelia, sleeping and perchance to dream. Honest to the point of recklessness, self-centered in the extreme."
Here Althea spells out the singers troubles. Ophelia is a character from Shakespears Hamlet who lost her mind. The "clown in the burying ground" suggests laughing in the face of death, perhaps even contemplating suicide. "Sleeping and perchance to dream" is from Hamlet's soliloquy in the same play where he is contemplating whether life is even worth living. But, then Althea (TRUTH) smacks the singer with a dose of reality. That his thoughts of death and suicide although "Honest to the point of recklessness" are also "self-centered in the extreme". Self-centered in the sense that he can't see beyond his own pain and is refusing to connect to the divine inspiration which ultimately could prove to be his salvation.
Then Althea spells it out even clearer to him:
"Ain't nobody messing with you, but you, your friends are getting most concerned. Loose with the TRUTH, baby, it's your fire, but baby don't get burned."
It is your own mind, your disconnect that is fucking up your life she tells him. It's also your choice. But be careful, you might get burned.
Then she goes on instructing him: "When the smoke has cleared, she said, that's what she said to me. Gonna want a bed to lay your head and a little sympathy."
Once the passion of your madness has cooled, youre going to want some connection, with divine LOVE.
Althea goes on illuminating his path:
"There are things you can replace, and others you cannot. (like your life) The time has come to weigh those things. This space is getting hot, you know this space is getting hot."
Again, she is spelling out that he has a choice. He has free will. He has decisions and commitments to make. And the time to make them is now.
After digesting this massive dose of TRUTH, the singer speaks to her:
"I told Althea I'm a roving son, and I was born to be a bachelor."
I cant be married to THE TRUTH, he tells her. I'm not ready for it. I have to hold on to my own ego, my own separate identity.
She answers: "Althea told me, okay, that's fine," (God is infinitely patient)
And having missed the TRUTH, the singer goes back to the game of divine hide and seek, claiming to want to know the truth (and rejecting her when she shows up at his doorstep).
"so now I'm trying to catch her".
Having missed the TRUTH, having missed the connection to the divine, the singer then reflects: "Can't talk to you without talking to me, we're guilty of the same old thing." Cant talk to God without talking to ourselves... and yet... "Been talking alot about less and less and forgetting the love we bring." We're back in the soup again, talking about less and less and forgetting all about the divine, about LOVE, about TRUTH.
I have tremendous love and respect for Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter as some of the premier poets of our generation. This amazing songs spells out some of the struggles Jerry himself was going through. On the one hand, he identified with and studied the Christian mystics so he was obviously a deeply spiritual man. On the other hand, he struggled mightily with Heroin addiction, with obesity and undoubtedly with depression. The song Althea in a sense spells out that conflict within Jerry. Seeing God, being so close to God through the creative process of music but ultimately being unable to fully embrace God, falling again and again back into Heroin and self-destruction. Like the song Black Muddy River, and on so many others, Robert Hunter often wrote lyrics that reflected what he saw happening with the Dead. It's amazing that he wrote these lyrics for Jerry and that Jerry chose to sing them, sharing with us all his (and our) perennial struggle to know God.
Thank you, that's beautiful and useful... the mythological and philosophical tips and the personal context.
Thank you, that's beautiful and useful... the mythological and philosophical tips and the personal context.
Thank you so much. Everything you put makes complete sense. I have been having a similar struggle as the song for the past few years and just love it when another can sum up my thoughts and feelings and put them into words...I'm not the strongest at expressing myself correctly.
Thank you so much. Everything you put makes complete sense. I have been having a similar struggle as the song for the past few years and just love it when another can sum up my thoughts and feelings and put them into words...I'm not the strongest at expressing myself correctly.
@ShivaX - you sort of forgot all about Ophelia there...
@ShivaX - you sort of forgot all about Ophelia there...
@ShivaX Wow. Who are you? I want to know you.. Seriously. Can I find you on FB or something? Love your insight and wisdom. Man you really hit the nail on the head with this one.. Peace... Adam
@ShivaX Wow. Who are you? I want to know you.. Seriously. Can I find you on FB or something? Love your insight and wisdom. Man you really hit the nail on the head with this one.. Peace... Adam
@ShivaX - I think your analysis and feelings here are on point. I’m dealing with a serious love loss, serious addiction issues and terminal illness. It has been a very difficult time and what you wrote here helped me identify more with a song I’ve always related to heavily. Thanks for your insight. Now perhaps more than ever the world needs more empathy, insight, understanding, acceptance and love.
@ShivaX - I think your analysis and feelings here are on point. I’m dealing with a serious love loss, serious addiction issues and terminal illness. It has been a very difficult time and what you wrote here helped me identify more with a song I’ve always related to heavily. Thanks for your insight. Now perhaps more than ever the world needs more empathy, insight, understanding, acceptance and love.
