Of all the colorful characters associated with the magnificently muddy Woodstock, Wavy Gravy is the most memorable one. Of course, he was simply Hugh Romney then, a member of the Hog Farm, food purveyor, and in charge of the Please Force which he may not have realized until he and the Farm arrived at NY’s JFK airport on August 7.
“I feel secure, I don’t know what security means. I never was called a security person before. You’re the first person to call me that. How do you feel? Do you feel secure?”
The Hog Farm was the Please Force.
Hugh Romney Wavy Gravy
Early On
Hugh Nanton Romney Jr. was born on May 15, 1936 in East Greenbush, New York, a suburb of Albany. His mother’s name was Charlotte. His father, also named Hugh, was an architect.
For me, his most interesting early story is one that had him as a young child living in Princeton, NJ in the early 40s. He remembers a neighbor taking him for walks. He especially remembers that neighbor’s long uncombed white hair sticking in various directions. Don’t we wish we were alongside for a walk with Wavy and Albert Einstein?
His parents broke up and he moved back to New York, to Albany with his mom, where he attended grade school. When his mother remarried, they moved with his stepfather to West Hartford, CT, where he attended middle and high school. He graduated William Wall High School in Hartford in 1954.
Romney enlisted in the Army right after graduation. He received an honorable discharge after a 22 month stint. In an interview with Edward Sanders, Romney said, ““I am in no way recommending the military as a career choice. The Korean War had just wound down and I figured it was a reasonable assumption that I could slip in and out before the next little war rolled around. It was a dumb decision on my part but it helped pay for my college education.”
He enrolled in Boston University in 1957 to study theater and fell in love with the Beatnik vibe then booming.
From the same interview: “I started jazz and poetry on the East Coast. I think I was the first one to do it. I was at Boston University and I read
about this stuff on the West Coast, and we immediately put some stuff together, and went into this joint on Commonwealth Avenue in Boston, Pat’s Pebble in the Rock.”
Hugh Romney Wavy Gravy
Greenwich Village
After a year and a half in Boston, Hugh Romney enrolled in the Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theater in New York City. He’d graduate there in 1961. Other well-know grads are Gregory Peck, Joanne Woodward, Robert Duvall, Christopher Lloyd, Jeff Goldblum, James Caan, June Carter Cash, Mary Steenburgen, and many many others.
In 1958 John Mitchell had opened the Gaslight Cafe. Later Clarence Hood purchased it and his son Sam managed it. Romney became a regular performer at the Gaslight, eventually taking up the role of entertainment director with friend John Brent. Sometimes musicians played between poets, but poetry not music was the Cafe’s main goal.
One of the “things” associated with Beatniks was snap fingers rather than applaud. The origins of that was very practical. The Cafe’s basement air shafts and windows let out any noise, like applause. Neighbors complained. Please don’t applaud, just snap your fingers.
Brent and actor/writer Del Close did a 1959 album on the Mercury label, “How to Speak Hip.” Later, Brent went off to Second City in Chicago
Hugh married Elizabeth “D’Jazian” at the gaslight. The Rev Gary Davis officiated. ““Dave Van Ronk was there, Tommy Paxton was there, Dylan was there, and my mother. She came down (from Connecticut) for the wedding and was freaked out! Gary Davis was way too weird for her, plus he using Peter Rabbit instead of the Bible. He brought Peter Rabbit by accident.”
The marriage lasted three years.
Another piece of lore that surrounds Romney, is that Bob Dylan wrote “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall” on Romney’s typewriter in his room upstairs from the Gaslight. Another version is that Dylan wrote the tune in Chip Monck‘s Gaslight apartment. Both may be true. Or not.
Hugh Romney Wavy Gravy
Lenny Bruce/California
In 1962, Romney moved to California. Why? ““…at the request of Lenny Bruce, who became my part-time manager. Recorded Hugh Romney, Third Stream Humor for World Pacific Records. (I recorded this live when I was the opening act for Thelonius Monk on the night the great Club Renaissance in Los Angeles closed its doors forever.)”
