Built to Last

Built To Last was the name of the last studio record released by the Grateful Dead
It was released on October 31, 1989 by Arista.

The lineup of the band included:
Jerry Garcia
Mickey Hart
Bill Kreutzmann
Phil Lesh
Brent Mydland
Bob Weir

It was produced by Jerry Garcia and John Cutler
With cover art by Alton Kelly

Tracks List:

1. Foolish Heart
2. Just a Little Light
3. Built to Last
4. Blow Away
5. Standing on the Moon
6. Victim or the Crime
7. We Can Run
8. Picasso Moon
9. I Will Take You Home
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I remember working in a record store in the suburbs of Chicago when this came out... I had just seen the Dead for the first time (well several times really) that spring and summer at the Rosemont Horizion and Alpine Valley Music Theater (89 was the last year of camping at venues and marked the high-water point for the band... it was all downhill from here) and so I was psyched about this disk. The cover art shows the band building a massive house of cards that seems ready to tumble at any moment... A special edition of the album came with a deck of cards with a Dead-styled skeletons and roses motif, that were very cool. The music itself is in the same stylistic vein as In The Dark and the only song that really sucks on the record is (no big suprize here) the Bobby tune "Picasso Moon." The Brent tunes shine as do the Garcia ballads "Standing on the Moon" and "Foolish Heart" (which are two of the best ever Hunter lyrics). Built to Last, buit not for much longer.... time was running out for the boys.

Built To Last was also a song from the album.
Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

Reprinted with permissions: copyright Ice nine Publishing

First performance: October 20, 1988, at The Summit, Houston, Texas.

There are times when you can beckon,
There are times when you must call.
You can take a lot of reckoning,
But you can't take it all.

There are times when I can help you out,
And times when you must fall.
There are times when you must live in doubt
And I can't help at all.

Three blue stars rise on the hill
Sing no more now just be still
All these trials soon be past
Look for something built to last

A wind held by the collar,
Yes, a cloud held by the breeze
You can walk on coals of fire
But sometimes you must freeze

There are times when you offend me
And I do the same to you
If we can't or won't forget it
I guess we could be through

One blue star sets on the hill
Call it back you never will
One more star sinks in the past
Show me something built to last

Built to last till time itself falls tumbling from the wall
Built to last till sunshine fails and darkness moves on all
Built to last while years roll past like cloudscapes in the sky
Show me something built to last and something built to try

There are times when you get hit upon
Try hard but you can't give
Other times you'd gladly part
With what you need to live

Don't waste your breath to save your face
When you have done your best
And even more is asked of you
Fate will decide the rest

All the stars are gone but one
Morning breaks here comes the sun
Cross the sky now sinking fast
Show me something built to last