Terrapin Station Lyrics
This song was truely "inspired" from the start, written during a lightening storm at the same time Jerry came up with the tune.
It is the archetypal story of the first part of the hero's quest. Because it is such an important story and the storyteller's responsibility to spin the tale correctly to create the alchemy, the magic, to convey the essential meaning, he begins with a prayer to the muses to tell the story well, filled with image and meaning, in order to bring life and purpose to the characters and make them real to us, so we can relate and find meaning in their universal story.
The tale begins with the storyteller sitting around a fire as the winds whip the images he describes into form. Two figures appear. One is a sailor, a symbol of one that can navigate the waters of the unconscious. Just like the guy in Althea, or Simple Twist of Fate, this sailor had a chance at love and inspiration and didn't take it. He knows better now. The soldier stands next to him, too "wise" (aka "cautious") to take the chance to save the lady with the fan.
The lady, of course, is the Anima. She showers the brave sailor with her gift of vision, purpose, and "inspiration". This sets him on his path to "terrapin station", the point of enlightenment, which all reach in their own way, on their own path, and in their own time. The Terrapin turtle is somewhat unique and can live on land and in water. Also, Venus has long been a symbol of the meeting point between heaven and earth, between the spiritual and profane.
But then the hero discovers that Terrapin Station is not a stopping point, but a starting point, and there are endless cycles to enlightenment. However, at least his eyes are open and he is on the right path.
Great explanation. This is a transcendent piece of music. It's very beautiful, what you say, that everyone will get their in their own time, in their own way. Yes, indeed! Thank you! "A rare and different tune!"
Great explanation. This is a transcendent piece of music. It's very beautiful, what you say, that everyone will get their in their own time, in their own way. Yes, indeed! Thank you! "A rare and different tune!"
@trpnstn1 maybe this is whats going on with my life.... my first adult best friends name is turtle and i have a daughter named venus...... time to get my art and inspiration out there....
@trpnstn1 maybe this is whats going on with my life.... my first adult best friends name is turtle and i have a daughter named venus...... time to get my art and inspiration out there....
for a while, now, I always listen to this song and remember Robert Hunter's journal after the 9/11 where he says he was in New York and was sitting on the roof, 15 stores high that would face the world trade center and he started to sing terrapin station and while he sang it a strong wind blew around him and he felt like he was back to the days when he wrote it, and he kept repeating the line "hold away despair" over and over again. I always get to this part, now, with a tight knot in my throat. Robert Hunter's probably one of the best lyricists ever, for me.
this is my favorite gd song. whenever i try to understand it i always feels like hes talkin about tripping. the song is like a long story, kinda like a strange experince of thoughts. TERRAPIN seems like code for TRIPPIN to me...
reminds me of the story of ulysses for some reason
I think this song is about a mushroom trip...the cycle of life.
Well, the last time i tripped psilocybin mushrooms I talked to God, or he talked through me. He told me all that matters is what I do at this very moment. The soldier, represents my brother who is in the military. And I, the sailor, sailing the seas of consciousness. My brother is much to tough to let himself be thrown into danger, I myself love to. The storyteller is us, and God, for God moves through us all with his divine will and plan set. Gods job is to shedd light, not to master it. I see terrapin station, as the place where those who choose to have a psychedelic experience go to. Terrapin Station is the place where we realize that we are alive, breathing, thinking individuals waiting for death. Its not particularly a bad place to be, but from terrapin station you know exactly that you will die as for others who haven't tripped see this life as eternal and that this reality is all there is. There is a spiritual realm beyond this dimension where we all will return, to be one with God again. Also, on that trip I had I actually saw people, faces, entities waving and looking at me. They would sit in there place until I saw them and they say me. Terrapin Station is the place where we go, kinda like purgatory on earth, where we see all things past, present, and future as one. For we should all live in the felt presence of immidiete experience.
@Squllabot thank you for this post. while i have loved this songs since i heard it the first time, i always felt a mysterious conection between me as a person and the tekst. i have often wondered what it might be, but i didn\'t see since it\'s a very strange tekst compared to what i listens to normally. \r\n\r\nbut with this post i think i have found out. for the longest part of my life i have looked at myself as two persons in one, now i see it as one being the sailor, ready to do anything on the...
@Squllabot thank you for this post. while i have loved this songs since i heard it the first time, i always felt a mysterious conection between me as a person and the tekst. i have often wondered what it might be, but i didn\'t see since it\'s a very strange tekst compared to what i listens to normally. \r\n\r\nbut with this post i think i have found out. for the longest part of my life i have looked at myself as two persons in one, now i see it as one being the sailor, ready to do anything on the impulse of a feeliing. ready to risk his life for hapiness and wonder. while the other person is the soldier, that have been shaped by the battles and losses of his past, forming him to follow his minds wisdom instead of his passion.\r\n\r\nbefore i read this i still couldn\'t name these two guys, and sometimes i have feelt that i am slowly growing insane with the evergoing fight between them, but naming them, and having such an unspeakable great song to remind me of me really help, and i feel a bit closer to god now. \r\nbless you, and thank you
All I can say is AWESOME !!!! Love this song, one of my favorites and I have been listening to the Dead for 35 years
"While the firelight's aglow, strange shadows from the flames will grow, Till things we've never seen will seem familiar."
That's eerily similar to something from Plato's Book VII. The fire/shadow part of Book VII has these people in a cave looking at a fire and seeing shadows. But as time went on their eyes became adjusted to the dark of the cave, and the began to see the shadows take familiar forms; i.e. they learned, they grew.
I actually emailed Hunter in 1997 regarding a small problem with his then website and used the opportunity to ask him about Terrapin with regards to Plato's Book VII. He's been known to divuldge his thought processes occasionally. Anyway, he thanked me kindly for pointing out the problem, but steered 100% clear of my lyrical question. ... Which made me think I was on to something :)
I've heard that this is a fan favourite because many parts of the song are good descriptions of what the Grateful Dead experiance is all about.
"The story teller makes no choice..." - a great thing about Robert Hunter's lyrics is that they don't dictate to you, they let you think and make up your own mind.
"Inspiration, move me brightly..." This climax is so perfect... it's like a prayer to god for the inspiration for the performance to go well and not get tedious. The thing about the Dead's concerts is that they should all be unique, so it's so important for the jamming to be inspired rather than boring and unoriginal.
good song-http://quizilla.com/users/PortSurfer/quizzes/What%20Grateful%20Dead%20song%20are%20you%3F/ ****i got this song--see for urself