I've always thought this song is about the wisdom of women and the ability for them to see the big picture.
how does an amazing dead song like this only have 3 comments when 50 cent's candyshop has 480...
im glad someone sees this!!!!
im glad someone sees this!!!!
Think about the classic bell-curve that describes norms. 50 Cent is a studio created product that ad execs use to sell merchandise and ad time. Everything about him was sculpted to appeal to as many people as possible, "the norm", "the masses". Just like those with genius IQs, the further you move to the higher end of the scale, the fewer people there are. It takes an advanced ear to appreciate the music of the Grateful Dead and an advanced mind to appreciate Hunter's lyrics. They are at the genius level of the curve -...
Think about the classic bell-curve that describes norms. 50 Cent is a studio created product that ad execs use to sell merchandise and ad time. Everything about him was sculpted to appeal to as many people as possible, "the norm", "the masses". Just like those with genius IQs, the further you move to the higher end of the scale, the fewer people there are. It takes an advanced ear to appreciate the music of the Grateful Dead and an advanced mind to appreciate Hunter's lyrics. They are at the genius level of the curve - so, obviously there will be far less people that "get it". These days, I take a bit of pride in the fact that, for almost 25 years, my musical tastes have been so selective that most people have never heard of the bands I like.
'cuz the village idiot is always fun for a time....I remember recently, 50 cent bought a Mcmansion near me in ct......within a year it was trashed, and he moved out after he couldn't hack the ct. winter.....its sad photos are on flikr, and my favorite one is the couch in the pool...how derivative, and 50 cent is/ was no Brian Jones...just a low- life drug dealer that got lucky somewhere along the way
'cuz the village idiot is always fun for a time....I remember recently, 50 cent bought a Mcmansion near me in ct......within a year it was trashed, and he moved out after he couldn't hack the ct. winter.....its sad photos are on flikr, and my favorite one is the couch in the pool...how derivative, and 50 cent is/ was no Brian Jones...just a low- life drug dealer that got lucky somewhere along the way
@gdawg31 That's because this is not a "song for the masses". It was meant to be tasted and best understood through the passing of time. And on top of it, most of the people is thinking about less and less.
@gdawg31 That's because this is not a "song for the masses". It was meant to be tasted and best understood through the passing of time. And on top of it, most of the people is thinking about less and less.
@gdawg31 I know you wrote that comment more than a decade ago, but I would like to add my two cents worth of opinion: You might have seen only see 3 comments here at the time, but there are hundreds of very deadicated (spelling intended) sites all over the internet where people will discuss every single word to every single song, and every single nuance and implication and scriptural reference, every historical significance, and so on, with great insight, with a deep understanding, often with a mighty educational background too. These sites, and conversations, and intense seekers of truth...
@gdawg31 I know you wrote that comment more than a decade ago, but I would like to add my two cents worth of opinion: You might have seen only see 3 comments here at the time, but there are hundreds of very deadicated (spelling intended) sites all over the internet where people will discuss every single word to every single song, and every single nuance and implication and scriptural reference, every historical significance, and so on, with great insight, with a deep understanding, often with a mighty educational background too. These sites, and conversations, and intense seekers of truth and enlightenment via investigation of every line of every song has been going on non stop since about 1968. Nobody from 50 cent or whatever his name is, has that kind of following...Not Even Close. Rest easy gdawg31. We don't want 50 cents' followers paying attention to our band nor what we are doing. If they find their way over here by their path's own design, we will welcome them. Nobody will remember him or his temporary followers in the near future. Look how long people remember our band...and they aren't even close to quitting yet. Today is 7/01/2019! Just saw them play last night and the night before that!! (Atlanta, GA and Charlotte, NC)
I think Brookes is right as far as he goes above, but the song always meant more to me the more I heard it (thousands of times). I always thought of Althea as an alterego for Alethea, the Greek goddess of truth, incarnate. Not sure if anyone Althea really existed for the song to be written about, but I think the goddess Alethea makes for a great metaphor here: "Honest to the point of recklessness, self-centered to the extreme". The dialogue is that much better because she is here courted by the singer, as Brookes says. I just like the idea of personifying Truth as a beautiful but fickle woman. Not to say that my explaination is intentional (or not) but I did interpret it this way.