Around 1963, Romney joined The Committee, an improv group, in San Francisco. His wife Elizabeth gave birth to their daughter Sabrina.
What else was 1963? “Purchased a condo in Marin City and a Packard Caribbean convertible in Hollywood. Tuned in, turned on, and dropped out — way out. Entered deep space. Left wife, daughter, and stuff and
journeyed to northern Arizona to join up with Hopi Indians and await the coming global cataclysm. (The Hopis said I was early but let me hang out anyway and regroup my head.) Connected with interconnectedness of everything and surrendered to Law of Sacred Coincidence. Returned to Los Angeles and regrouped life. Divorced wife, gave away stuff, and began to float aimlessly on the ocean of one thing after another.”
Hugh Romney Wavy Gravy
1964/Hog Farm
Again from the Sanders interview: “Financed free-floating lifestyle through sale of single ounces of marijuana packaged in decorator bags and containing tiny toys. (The dubious apex of this short-lived profession was when I scored a kilo for the Beatles.)”
He also met Bonnie Jean Beecher (his future and present wife) at her cafe, the Fred C Dobbs in Los Angeles. They would marry in 1965.
And at this time arrives the Hog Farm. “We acquired it while living rent free on a mountaintop in Sunland, California, in exchange for the caretaking of forty actual hogs. Within a year of moving there, the people engaged in our bizarre communal experiment began to outnumber the pigs. At first we all had separate jobs. I had a grant to teach brain-damaged children improvisation while teaching a similar class to contract players at Columbia Pictures. Harrison Ford was one of my students. My wife Bonnie was a successful television actress. Joining the scene were musicians, a computer programmer, a race-car driver, a telephone company executive, a cinematographer, several mechanics, and a heap of hippies.”
Hugh Romney Wavy Gravy
Acid Tests
He became involved in Ken Kesey and the Merry Prankster’s famous Acid Tests, but did not, despite author Tom Wolfe’s assertion, put LSD in the Kool Aid. In fact, Romney is still upset with the assertion. He did know Wolfe and Wavy Gravy’s discomfort is that Wolfe never asked him if the story was true.
Hugh Romney Wavy Gravy
New Mexico
In 1967, the Hog Farm, minus hogs, headed to New Mexico where they’d bought a twelve-acre farm in Llano. It was also around this time that his back became so serious problem that surgery was necessary.
Romney’s home was somewhat fluid, but New Mexico was his and the Hog Farm’s base. The invitation to be part of the Woodstock Music and Art Fair was at first disbelieved, but became a reality, of course.
From Bethel, NY the commune moved onto the Texas International Pop Festival where after a conversation with BB King, Hugh Romney became Wavy Gravy.
Hugh Romney Wavy Gravy
Long and Winding Road
Where has life taken Wavy Gravy since then? Just to name and not explain:
1969…participated in Robert Frank‘s documentary, Life Raft Earth, also known as the Starve-In
From the Grateful Bears Facebook page: Grateful Bears are overjoyed to have Joan Baez joining our ever-growing family. All profits for Joan’s signature bear will go to The SEVA Foundation. Co-founded by Ram Dass and Wavy Gravy, SEVA has saved the eyesight of over 5 million individuals worldwide. Sign up for your own Grateful Joan Bear here: www.gratefulbears.com
1972, Howdy Do-Good Gravy Tomahawk Truckstop Romney born at the Tomahawk Truckstop in Boulder, Colorado. He has since simplified the name to Jordan Romney.
It was now 2 AM Sunday, 14 hours into Saturday’s show with three more acts to follow. She would play a bit over an hour.
The rap on Janis’s set is that she was so saturated with Southern Comfort that she could barely perform. I wish I could barely perform, saturated or not, as well. Another common observation is that the band was so newly formed, that the set had to be weak. Having the opportunity to listen to what Rhino Records producers Andy Zax and Steve Woolard have done with the set evaporates that haze.
