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Box of Rain
View on Wikipedia| "Box of Rain" | |
|---|---|
| Song by Grateful Dead | |
| from the album American Beauty | |
| Released | November 1, 1970 |
| Recorded | August–September 1970 |
| Studio | Wally Heider (San Francisco) |
| Genre | Folk rock, Americana |
| Length | 5:18 |
| Label | Warner Bros. |
| Songwriters | Phil Lesh, Robert Hunter |
| Producers | Grateful Dead and Steve Barncard |
"Box of Rain" is a song by the Grateful Dead, from their 1970 album American Beauty. The song was composed by bassist Phil Lesh and lyricist Robert Hunter, and sung by Lesh.[1]
The song
[edit]- Key: G
- Time signature: 4/4 (with an occasional 2/4 measure)
- Chords used: A, Bm7/A, A4, D, Am, Em, C, G, Bm
"Box of Rain" is drawn from American folk and country musical roots. This is true of many Grateful Dead tunes, including most of the songs on American Beauty and their other 1970 release, Workingman's Dead. As the first song on American Beauty, it was also the first Grateful Dead song released on record to feature Phil Lesh as the lead vocalist.[2][3]
The song also featured two musicians who are not in the band. Dave Torbert played bass, while Lesh played acoustic guitar. David Nelson (of New Riders of the Purple Sage) plays the lead guitar with a Fender Telecaster, while Jerry Garcia plays the piano. Bob Weir sings harmony with Lesh and Garcia.
Lyrics
[edit]According to lyricist Hunter, Lesh "wanted a song to sing to his dying father and had composed a piece complete with every vocal nuance but the words. If ever a lyric 'wrote itself,' this did—as fast as the pen would pull."[2] Lesh practiced the song driving to the nursing home where his father lay with terminal cancer.
In an interview, Steve Silberman asked Hunter, "The song 'Box of Rain' began as a rough vocal outline from Phil Lesh. How does that process work?" Hunter replied, "Scat singing: Dum-dum dum, da-da-da-da, bump-dum-dum-dum-dum, dee-dee-dee. I'm able to translate people's scat. I hear English in it, almost as though I write down what I hear underneath that. I hear the intention. It's a talent like the Rubik's Cube, or something like that, and it comes easily to me. Which might be why I like language poetry. I can tell from the rhythms, or lack of rhythms, from the disjunctures and the end stoppages, what they're avoiding saying—the meaning that they would like to not be stating there, comes rushing through to me. I understand dogs. I can talk to babies." According to Hunter: "By 'box of rain,' I meant the world we live on, but 'ball' of rain didn't have the right ring to my ear, so box it became, and 'I don't know who put it there.'"[4]
Performance history
[edit]"Box of Rain" debuted on September 17, 1970, at the Fillmore East in New York City during the acoustic portion of the show. That performance was its sole appearance for nearly two years. The Grateful Dead reintroduced it in the fall of 1972 and played it on and off for the rest of the year and 1973 before dropping it again.
Between 1976 and 1985, Lesh seldom sang with the group (confining his contributions to harmony vocals on "Truckin'") due to vocal cord damage from improper singing. Over 750 concerts after its last performance, "Box of Rain" was revived on March 20, 1986, at the Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia. After that, the song was frequently played in response to chants from the audience. Before Jerry Garcia's death, "Box of Rain" was the last song ever performed live at a Grateful Dead concert, during the final encore at Soldier Field in Chicago on July 9, 1995. It was the first song played at the first Fare Thee Well show at Soldier Field on July 3, 2015.
Hunter recorded the song on his 1980 album Jack O'Roses.
Dead-inspired jam band Phish opened its October 25, 2024, concert in Albany, New York with "Box of Rain" in tribute to Lesh, who had died earlier that day.
Reception
[edit]In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song 364th on its updated list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.
References
[edit]- ^ Kindersley, Dorling et al (2003). Grateful Dead, the Illustrated Trip. p. 124. ISBN 0-7894-9963-0.
- ^ a b Jackson, Blair (1999). Garcia: An American Life. Viking Penguin. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-14-029199-5.
- ^ Kindersley, Dorling et al (2003). Grateful Dead, the Illustrated Trip. p. 121. ISBN 0-7894-9963-0.
- ^ Dodd, David. "The Annotated 'Box of Rain'". Library, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs. Retrieved 16 May 2019.
