Grateful Dead – He's Gone lyrics

Grateful Dead – He's Gone lyrics

Rat in a drain ditch, caught on a limb, you know better but I know him.
Like I told you, what I said, steal your face right off your head.

Now hes gone, now hes gone, lord hes gone, hes gone.
Like a steam locomotive, rollin down the track
Hes gone, gone, nothins gonna bring him back... Hes gone.

Nine mile skid on a ten mile ride, hot as a pistol but cool inside.
Cat on a tin roof, dogs in a pile,
Nothin left to do but smile, smile, smile!!!!

Now hes gone, now hes gone lord hes gone, hes gone.
Like a steam locomotive, rollin down the track
Hes gone, gone, nothins gonna bring him back... Hes gone.

Goin where the wind don't blow so strange,
Maybe off on some high cold mountain chain.
Lost one round but the price wasnt anything,
A knife in the back and more of the same.

Same old, rat in a drain ditch, caught on a limb,
You know better but I know him.
Like I told you, what I said,
Steal your face right off your head.

Now hes gone, now hes gone lord hes gone, hes gone.
Like a steam locomotive, rollin down the track
Hes gone, gone, nothins gonna bring him back... Hes gone.

Ooh, nothins gonna bring him back.

Lyrics taken from /lyrics/g/grateful_dead/hes_gone.html

Songwriters: JEROME J. GARCIA, ROBERT C. HUNTER

He's Gone lyrics © Warner Chappell Music, Inc.

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+ 5
mgbdead 2009-07-13 06:25:46

Smudge steal your face right off yourhead referrs to how slick mickey "s father was in ripping off the Dead remember he was "hot as a pistol but cool inside" cold bastard wasn't he? he stole the moneyand took off meanwhile the band figures its better than him staying around putting another knife in their backs. all they can do is "smile smile" irony of the whole thing is the band made much more money from the song then Mickey's father ever stole!

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+ 3
grendel53 2016-04-06 17:52:21

Some early Good Ol Grateful Dead drama. Yep, Mickey's dad, Lenny, was a manager/road guy/office cat who decamped from the band with a suitcase full of cash. It led to Mickey's "hiatus". But with "nothing left to do but smile, smile, smile" he eventually rejoined and they continued down the golden road. In heavy rotation as a 2nd Set-Pre Drums piece from Eur 72 til the END.

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+ 2
Unregistered 2021-05-15 18:02:59

I had this thought the other day, you can't talk about the psychedelic experience so it'd be pointless to tell someone you're on acid or that someone gave it to you so you've simply gotta go through ego death and just smile smile smile hence the only thing you come back to is an inability to express yourself or in other words its the same ole rat (tattle tale/informant) in a drain ditch that dies or is dead :)

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Unregistered 2012-05-21 14:10:08

The meaning may not be about money today but it is a fact that the original meaning of this song was about lenny hart - (the rat)-mickey's father running away n never coming back (like steam locomotive. Hes gone.) after mickey told jerry it wasnt a good idea (like I told ya. You know better but I know him) but jerry being the awesome person he was didn't let it bother him to much (all theres left to do is smile).

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Unregistered 2021-02-28 00:02:12

like most of their lyrics this can be seen from different perspectives and still seem right. To me on one level hes gone like hes a real gone cat hes trippin balls his bodys here but his attention is a steam locomotive rollin dow9n the track acids so good he looked in a mirror and couldnt see his face hes a little scared feeling as if he done skidded nine miles almost to the edge.hot and sweating but a strange calm feeling inside. too late to do anhthing about it cept enjoy it and smile.

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Unregistered 2012-07-08 04:44:46

Only the grateful dead know what the song truly means, and I'm sure over the years the meaning has changed for them. I think its about anything in your life that can be taken away or vanishes. Just like that. No questions no answers just gone. I. E. A house, car, lives in your life, your freedom, your soul. Anything that you see in your life that has meaning or is important.

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