Written by Steve Cropper, Eddie Floyd, and Alvertis Isbell (Al Bell). Janis jumps right into Raise Your Hand without so much as a howdy do. It hadn’t appeared on any of her (or Big Brother’s) album and wouldn’t until the 1993 compilation, Janis
Alright, this is a tune called Raise your hand. Let’s go, come on!
One, two, one, two, three!
If there’s somethin’ you need, Hon, that you’ve never, ever, ever had. I know you’ve never had it. Oh, honey, don’t you just sit there cryin’, Don’t just sit there feelin’ bad. No, no, no.
You’d better get up, Now do you understand ? And raise you hand. Hey, hey, hey. I said raise your hand.
You know I’m standin’ around, yes I am. Want to give you all my love. Oh, honey, won’t you come on and open up, I said, open up in your heart. Please won’t you let me try ?
You got to be good. Don’t ya understand ? Raise your hand. Hey, hey, hey. I said, raise your hand right here, Right here, right now, yeah!
Whoa, oh yeah!
If there’s somethin’ that you want, dear, Honey, why won’t you come and tell me so ? I said honey An’ if you ever feel, whoa, that you just might need my lovin’ Honey, all I just want you to do is just let go.
Got to be good. Don’t ya understand, Raise your hand. Hey, hey, hey! I said, raise your hand, Raise, raise, raise, raise. Honey, Ha, ha, ha Honey, Whoa, whoa, whoa Said-a, whoa Alright!
Honey, raise your hand ‘Cause I want you to come along. Raise your hand ‘Cause you know where you belong. You belong here, now Said here and now Said, here and now Honey, here and now Here and now Honey, here, now Honey, here, now, Honey, here Now, now, now, now, now, now, now
Raise your hand. Raise your hand. Raise your hand. Raise your hand. Raise your hand. Raise your hand.
Hey, hey, hey, get it up now! Hey, hey, get it up now! Hey, hey, get it up now! Hey, hey, get it up now! Hey, hey, get it up now! Hey, hey, get it up now! Hey, hey, get it up!
Raise your hand, yeah. Raise your hand, yeah. Raise your hand, yeah.
Yeah! Alright!
Alright, thank you.
Janis Joplin Woodstock
As Good As You’ve Been to This World
Brass blasting behind her, Janis’s sprinted right into As Good As You’ve Been to This World. She’d already recorded the song for her I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama! album which Columbia would release on September 11, 1969. Nick Gravenites wrote the song.
Live your loving life, Live it all the best you can And if you pay no attention darling To what you might ever hear from your man, I think you’re just like a servant
And try to keep it all to yourself. Don’t you know it makes the world go round, You gotta go and honey share everywhere else. Come on, come on, come on!
As good as you’ve been to this world So good I want to be right back to you. As good as you’ve been now, As good as you’ve been to this whole wide world,
So good I want to be. As good as you’ve been now, say, As good as you’ve been to this whole wide world, As good as you’ve been, babe, So good I want to be here.
Ain’t no use in being faithful, I see you look at the sky. I know what’s in it make you happy there, But it only make you cry. I think you got good intentions too,
They don’t manage to show through. Whatever you give to the world outside, I want to give it right back to you, yes I am! Come on, come on, come on!
So you meet somebody on the street, You know you treat him mighty fine, Or you meet somebody on the street And you give him a real hard time.
It’s gonna come on home baby, I said it’s gonna come right back home to you. I said it’s gonna visit you now, Yes it is, oh yes it is.
As good as you’ve been to this whole wide world, As good as you’ve been, babe, So good I want to be here. Oh, good as you’ve been to this whole wide world,
As good as you’ve been, babe, So good I want to be here. Ah, the way you love your mother, The way you love your sister, your brother, The way you love your aunt, your uncle, Anybody now, everybody now.
Good as you’ve been babe, hurrah! Good as you’ve been babe, hey! Good as you’ve been babe, hey! Good as you’ve been babe
‘Cause I’m just gonna show you now And I’m just gonna make you want it now ‘Cause I ‘m just gonna give you a thrill Say, good as you been babe, Hurrah, good as you been babe,
Come on, good as you been babe,
I say, good as you been babe,
Oh daddy, good as you been babe,
My man, good as you been babe,
All right, yeah hey.
