"Blues For Allah"
Words by
Robert Hunter; music by
Jerry Garcia
Reprinted with permissions: Copyright
Ice Nine Publishing.
Arabian wind
The Needle's Eye is thin
The Ships of State sail on mirage
but drown in sand
in No-Man's Land
where ALLAH does command
What good is spilling
blood? It will not
grow a thing
"TASTE ETERNITY"
the sword sings Blues for ALLAH
In'sh'ALLAH
They lie where they fall
There's nothing more to say
The desert stars are bright tonight,
let's meet as friends
The flower of Islam
The fruit of Abraham
The thousand stories have
come round to one again
Arabian Night
our gods pursue their fight
What fatal flowers of
darkness spring from
seeds of light
Bird of Paradise - Fly
In white sky
Blues for ALLAH
In'sh'ALLAH
Let's see with our heart
these things our eyes have seen
and know the truth will still lie
somewhere in between
Under eternity
Under eternity
Under eternity
Blue
Bird of Paradise
Fly
In white sky
Under eternity
Blues
for ALLAH
In'sh'ALLAH
"Blues For Allah"
Musical details:
Key: None (implied F)
Time signature: Varies
Chords used: None (implied f7, G#dim4, F, Gdim4, etc.)
Songbook availability:
Grateful Dead, Vol. 2
Title track of
Blues for Allah. Also recorded on
One From the Vault.
Performed live only five times, all in 1975. First performed live at The SNACK benefit, March 23, in
Kezar Stadium,
Golden Gate Park,
San Francisco.
Robert Hunter's note in
Box of Rain says "This lyric is a requiem for
King Faisal of
Saudi Arabia, a progressive and democratically inclined ruler
and, incidentally, a fan of the Grateful Dead whose assassination in 1975 shocked us personally."
Blues For Allah was released in September 1975.
Label :
United artists
Distribution :
Grateful Dead Records
Track Listing:
Help On The Way 3:15
Slipknot! 4:03
Franklin's Tower 4:37
King Solomon's Marbles
Part 1: Stronger Than Dirt 1:55
Part 2: Milkin' The Turkey 3:25
The Music Never Stopped 4:35
Crazy Fingers 6:41
Sage & Spirit 3:07
Blues For Allah 3:21
Sand Castles & Glass Camels 5:26
Unusual Occurrences In The Desert 3:48