New Potato Caboose

Lyrics: Bobby Petersen
Music: Phil Lesh

Last leaf fallen, bare earth where green was born
Above my doorknob, two eagles hang against a cloud (note 1)
Sun comes up blood red
Wind yells among the stone
All graceful instruments are known

When the windows all are broken
And your love's become a toothless crone
When the voices of the storm sound
Like a crowd
Winter morning breaks, you're all alone

The eyes are blind
Blue visions are all a seer can own
And touching makes the flesh to cry out loud
This ground on which the seed of love is sown
All graceful instruments are known
Notes
(1) the lyrics in the "Anthology" songbook are "Black Madonna, two eagles ...". But all the recordings sound like "Above my doorknob ..." - and it seems this may be a reference to a stained glass panel of two eagles and a cloud set in a door in the Dead's house.

Grateful Dead Recordings
     Date Album
      1967-68 Anthem Of The Sun
     24 Feb 1968 Dick's Picks Vol 22
     17 Mar 1968 Download Series Vol 6
     24 Aug 1968 Two From The Vault
      1 Mar 1969 Fillmore West 1969 - The Complete Recordings
      8 Jun 1969 Fillmore West 1969 - The Complete Recordings (note 2)
      4 Jun 1999 Love Will See You Through (Phil Lesh & Friends)

Recordings from dead.net Tapers Section

"The Dead" Concert Recordings
Notes
(2) released on the bonus disc issued with advance orders


Futher Information
For an online discussion of the lyrics to this song see the deadsongs.vue conference on The Well.
For more information on recordings see Matt Schofield's Grateful Dead Family Discography
For information on references in the lyrics see David Dodd's Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics
For online chords and TAB see www.rukind.com
For sheet music, see:
          Grateful Dead Anthology Volume 1 (piano arrangement)

 

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