Janis Joplin Woodstock
To Love Somebody
Still not taking any time, next Janis covers (steals), Barry and Robin Gibbs’s To Love Somebody, which she’d also included on I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
There’s a light, certain kind of light Never ever, never shone on me, no, no Honey, I want, I want my whole life To be lived with you, babe That’s what I want oh, was to be Living and loving you
There’s a way, oh everybody say You can do anything, every thing yeah
But what good, what good Honey, what good could it ever bring Because I haven’t got you with my love And I can’t find you babe, no I can’t
You don’t know, you don’t know what it’s like No you don’t, honey no you don’t know You don’t know what it’s like To love anybody Oh honey, I want to talk about love And trying to hold somebody The way I love you babe And I’ve been loving you babe
In my brain, oh I can see your face again I know my frame of mind, yeah But nobody, nobody has to ever be so blind Honey, like I did, I know I was blind Honey, I tell you that I was, I was very, very blind Oh but I’m just a girl Can’t you just take a look at me and tell Tell that I live, honey I live and I breathe for you Don’t you know I do!
But what good, what good Honey, what good could it ever bring Because I haven’t got you with my love And I can’t find you babe, no I can’t
You don’t know, you don’t know what it’s like No you don’t, honey no you don’t know You don’t know what it’s like To love anybody Oh honey, I want to talk about love And trying to hold somebody The way I love you babe And I’ve been loving you babe
Oh, I know that there’s a way Because everybody came to me one time and said “Honey, you can do anything Every little thing, and I think I can Oh, but what good, what good Honey, what awfully good can it ever, ever bring Because I can’t find you with my love And I can’t find you babe, oh anywhere
You don’t know, you don’t know what it’s like No you don’t, honey no you don’t know You don’t know what it’s like To love anybody Oh honey, I want to talk about love And trying to hold somebody The way I love you babe And I’ve been loving you babe
You don’t know, you don’t know what it’s like No you don’t, honey no you don’t know You don’t know what it’s like To love anybody Oh honey, I want to talk about love And trying to hold somebody The way I love you babe And I’ve been loving you babe
Janis Joplin Woodstock
Summertime
Janis had done Summertime on the classic Cheap Thrills album with Big Brother and the Holding Company. “Summertime” is an aria composed in 1934 by George Gershwin for the 1935 operaPorgy and Bess. The lyrics are by DuBose Heyward, the author of the novel Porgy on which the opera was based.
The band’s intro briefly reflects that legacy.
Summertime, time, time, Child, the living’s easy. Fish are jumping out And the cotton, Lord, Cotton’s high, Lord, so high.
Your daddy’s rich And your ma is so good-looking, baby. She’s looking good now, Hush, baby, baby, baby, baby, baby, No, no, no, no, don’t you cry. Don’t you cry!
One of these mornings You’re gonna rise, rise up singing, You’re gonna spread your wings, Child, and take, take to the sky, Lord, the sky.
But until that morning Honey, n-n-nothing’s going to harm you now, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Don’t you cry, Cry.
Janis Joplin Woodstock
Try (Just a Little Bit Harder)
Still no patter, Try (Just a Little Bit Harder) is the third song of her set that will appear on her forthcoming album. Jerry Ragovoy and Chip Taylor wrote it.
Try, try, try just a little bit harder
So I can love, love, love him, I tell myself
Well, I’m gonna try yeah, just a little bit harder
So I won’t lose, lose, lose him to nobody else.
Hey! Well, I don’t care how long it’s gonna take you now,
But if it’s a dream I don’t want No I don’t really want it
If it’s a dream I don’t want nobody to wake me.
Yeah, I’m gonna try yeah, just a little bit harder
So I can give, give, give, give him every bit of my soul.
Yeah, I’m gonna try yeah, just a little bit harder
So I can show, show, show him love with no control.
Hey! I’ve waited so long for someone so fine
I ain’t gonna lose my chance, no I don’t wanna lose it,
Ain’t gonna lose my chance to make you mine, all mine.
