The WELL: deadsongs.vue.188: Standing On The Moon

#5: David Gans (tnf) Wed 3 May 06 07:53

Wed, 03 May 2006 07:53:00 PDT

> blues for the price of fame

Yeah.

> counterpoint to the feel good blues, Sittin' on Top of the World.

Nice! [Read entire topic]

#4: gravity and gluttony (comet) Tue 2 May 06 19:56

Tue, 02 May 2006 19:56:00 PDT

That is very nice.

I have often heard it differently, as a kind of blues for the price of fame. Even more so when I think of it in counterpoint to the feel good blues, Sittin' on Top of the World. [Read entire topic]

#3: Dan Levity (danlevy) Tue 2 May 06 12:48

Tue, 02 May 2006 12:48:00 PDT

that is nice. [Read entire topic]

#2: David Dodd (ddodd) Tue 2 May 06 11:49

Tue, 02 May 2006 11:49:00 PDT

Posted on behalf of David Taffet:

---------- Forwarded message ---------- Date: Tue, 2 May 2006 00:35:08 -0500 From: dtaffet <dtaffet@pixelsync.com> To: ddodd@well.com Subject: Regarding the lyrics to Standing on the Moon

David -

I've just stumbled across your Grateful Dead annotated lyrics site.

I realize it's been 8 years since the page was updated and you've likely moved on to other things, long since, but I've had thoughts about this song from the time I first heard it that few people would care enough about to discuss. I thought you might, since you have some reader comments here and there.

To me this is the song of the American Bodhisattva. Given Hunter's penchant for religious imagery and being steeped in Buddhist thought, the moon seems to me to be referring, as in Zen, to the polished mirror of the still mind which reflects the light of the sun.

The singer is in a state of spiritual completion, of enlightenment, if you will, seeing everything laid out before him and feeling the anguish of human suffering. But he is opting, out of love for his fellows, rather than to maintain his view of heaven, to be on some porch, a mundane, normal, backyard kind of place, with the listener: everyone. He's making the decision the bodhisattva makes of refusing entrance into Nirvana before everyone is enlightened and returns to the world of backyards and human love.

That's what I think the intention of the song is.

Great site, by the way.

David Taffet [Read entire topic]

#1: Alex Allan (alexallan) Mon 8 Sep 03 20:18

Mon, 08 Sep 2003 20:18:00 PDT

Standing on the Moon Lyrics: Robert Hunter Music: Jerry Garcia

Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission.

Standing on the moon, I got no cobweb on my shoe Standing on the moon, I'm feeling so alone and blue I see the Gulf of Mexico as tiny as a tear The coast of California must be somewhere over here Over here

Standing on the moon, I see the battle rage below Standing on the moon, I see the soldiers come and go There's a metal flag beside me someone planted long ago Old glory standing stiffly, crimson, white and indigo Old glory standing stiffly, crimson, white and indigo Indigo

I see all of South East Asia; I can see El Salvador I hear the cries of children and the other songs of war It's like a mighty melody that rings down from the sky Standing here upon the moon I watch it all roll by All roll by All roll by All roll by

Standing on the moon, I see a shadow on the sun Standing on the moon, the stars go fading one by one I hear a cry of victory, another of defeat A scrap of age-old lullaby down some forgotten street

Standing on the moon, where talk is cheap and vision true Standing on the moon, but I would rather be with you Somewhere in San Francisco on a back porch in July Just looking up to heaven at this crescent in the sky In the sky

Standing on the moon with nothing left to do A lovely view of heaven but I'd rather be with you A lovely view of heaven but I'd rather be with you Be with you I'd rather be with you [etc] [Read entire topic]

#0: David Dodd (ddodd) Mon 8 Sep 03 09:37

Mon, 08 Sep 2003 09:37:00 PDT

Standing On The Moon w: Hunter m: Garcia AGDL: http://arts.ucsc.edu/gdead/agdl/sotm.html LASF: http://www.whitegum.com/songfile/STANDOMO.HTM [Read entire topic]