
The counting portion of "The Eleven" was originally included by Hunter as part of "China Cat Sunflower". More recently played by The Other Ones, Ratdog and Phil & Friends. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music composed by Jerry Garcia. Theycame from different musical traditions, listened to and played with aneven greater diversity of musicians, and turned it all into a musicalwhole that speaks in different ways to different people. Two pudding ends would choke a dog, With a gaping wide-mouthed waddling frog." After The Eleven broke off of China Cat Sunflower, China Cat also broke off of Dark Star. The band usually performed this as the follow-up song in a string of tunes. Robert Hunter played Saint Stephen>Alligator>China Cat Sunflower>The Eleven>China Cat Sunflower on 18 March 2003 to illustrate how the songs had originally been conceived. But how about "Children, Go Where I Send Thee"? Actually a 4:49 Dark Star>China Cat >The Eleven (1st time also). Might I suggest another allusion in the 11-beat meter? This all seems quite familiar to those of us who listen to the GD. live from Carousel Ballroom - San Francisco, CA 1-17-68 What's a good show for Dark Star>China Cat Sunflower>The Eleven? And of course, counting-rhymes are a major part of the heritage of nursery rhymes carried on by Hunter and Barlow both. About “China Cat Sunflower” Song writer Robert Hunter said that the idea for this song came to him while he was tripping in Mexico with a cat sitting on his stomach. 1 contributor total, last edit on … China Cat Sunflower would eventually be paired up with a different song. Now is the time past believingThe child has relinquished the reignNow is the test of the boomerangTossed in the night of redeeming, Eight sided whispering hallelujah hatrackSeven faced marble eye transitory dream dollsix proud walkers on jinglebell rainbowFive men writing in fingers of goldFour men tracking down the great white sperm whaleThree girls wait in a foreign dominionRide in the whale bellyFade away in moonlightSink beneath the watersto the coral sand belowNow is the time of returning. After steady inclusion in the live repertoire from 1968 to 1970, "The Eleven"was dropped, to be revived once, at a concert in Golden Gate Park, on September 28, 1975. 24-25), You note that the odd meter is "presenting a unity of title and musicalcontent, though not particularly of lyrical content.". (See Conversations with the Dead, by David Gans, p.

I think it's The Eleven they used to have in this sequence, or perhaps it was The Other One? St. 65,775 views, added to favorites 667 times.
#China cat sunflower lyrics meaning windows
Just wanted to mention something which you probably have heard many times before: I believe the 'China Cat' in China Cat Sunflower refers to the beckoning porcelain cats that adorn the front windows of Japanese restaurants and teahouses, etc.

Covered by Solar Circus on Juggling Suns. The most popular(only?) The Grateful Dead, Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72, Winterland 1973 - The Complete Recordings, Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991 Boxed Set.


Hunter mailed the lyrics to the band in mid-1967, and by January 1968 the band was performing a medley of songs that included “Dark Star,” “China Cat Sunflower,” and “The Eleven.” The first known live version of the song dates from a Carousel Ballroom performance on January 17, 1968. One of Hunter’s most abstruse pieces, which became a staple of the Grateful Dead’s legendary hours-long concerts, was “China Cat Sunflower.” It was recorded for … In the Midnight Hour - Live, Rio Nido, CA, SeptemGrateful Dead.