All right, get it! Yeah!
Try yeah, try yeah, hey, hey, hey, try yeah,
Oh try whoa! Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa,
Oh anybody, oh anybody, oh anybody,
Try oh yeah (just a little bit harder)
Whoa I gotta try some more,
I said try yeah, aw I said try,
I said try try try try try try,
Oh try oh yeah, try oh yeah!
Hey hey, I gotta talk to my man now,
You know I, I gotta feel for my man now,
I said I, I gotta work for my man now,
You know I, I gotta hurt for my man now,
I think-a every day for my man now,
You know it, every way for my man now.
I say try, try yeah, oh try yeah,
Hey hey hey, try yeah-hey, oh, try…
Janis Joplin Woodstock
Kozmic Blues
Kozmic Blues is the sixth song in the set and the first that Janis wrote (with Gabriel Makler). It would also appear on I Got Dem Ol’ Kozmic Blues Again Mama!
Janis mentions the album and its title and cryptically says, “Talkin’ about the cosmic blues. You know what I mean, man. If you don’t know what I mean, you will soon enough. So…”
Time keeps moving on, Friends they turn away. Well, I keep moving on But I never found out why I keep pushing so hard a dream, I keep trying to make it right Through another lonely day.
Whoa don’t discover it lasts Honey, time keeps a-moving on, hey yeah, yeah yeah. Well, I’m twenty-five years older now So I know it can’t be right And I’m no better baby and I can’t help you no more Than I did when I was just a girl. Yeah!
But it don’t make no difference baby, no, no, Cause I know that I could always try. There’s a fire inside of everyone of us, huh-uh, I’m gonna need it now, I’m gonna hold it yeah, I’m gonna use it till the day I die.
Don’t, honey, don’t you expect any answers, dear, Ah, I know they don’t come with ease, no, no, no, no. Hey, I ain’t never gonna love you any better baby Cause I’m never gonna love you right So you better take it now, I said right yes now, yeah.
But it don’t make no difference baby, no, no, Cause I know that I could always try. There’s a fire inside of everyone of us, huh-uh, I’m gonna need it now, I’m gonna use it yeah, I’m gonna hold it till the day I die.
Don’t make no difference babe, no, no, no, Honey, I hate to be the one. I said you’re gonna live your life And you’re gonna love, love, love your life. I’m gonna need it now, I’m gonna hold it yeah, I’m gonna use it, say, whoa
Don’t make no difference, baby, no, no, no, Honey, I hate, I hate to be the one. I said every time you’re gonna want to love somebody, Every time you’re gonna want to need somebody, You’re gonna want to turn around, I’m gonna be there. No no no no no, no no no no no, no no no no.
When you’re gonna put out your hand, All your want is some kind of lovin’ man, He ain’t gonna be there, I said, not here. No no no no, no no no no, no no no no, No no no, no no no, no no no no, No no no no, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa Whoa, wah wah, whoa, Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa Honey when I want to reach out my hand I said darling all I ever wanted Was for you to understand me now, whoa Ah baby, I want to sing about me Lord, honey, every day yeah!
Janis Joplin Woodstock
I Can’t Turn You Loose
Before the cover of Otis Redding’s I Can’t Turn You Loose begins, Janis introduces saxophonist Snooky Flowers with a silly goose joke, laughs, and lets Snooky take over. He’s the song’s lead vocalist giving Janis a brief break. She jumps back in briefly about five and a half minutes into the song, but Snooky finishes. The horns get a chance to blow the roof off the place.
I can’t turn you loose, If I do I’m gonna lose my mind. I can’t never turn you loose, If I do I’m gonna lose my mind. Whoa!! I can’t turn you loose for nobody, I love you, yes I do, huh! Hip-shakin’ mama, I love you, Love no one but you. Hear me, baby, I call you, Call you.
I can’t turn you loose, If I do I’m gonna lose my mind. I can never turn you loose, huh! If I do I’m gonna lose my mind. I can’t turn you loose for nobody, I love you, yes I do, huh! Hip-shakin’ mama, I love you, Love no one but you. Hear me, baby, I call you, Call you.
