deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #76 of 124: Scott MacFarlane (s-macfarlane) Tue 27 Oct 09 10:29
    
<I know we've all seen this sky>

At The Gorge this summer, as the "sun went down in honey, and the moon
came up in wine" for The Dead's first song, the moon was just a sliver
and a star to the right of the stage off in the northwest direction
toward Vancouver, BC. They weren't playing "Terrapin" though, but that
Barlow/Weir number.  
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #77 of 124: Christian Crumlish (xian) Tue 27 Oct 09 16:30
    
quibbly: doesn't "brand new" mean totally absolutely new?

but of course language is poetical not scientific
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #78 of 124: AZanimal (zepezauer) Wed 28 Oct 09 08:08
    
Oh, from the upper left hand quadrant
Of a relatively new crescent moon
Crickets and cicadas rapidly rub their legs together, generating sound
A rare and different tune
Terrapin Station
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #79 of 124: David Dodd (ddodd) Wed 28 Oct 09 10:30
    
I love that! But remember about the crickets and cicadas singing at
different times of day; how would you capture that and make it scan?
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #80 of 124: Christian Crumlish (xian) Wed 28 Oct 09 11:17
    
plus it's pronounced sih-KAY-das (and don't get me started on the
nuthatches)


sure, from the upper left hand quadrant
of a relatively new crescent moon
crickets and cicadas rapidly rub their legs together, generating sound
a unique and yet familiar sound approximating a tune
railroad depot for turtles
in a place where you can see the moon
railroad depot for turtles

and i'm convinced i will arrive there in the not-too-distant future

turtles
but i still am bemused
turtles
about the orientation of time
turtles
but the locomotive is belatedly attempting an emergency stop
turtles
and the rising sound of the increasing steam pressure escaping through
a valve has taken on the feeling of a terror shriek
turtles
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #81 of 124: David Dodd (ddodd) Wed 28 Oct 09 12:06
    
Yay!
Yes, same here about nuthatches...different topic, though.
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #82 of 124: *%* (jewel) Wed 28 Oct 09 17:20
    
But if the crescent is the object - the crescent is brand new - brand new
CRESCENT moon...
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #83 of 124: Gary Burnett (jera) Wed 28 Oct 09 18:38
    
TURTLES!
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #84 of 124: David Gans (tnf) Wed 28 Oct 09 20:20
    

(enjoying this a lot)
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #85 of 124: waves of violet go crashing and laughing (sffog) Wed 28 Oct 09 23:52
    
my experience was that cicadas sing at night along with the crickets
and frogs

research on the web shows it varies, but this web page supports them
singing at night especially the comment at the bottom

http://www.cicadamania.com/cicadas/2005/07/27/do-cicadas-sing-at-night/
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #86 of 124: Michael D. Sullivan (avogadro) Thu 29 Oct 09 09:55
    
Cicadas sing during the day and the evening but settle down at night,
in my experience.
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #87 of 124: David Dodd (ddodd) Thu 29 Oct 09 15:14
    
Looking into the pronunciation of cicada a bit...my Webster's second
gives both pronunciations, with the long "a" listed first.
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #88 of 124: Robin Russell (rrussell8) Mon 2 Nov 09 18:00
    
As in, "Flamin' Ada!"?
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #89 of 124: Michael D. Sullivan (avogadro) Mon 2 Nov 09 19:54
    
As in, "Sick Ada".
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #90 of 124: David Gans (tnf) Mon 8 Feb 10 10:09
    

Jerry sang "I will not FORSAKE you if you will not take a chance" on 5/19/77.
A VERY interesting substitution!
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #91 of 124: coal will turn to gray (comet) Mon 8 Feb 10 20:41
    
I always thought that was the real lyric, but that may be too
psychedellic for timeless art.
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #92 of 124: Steve Biederman (sbied) Wed 17 Nov 10 14:11
    
Responding to a months-old comment:

tnf>  Jerry sang "I will not FORSAKE you if you will not take 
tnf>  a chance" on 5/19/77.
tnf>  A VERY interesting substitution!

I couldn't give you dates, but I'm quite sure Jerry said "forsake"
a least a half a dozen times.
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #93 of 124: Robin Russell (rrussell8) Thu 18 Nov 10 05:39
    
My ears agree. 

Unless you are of the "could care less means the same as couldn't care
less" school of thought the substitution steals the meaning.
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #94 of 124: coal will turn to gray (comet) Thu 18 Nov 10 20:28
    
Perhaps it does, though the harsh judgement of the original is not  in
character for him. 
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #95 of 124: Robin Russell (rrussell8) Fri 19 Nov 10 07:24
    
Though the test itself is a little on the harsh side.
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #96 of 124: David Gans (tnf) Mon 10 Oct 11 17:32
    

<http://soundcloud.com/amellowsoul/flyer-siding-refrain>
<ttp://soundcloud.com/amellowsoul/transit-and-siding-lyrics>

Work tapes from "Terrapin Station" development, featuring the late Jim
McPherson, Phil Lesh, and Mickey Hart.
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #97 of 124: Anton Prenneis (anton) Wed 12 Oct 11 13:02
    
The song isn't just about the destination, Terrapin, in my opinion.
The "lady" in a romantic piece is often symbolic for the soul. Going
into the lion's den to retrieve the fan symbolizes, to me, a quest
(e.g., for the Holy Grail), or the struggles we experience along the
wheel of life (Dharmacakra) as we approach Nirvana/enlightenment/etc.
You do indeed risk pains of hell as you make that journey - but if you
never take the chance, the train will never leave the station, and you
will never approach the destination. Perhaps, then, the lady and the
terminal station are one in the same?

I say all this under the influence of caffeine, mind you. Under other
influences, I've also mused that the fan thrown into the lion's den
could be a Dead fan. And of course, the ultimate mystery: What's with
the turtles??
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #98 of 124: David Gans (tnf) Wed 12 Oct 11 13:40
    

> Perhaps, then, the lady and the terminal station are one in the same?

Hm.
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #99 of 124: David Gans (tnf) Wed 12 Oct 11 13:41
    

I have often posited that "terrapin" is a play on words.  Terra = planet
earth, pin - upright citizen.

Integer vitae?
  
deadsongs.vue.197 : Terrapin Station (entire suite)
permalink #100 of 124: Anton Prenneis (anton) Wed 12 Oct 11 19:24
    
It is somewhat interesting that a terrapin is an animal, and could be
an anthropomorphized one. Like the sheep in Pink Floyd's animals. 

"Only dimly aware of a certain unease in the air."

"I can't figure out if it's the end or beginning."

"I looked over Jordan, and I've seen things are not what they seem."

"While the firelight's aglow, strange shadows from the flames will
grow, till things we've never seen seem familiar."

Of course, the Floyd tale is darker, and the narrator seems
emotionally removed from the world he describes. The storyteller in
Terrapin, on the other hand, seems to be pondering the existential
meaning of it all, just like the rest of us; ALTHOUGH, he is also
concealing something that he will not reveal, even though we try to pay
him off in gold.
  

More...



Members: Enter the conference to participate. All posts made in this conference are world-readable.

Subscribe to an RSS 2.0 feed of new responses in this topic RSS feed of new responses

 
   Join Us
 
Home | Learn About | Conferences | Member Pages | Mail | Store | Services & Help | Password | Join Us

Twitter G+ Facebook