Terrapin Nation

hello Terrapin Family. I just started a Facebook group to discuss Dead lyrics, and want to open a similar forum here for anyone who might be interested but not on fb and just cause I love this place. . Please feel free to post any Dead lyrics that interest you and hopefully we can discuss what they mean to us- .

Great idea for a thread. A big part of the Dead's appeal is the fascinating lyrical meanings and personal interpretation. In keeping with your op, Ripple is a perfect example. I think anyone can relate and find their own meaning behind the words.

An other example is "It Must Have Been the Roses." Interesting interpretation of a weird old southern story. I find old and strange Americana in the Dead's songs and lyrics can give interesting insights into the weirdness we are all living through today - "if you look at it right";

One pane of glass in the window
No one is complaining though
Come in and shut the door
Faded is the crimson from the
Ribbons that she wore
And it's strange how no one
Comes 'round anymore

I don't know, it must have been the roses
The roses or the ribbons in her long brown hair
I don't know, maybe it was the roses
All I know was I could not leave her there

I would love to hear what this means to others when they hear this haunting song. Has anyone ever read, A Rose for Emily, by Faulkner?

Good choice Pink11
I’m not the one to over think lyrics, but here ya go

Althea, these lyrics I always found intriguing

You may be the fate of Ophelia
Sleeping and perchance to dream -
Honest to the point of recklessness
Self centered to the extreme

KEZHEAD wrote: ↑

Thu May 25, 2023 2:44 pm

Good choice Pink11
I’m not the one to over think lyrics, but here ya go

Althea, these lyrics I always found intriguing

You may be the fate of Ophelia
Sleeping and perchance to dream -
Honest to the point of recklessness
Self centered to the extreme

"Ophelia Sleeping and perchance to dream" is a reference to Hamlet.

Tone Weaver wrote: ↑

Thu May 25, 2023 6:35 pm

KEZHEAD wrote: ↑

Thu May 25, 2023 2:44 pm

Good choice Pink11
I’m not the one to over think lyrics, but here ya go

Althea, these lyrics I always found intriguing

You may be the fate of Ophelia
Sleeping and perchance to dream -
Honest to the point of recklessness
Self centered to the extreme

"Ophelia Sleeping and perchance to dream" is a reference to Hamlet.

Thank you Tone
I’ve never been a big fan of Shakespeare

I’m not sure what the Ophelia lyrics mean.. I always heard the words wrong- “born to be a bachelor.. and now I’m trying to catch ya”- I think that’s wrong..oops- the pre Raphaelite painters liked painting Ophelia- it’s one of my favorite paintings in the Tate in London- I got that story wrong too- I thought the model got tragically ill from posing everyday in the cold pond, but the Tate tells it differently:
“ POSING FOR OPHELIA

Millais’s model was a young woman aged nineteen called Elizabeth Siddall. She was discovered by his friend, Walter Deverell, working in a hat shop. She later married one of Millais’s friends, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, in 1860.

To create the effect of Elizabeth pretending to be Ophelia drowning in the river, she posed for Millais in a bath full of water. To keep the water warm some oil lamps were placed underneath. On one occasion, the lamps went out and Millais was so engrossed by his painting that he didn’t even notice!

During her time posing for the painting, Elizabeth got very cold and became quite ill. With no National Health Service or readily available medicine, Elizabeth was looked after by a private doctor paid for by Elizabeth’s father who then ordered Millais to pay the fifty medical bills. The matter was settled and Miss Siddall recovered quickly.

While posing, Elizabeth wore a very fine silver embroidered dress bought by Millais from a second-hand shop for four pounds.”
….
“ THE INSPIRATION

Ophelia is a character in Hamlet, by William Shakespeare. She is driven mad when her father, Polonius, is murdered by her lover, Hamlet. She dies while still very young, suffering from grief and madness. The events shown in Millais’s Ophelia are not actually seen on stage. Instead they are referred to in a conversation between Queen Gertrude and Ophelia’s brother Laertes. Gertrude describes how Ophelia fell into the river while picking flowers and slowly drowned, singing all the while.”

Source:

https://www.tate.org.uk/art/artworks/mi ... ry-ophelia

I'llflyaway wrote: ↑

Thu May 25, 2023 1:31 pm

Great idea for a thread. A big part of the Dead's appeal is the fascinating lyrical meanings and personal interpretation. In keeping with your op, Ripple is a perfect example. I think anyone can relate and find their own meaning behind the words.

An other example is "It Must Have Been the Roses." Interesting interpretation of a weird old southern story. I find old and strange Americana in the Dead's songs and lyrics can give interesting insights into the weirdness we are all living through today - "if you look at it right";

One pane of glass in the window
No one is complaining though
Come in and shut the door
Faded is the crimson from the
Ribbons that she wore
And it's strange how no one
Comes 'round anymore

I don't know, it must have been the roses
The roses or the ribbons in her long brown hair
I don't know, maybe it was the roses
All I know was I could not leave her there

I would love to hear what this means to others when they hear this haunting song. Has anyone ever read, A Rose for Emily, by Faulkner?

Thanks for the good feedback Illflyaway.
Without thinking too much about it, I guess I see Must’ve been the Roses as a commentary on the fleeting nature of youth I’ll check out that book by Faulkner. I think Hunter said he liked that song a lot.

Tone Weaver wrote: ↑

Thu May 25, 2023 6:35 pm

KEZHEAD wrote: ↑

Thu May 25, 2023 2:44 pm

Good choice Pink11
I’m not the one to over think lyrics, but here ya go

Althea, these lyrics I always found intriguing

You may be the fate of Ophelia
Sleeping and perchance to dream -
Honest to the point of recklessness
Self centered to the extreme

"Ophelia Sleeping and perchance to dream" is a reference to Hamlet.

A challenging "Jeopardy " category for most.