Ah, tell me mama, baby! Hey, baby, baby, baby Now, Wooh, baby, huh! Talkin’ about my baby Oh baby, – huh! – about my baby Baby, baby I love you, I gotta do everything, ha!
Baby! My! My, my, my, baby! Baby, baby, baby, baby yeah Whoa!! Baby, baby, baby, huh! Talkin’ about you Every, every day, baby, Gotta keep on holdin’ Gotta keep on holdin’ on you, baby Holdin’. Oh baby, huh! Talkin’ about you, ah!
Huh! Baby Baby, baby, baby, baby, Huh! Baby I love you Every, every day, baby, Huh! Love you Baby, let me hear you say yeah! Over here, yeah! Yeah!!!! I feel good. Sam, I need a little help. Bring it down a little bit, Maury, Bring it down a little bit. I need a little help. Fellas, get your hands from under your girl’s dress for a minute, Young ladies, yeah we’re about to get into this.
Hold on a minute Aah!! Yeah!! Every day, baby, every day, baby, aahh!! Lord!!
Yeah, baby, every, every day, baby Whoaa, whooo, ahh, aahhha Every, every day, baby Huh! Bring it on down, bring it down! Mercy! Do you feel alright? If you don’t, fuck you, you oughta go home! Mercy! Do you feel alright? Get on in, daddy! I feel good, woohh, mercy, I can dig it, aww!
Say you’re lookin’ good to me, Say you’re lookin’ fine. Say you’re lookin’ good to me, Hon you’re lookin’ fine. Hey you’re lookin’ good to me, Hon you’re lookin’ fine. Oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah, oh yeah!! Oh!! Oh!! Oh!! Oh!! Oh yeah!! Oh yeah!! Oh yeah!! oh yeah!! Woh yeah!! Woh yeah!! Woh yeah!! Wo yeah!! – alright!
Yeah, yeah, yeah, baby Yeah, yeah, yeah, I feel good because I love you You know I love you Huh! I love you Every day Huh! Babe, aw!! wooh! Huh! Say you’re looking good! Mercy! Let’s get the horns in Do you want to hear the horns blow? Do you want to hear the horns blow? Do you want to hear the horns blow? Yeah!! Huh, talkin’ about you Say look-a here, here we go One, two, three, four, ah!!
Hey! Ooh! Shit! Wohh!
Janis Joplin Woodstock
Work Me, Lord
Another song from the upcoming album (no surprise) and also written by Nick Gravenites. It is the “last” song, but of course it isn’t.
Work me Lord, work me Lord. Please don’t you leave me, I feel so useless down here With no one to love Though I’ve looked everywhere And I can’t find me anybody to love, To feel my care.
So ah work me Lord, whoa use me Lord, Don’t you know how hard it is Trying to live all alone. Every day I keep trying to move forward, But something is driving me, oh, back, Honey, something’s trying to hold on to me, To my way of life.
So don’t you forget me down here, Lord, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Ah, ah, don’t you forget me, Lord. Well I don’t think I’m any very special Kind of person down here, I know better, But I don’t think you’re gonna find anybody, Not anybody who could say that they tried like I tried, The worst you can say all about me Is that I’m never satisfied. Whoa.
Whoa, oh, oh, work me Lord, hmm, use me Lord, Please, honey, don’t you leave me, I feel so useless down here. I can’t find me anybody to love me And I’ve looked around, I’ve looked everywhere, everywhere And I can’t find me anyone to love, To feel my care.
So honey don’t you go and leave me, Lord, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, no, Honey, don’t you go off and leave me, Lord. Can’t I show you how hard it is Trying to live when you’re all alone. Everyday I keep pushing, Keep trying to move forward But something is driving me, oh, back, And something’s trying to hold on to me, To my way of life, why.
Oh please, please, oh don’t you go and Forget me down here, don’t forget me, Lord. I think that maybe you can ease me, Maybe I can help you, said uh whoa, Oh please, please, don’t you go and leave me Lord, No, no, no, no, no, no, no, whoa, whoa please, Hmm please, don’t you leave me, Lord.