althea, what a good song. honest to the point of recklessness, self centered to the extreme...love that line. the grateful dead have so many great great songs. thanks so much jerry. and if yer a fan and you don't know about this david dodd site mentioned by tayzha26 then here's the link and you can thank me later.........http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/
althea is about him going out with althea but he didnt want a girlfriend so they broke up and went seperate ways. then he wanted her back later on but she didnt want to go back out with him. well thats what I think
"Althea" is a playful but realistic scenario of two flawed and suspicious people looking for love. This song is told in narrator form and he's trying to tell her whats bothering him and she always has the perfect comeback. Commintment, free spirtedness, and staunch bacherlorhood are some of the themes delt with here, complemented with a warm score that gave the Dead room for volcanic instramental expression. The line " you may be a clown on the burying ground or just another pretty face/ you may meet the fate of Ophelia to sleep and perchance to dream" directly links with a scene from ~Hamlet, one of Shakespears darkest plays. After Ophelia has commited sucicide in this tragedy, two clowns dig her grave. They unearth the skull, which Hamlet holds during his "Alas, poor Yorick" solilouy. Earlier, before the suicide , Hamlet himself questioned, "To be or not to be" and mused about hereafter: " To die , to sleep-to sleep-perchance to dream" concluding that "dread of something after death" made people unwilling to flee the burdens of life. "You may be saterdays child all grown old" refers to the famous proverbial nursery rhyme regarding the atributes an individual acquires according to the day of the week on which they were born. Hunter may have also been influenced by "To Althea from Prison," by Richard Lovelace, a seventeenth-century poem which deals with unrequited love. When love with unconfined wings Hovers within my gates, And my divine Althea brings To whisper at the grates; When I lie tangled in her hair, And fettered to her eye, The birds that wanton in the air Know no such liberty.
When flowing cups run swiftly round With no allaying Thames, Our careless heads with roses bound, Our hearts with loyal flames; When thirsty grief in wine we steep, When healths and draughts go free, Fishes that tipple in the deep Know no such liberty.
When, like committed linnets, I With shriller throat shall sing The sweetness, mercy, majesty, And glories of my King; When I shall voice aloud how good
He is, how great should be, Enlarged winds that curl the flood Know no such liberty.
Stone walls do not a prison make, Nor iron bars a cage; Minds innocent and quiet take That for an hermitage;
If I have freedom in my love, And in my soul am free, Angels alone, that soar above, Enjoy such liberty.
~and thats my meaning for ya! :)
Thanks Sugaree for that great insight. The Hamlet references have always stuck out most notably to me although, I've always thought it was Ophelia who mused about death before her own suicide and used the phrase, "To sleep, perchance to dream". I'm gonna guess you're right about that, but but it would jive with the line from the song. "It may be the fate of Ophelia, Sleeping and perchance to dream..."
Thanks Sugaree for that great insight. The Hamlet references have always stuck out most notably to me although, I've always thought it was Ophelia who mused about death before her own suicide and used the phrase, "To sleep, perchance to dream". I'm gonna guess you're right about that, but but it would jive with the line from the song. "It may be the fate of Ophelia, Sleeping and perchance to dream..."
I've been a fan of the dead for years and this has always been one of the songs that moves me the most.
I've been a fan of the dead for years and this has always been one of the songs that moves me the most.
I think...
I think the song is ultimately about love that never really got started and then just slipped away due to one or both participants being to self-focused and non-comittal to make anything happen. The song speaks to me though, anywhere there is something that I desperately want but don't reach out and grab, usually because I'm too busy staring at my navel.
mighty fine analysis and gorgeous poem there sugaree. I think you nailed the general story line, themes and shakespeare of course. For me the song was also about all of that good intense stuff nobody ever really talked about, mass mind and all, at the risk of being honest to the point of recklessness or loose with the truth. That was an intense brand of fun though, right? Columbia by any chance?
mighty fine analysis and gorgeous poem there sugaree. I think you nailed the general story line, themes and shakespeare of course. For me the song was also about all of that good intense stuff nobody ever really talked about, mass mind and all, at the risk of being honest to the point of recklessness or loose with the truth. That was an intense brand of fun though, right? Columbia by any chance?
Thank you Sugaree !, That was my favorite dead song 95-99, and I never even realized how much it actually applied to my life. I just love the base line. It may be my fav this Spring for the meaning of the lyrics.....and the base line! ...Now when you get a chance, Could you explain to me the first few lines of eyes ? I am at a loss !
Thank you Sugaree !, That was my favorite dead song 95-99, and I never even realized how much it actually applied to my life. I just love the base line. It may be my fav this Spring for the meaning of the lyrics.....and the base line! ...Now when you get a chance, Could you explain to me the first few lines of eyes ? I am at a loss !
such a great song. actually just got into this one after hearing a Phil and friends show from 12/17/04. its available at nugs.net a really kick ass set of shows really!!
David Dodd has an interesting site called the annotated dead where he and many others disect many underlying themes of many of their songs definately worth looking into if you're a fan!
gdawg31... Thank You. Just to relate a little story...I named a wild kitten that I caught Althea. She was the most amazing Cat, love love love is all she knew other than she'd play fetch endlessly until she wore me out. about 4 years after meeting her I had to move into a house with other cats and spent many days after trying to catch her. Althea lived up to her name,