For My Fellow Deadheads-Ramble On Rose Annotated

I like looking up the meanings to song lyrics, and I stumbled upon this cool webpage that annotates the lyrics for Ramble on Rose.

It goes through the lyrics, pointing out some well-known references, along with some other subtle references I wouldn't have gotten otherwise.

Here is most of it, I left out some stuff that is commonly known:

Ramblin' Rose
A rambling rose is an old-fashioned and now rarely cultivated type of rose which would spread low across the ground on long, whippy canes. Ramblers are now grown usually as climbers, instead.

Mojo Hand
A note in Golden Road, Winter, 1984, stated that "'Mojo Hand'... was a common term among rural blacks for a person with extraordinary or seemingly magical abilities, and was the name of a song recorded by Lightnin' Hopkins. This reference brings the blues into the song.

Billy Sunday
Billy Sunday, listed in the Baseball Encyclopedia as William Ashley (The Evangelist) Sunday, was one of the founders of the American evangelistic movement--his heirs of today being Billy Graham, et al.

Jericho
The reference to Jericho also calls to mind the spiritual "Joshua Fit de Battle of Jericho." Since so much of this song evokes various aspects of American popular music, this evocation gains significance.

One Go Up, One Go Down
The Annotated Mother Goose contains the following rhyme: "Gay go up and gay go down/ To ring the bells of London Town."

"Relix: We're interested in the 'Leader of the band' concept ... Do you feel that there is a leader ...?

Hunter: [partial response] Well, it would be hard to imagine the Grateful Dead without Garcia, wouldn't it?

Relix: Were you getting at anything like that in 'Ramblin' Rose?' [sic] Was talking about taking someone to the leader of the band talking about the Dead per se?

Hunter: I suppose there's an element of the Dead in a lot of my songs. It's hard to scramble it out from what's pure fancy."

Crazy Otto
This reference is to one (or both?) of two pianists who were known by that name in the 1950's. The first was the German pianist Fritz Schulz-Reichel, whose career was comparable to that of Peter Schickele, who composes under the pseudonym of P.D.Q. Bach. Schulz-Reichel alternated between playing "serious" music and playing ragtime, for which he donned an absurd-looking fake goatee and Kaiser Willie mustache, along with the moniker "Otto der Schrage." (Crazy Otto).

Wolfman Jack
An elusive character in more ways than one, Wolfman Jack's real name is Bob Smith. Born in Brooklyn in 1938, Wolfman says "We all emulated the Black culture. There wasn't any other." His major early influence was a Black deejay named Dr. Jive, and while still a teenager he dropped out of school and hit the road, heading south, working for rhythm and blues radio stations. Finally, in 1957, he became station manager and late night deejay at XERF in Ciudad Acuna, just over the Mexican border from Del Rio, Texas. On a good night, you could hear him north to Canada and west to California, as Mexican stations were allowed far higher wattage than American stations.

Royal Flush, Aces Back to Back
The phrase "Back to back" is said of the first two hole cards in seven card stud poker, or of the hole card and the first upcard when they are paired or "wired." Thus, the hand being bescribed is a seven-card stud poker hand just prior to the dealing of the final down card, made up of 10, Jack, Queen, King, and Ace all of one suit (the highest hand in poker), with an extra Ace in the hole.

Walk the Line
This saying seems to have its origin in an old sobriety test given to sailors: walking between two parallel lines chalked onto the deck--also known as "Walking the chalk." The meaning of the saying in the present day is inclusive of sobriety, but is much broader, having to do with good behavior, usually under some form of pressure or even duress.




I hope someone finds this as interesting/enjoyable as I did