Janis would likely have done an encore no matter what, but the crowd’s response certainly helped make it happen.
Oh, come on, come on, come on, come on
Didn’t I make you feel like you were the only man? Yeah And didn’t I give you nearly everything that a woman possibly can? Honey, you know I did And each time I tell myself that I, well I think I’ve had enough But I’m gonna show you, baby, that a woman can be tough
I want you to come on, come on, come on, come on and take it Take another little piece of my heart now, baby (whoa, break it) Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah, yeah, yeah (whoa, have a) Have another little piece of my heart now, baby You know you got it if it makes you feel good Oh, yes indeed
You’re out on the streets looking good And baby, deep down in your heart, I guess you know that it ain’t right Never, never, never, never, never, never hear me when I cry at night Babe, and I cry all the time But each time I tell myself that I, well I can’t stand the pain But when you hold me in your arms, I’ll sing it once again
I said come on, come on, come on, come on and take it Take another little piece of my heart now, baby Break another little bit of my heart now, darling, yeah Have another little piece of my heart now, baby Well, you know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good
I need you to come on, come on, come on, come on and take it Take another little piece of my heart now, baby (whoa, break it) Break another little bit of my heart, now darling, yeah, c’mon now (whoa, have a) Have another little piece of my heart now, baby You know you got it, whoa
Take it Take another little piece of my heart now, baby (whoa, break it) Break another little bit of my heart, now darling, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah (whoa, have a) Have another little piece of my heart now, baby, hey You know you got it, child, if it makes you feel good
Janis Joplin Woodstock
Ball and Chain
Written by Willie Mae Thornton, Janis’s cover is another example of stealing a song.
The crowd continues to call for an encore. Before her actual final song, Janis speaks to the crowd.
“How are you out there? Everybody OK? You’re not, ah…you’re stayin’ stoned and you have enough water? You got a place to sleep and everything [the crowd calls out]? What does that mean? Because we oughta’ all of us–I don’t mean to be preachy, but–we oughta remember–and that means promoters, too–that music’s for grooving, man, not for putting yourself into bad changes. You don’t have to go and take anyone’s shit man, just to like music. You know what I mean? You don’t. So if you’re getting more shit than you deserve, you know what to do about it man. You know, it’s just music. Music’s supposed to be different than that.”
The band blasts.
Sitting down by my window Honey, looking out at the rain Sitting down by my window, looking out at the rain All around that I felt it All I can see was the rain Something grabbed a hold of me Feel to me, oh, like a ball and chain Hey, you know what I mean that’s exactly what it felt like But that’s way too heavy for you, you can’t hold them all
And I say, oh, whoa, whoa, oh, that cannot be Just because I got oh, your love, please Why does every Oh, this can’t be just because I got to need you, daddy Please don’t you knock it down now, please Here you’ve gone today What I wanted to love you and I wanted to hold you, yeah, till the day I die Yes, I did, yes, I did, yeah, hey, hey, alright
Say, whoa, whoa, whoa, honey This can’t be anything I’ve ever wanted from your daddy tell me now Oh, tell me, baby Oh, say, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, honey This can’t be, no, no, no, no, no Yeah, yeah I hope there’s someone out there who could tell me Tell me why just because I got to want your love Honey, just because I got to need, need, need, need your love I said I understand Honey, what I’m wanna trying to say hi Trying, try, try, try, try, try, try Honey, everybody in the world, also same, baby When everybody in the world what needs, seem lonely What I wanted work for your love, daddy What I wanted trust your love, daddy I din’t understand how come you’re gone I don’t understand why half the world is still crying, man And the other half of the world is still crying too, man I can’t get it together I mean if you go to ? Oneday, man I mean, so baby, you want ? Three and sixty five days, right You ain’t gonna within sixty five days, you gonna for one day, man I tell you, that one day, man, better be your life, man Because you know, you can stay oh man, you can cry about the other three and sixty four, man I said whoa, whoa, whoa But you gonna lose that one day, man That’s all you got, you got to call it love, man That’s what it is, man If you got today, you don’t worry about tomorrow, man Because you don’t need it Because the matter of the fact, as we discovered tat’s rain, tomorrow never happens, man It’s all the same fucking day, man
So you gotta when you want to hold someone You gotta hold them like it’s the last minutes of your life You gotta hold, hold, hold and I say, oh, whoa, whoa, now babe, tell me why Hold, baby, ’cause some come on your shoulder, baby It’s gonna feel too heavy, it’s gonna weigh on you why does every thing, every thing It’s gonna feel just like a ball Oh, daddy and a chain
It was 10:30 and a bit drizzly when the Dead came on. Their actual playing time was about an hour and ten minutes, but only five minutes after they finally were able to begin there were additional technical difficulties that delayed a restart for about 15 minutes.