Box of Rain
View on GrokipediaBackground and Composition
Inspiration and Writing
The song "Box of Rain" was inspired by bassist Phil Lesh's personal experience with his father's terminal illness in 1970. Lesh, then 30 years old, frequently drove from the San Francisco Bay Area to the Livermore Valley to visit his father, who was suffering from advanced cancer.[1] Motivated to create something meaningful for his dying parent, Lesh composed a melody intended as a way to communicate comfort and connection, marking one of his early forays into songwriting beyond the band's typical collaborative jams.[1] Lesh approached lyricist Robert Hunter with the unfinished piece, providing a rough vocal outline that captured the melody's phrasing through scat-like humming and nuances. In his autobiography, Lesh described the request as casual, simply mentioning he was working on new material and asking if Hunter had lyrical ideas, though Hunter later recalled it as a more direct plea for words to sing to his father.[1] This collaboration highlighted their longstanding partnership, with Lesh handling the music and Hunter the poetry, a dynamic that produced several Grateful Dead classics.[3] Hunter penned the lyrics rapidly over a single day in the summer of 1970, shortly before the American Beauty recording sessions. He described the process as effortless, noting in his collected lyrics that "if ever a lyric 'wrote itself,' this did—as fast as the pen would pull."[1] Initially puzzled by Lesh's hummed melody, Hunter drew from themes of mortality and solace, coining the title phrase "box of rain" after considering "ball of rain" but opting for the former for its poetic resonance; he explained it as a metaphor for "the world we live on," evoking life's fragile, enclosing gifts amid hardship.[1]Musical Composition
"Box of Rain" was composed primarily by Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, who provided the music while lyricist Robert Hunter contributed the words in a collaborative effort. The song is set in the key of G major with harmonic elements suggesting ambiguity toward D major, employing a standard 4/4 time signature that supports its gentle, flowing rhythm. Its style blends folk rock and Americana influences, rooted in American folk and country traditions while echoing the band's psychedelic origins from earlier in the decade.[1][4][5] The melody features subtle variations and asymmetrical phrasing, creating an organic, conversational feel that complements the lyrics' introspective tone. The chord progression begins with an authoritative G major (or D major in some interpretations) opening, progressing through verses with sequences like G-Am-Em-C to A-D, incorporating suspensions for emotional lift and release. Refrains vary harmonically, such as Am-C-G-D or C-Em-D-G, adding layers of warmth and resolution without strict repetition. These choices reflect Lesh's experimental approach to harmony, blending familiar folk-pop structures with nuanced shifts that evoke a sense of gentle progression.[4] Structurally, the song follows a verse-refrain form, with free verse in the verses and an abcb scheme in the refrains aligning with non-repeating harmonic patterns, culminating in an ambiguous A major chord that leaves a lingering openness. This blueprint emphasizes emotional build-up over complex solos, prioritizing melodic clarity and communal harmony typical of the band's acoustic-leaning work, beginning with an acoustic guitar-driven introduction that establishes a sparse, intimate mood before building to a fuller band arrangement in later sections.[4] Composed during the Grateful Dead's 1970 creative zenith—a period bookended by the recording sessions for Workingman's Dead in the spring and American Beauty in the fall—"Box of Rain" captures the group's shift toward concise, roots-oriented songcraft amid their evolving psychedelic foundations. Lesh drew from country and folk idioms to craft a piece that balanced accessibility with subtle innovation, solidifying his growth as a composer within the ensemble.[6]Recording and Release
Studio Production
The recording of "Box of Rain" took place at Wally Heider Studios in San Francisco during August and September 1970, as part of the sessions for the Grateful Dead's album American Beauty.<grok:render type="render_inline_citation">Album Context
"Box of Rain" serves as the opening track on the Grateful Dead's fifth studio album, American Beauty, setting a contemplative tone that aligns with the album's rustic, folk-infused sound characterized by acoustic harmonies and country-rock elements.[1][8] The song's gentle arrangement introduces the record's emphasis on intimate, Americana-inspired songcraft, drawing listeners into a collection of tracks that blend folk traditions with the band's evolving rock sensibilities.[9] Released just five months after Workingman's Dead, American Beauty represented a deliberate follow-up that built on its predecessor's shift toward concise, accessible compositions, moving away from the extended psychedelic improvisations of the late 1960s.[9] This evolution reflected the band's commercial ambitions amid financial pressures, including a substantial debt to Warner Bros. Records from prior recordings, prompting a focus on efficient production and broader appeal through influences like The Band and Bob Dylan.[9] The album was issued by Warner Bros. Records on November 1, 1970, and achieved moderate commercial success, peaking at No. 30 on the Billboard 200 chart during a 19-week run.[10][11] American Beauty emerged during a creative resurgence for the Grateful Dead in 1970, a year marked by prolific output including two landmark albums and rigorous touring to generate revenue, even as the band navigated personal losses such as the impending deaths of bassist Phil Lesh's father and guitarist Jerry Garcia's mother.[9] This period of heightened productivity and emotional intensity underscored the album's role in solidifying the band's artistic maturation.[9]Lyrics and Themes
Lyrical Content
"Box of Rain" features lyrics written by Robert Hunter in 1970, at the request of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh, who sought words for a song inspired by his father's terminal illness.[1] The lyrics were first performed vocally by Lesh during the recording sessions for the band's album American Beauty.[12] The complete lyrics, as published in Hunter's anthology, unfold across four verses with varying choruses that build emotional resonance, culminating in an extended outro that expands on the central metaphor, blending it with elemental imagery.[13] Here are the full lyrics:Look out of any windowHunter's poetic style in these lyrics employs a stream-of-consciousness flow, evoking fragmented thoughts and sensory experiences that mimic the haze of memory or reverie. Nature imagery—such as sunlight, rain, birds, and wind—permeates the verses, intertwined with abstract metaphors like "dead dreams" and "splintered sunlight" to convey transience and introspection without explicit resolution. This approach aligns with Hunter's broader lyricism, favoring evocative, open-ended phrasing over narrative linearity.[13]
Any morning, any evening, any day
Maybe the sun is shining
Birds are winging, no rain is falling from a heavy sky What do you want me to do
To do for you to see you through?
For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago Walk out of any doorway
Feel your way like the day before
Maybe you'll find direction
Around some corner where it's been waiting to meet you What do you want me to do
To watch for you while you're sleeping?
Then please don't be surprised when you find me dreaming too Look into any eyes
You find by you; you can see clear to another day
Maybe been seen before
Through other eyes on other days while going home What do you want me to do
To do for you to see you through?
It's all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago Walk into splintered sunlight
Inch your way through dead dreams
To another land
Maybe you're tired and broken
Your tongue is twisted with words half spoken
And thoughts unclear What do you want me to do
To do for you, to see you through
A box of rain will ease the pain and love will see you through Just a box of rain, wind and water
Believe it if you need it
If you don't just pass it on
Sun and shower, wind and rain
In and out the window
Like a moth before a flame And it's just a box of rain
I don't know who put it there
Believe it if you need it
Or leave it if you dare
And it's just a box of rain
Or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long long time to be gone
And a short time to be there[14]