The common impression of the Dead’s Woodstock set, repeated by many, is that it was not up to their or their fans’ high expectations That may be true, but in reality, the set itself was not so different than what the Dead typically did when they shared a bill with other bands at a festival. Set times at a festival were usually shorter than a set when the band was the main act.
If you asked lyricist Robert Hunter whether the Stephen referred to in one of the Dead’s most popular songs is the actual St Stephen, first Christian martyr, or another Stephen, you didn’t get a straight answer. Like any writer, poetic license is always a part of what they write.
The Deadlists Project has the song’s first performance as being on May 24, 1968, at the National Guard Armory in St. Louis, Missouri. According to Dead.net, there were 289 known live performances of the song.
Saint Stephen with a rose In and out of the garden he goes Country garden in the wind and the rain Wherever he goes the people all complain
Stephen prospered in his time Well, he may and he may decline Did it matter, does it now? Stephen would answer if he only knew how
Wishing well with a golden bell Bucket hangin’ clear to Hell Hell halfway twixt now and then Stephen fill it up and lower down and lower down again
Lady finger, dipped in moonlight Writing, “What for?”, across the morning sky Sunlight splatters, dawn with answer Darkness shrugs and bids the day goodbye
Speeding arrow, sharp and narrow What a lot of fleeting matters you have spurned Several seasons with their treasons Wrap the babe in scarlet colors, call it your own
Did he doubt or did he try? Answers aplenty in the bye and bye Talk about your plenty and talk about your ills One man gathers what another man spills
Saint Stephen will remain All he lost he shall regain Seashore washed by the suds and foam Been here so long, he’s got to callin’ it home
Fortune comes a crawlin’, calliope woman Spinnin’ that curious sense of your own Can you answer? Yes, I can What would be the answer to the answer man?
High green chilly winds and windy Vines and loops around the twining Shafts of lavender, they’re crawling to the sun Wonder who will water all the children of the garden
When they sigh about the barren lack of rain and troop so hungry ‘neath the sky, ay
Underfoot the ground is patched With climbing arms of ivy wrapped around The Manzanita, dark and shiny in the breeze
William Tell has stretched the bow Till it won’t stretch no furthermore And all that they require in change That hasn’t gone before
Grateful Dead Woodstock
Mama Tried
The Dead were well-known for covering songs and Mama Tried became on of their better known covers. Merle Haggard wrote it.
First thing I remember knowin’ Was a lonesome whistle blowin’ And a youngun’s dream of growin’ up to ride On a freight train leavin’ town, Not knowin’ where I’s bound
No one could change my mind but mama tried
One and only rebel child In a family meek and mild, Mama seemed to know what lay in store In spite of all my Sunday learnin’, For the bad I kept on turnin’ Mama couldn’t hold me anymore
And I turned twenty one in prison Doin’ life without parole No one could steer me right But mama tried, mama tried, Mama tried to raise me better But her pleadin’ I denied, That leaves only me to blame ’cause mama tried
Dear old daddy, rest his soul, Left my mom a heavy load She tried so very hard to fill his shoes Workin’ hours without rest, Wanted me to have the best, She tried to raise me right but I refused
And I turned twenty one in prison Doin’ life without parole No one could steer me right But mama tried, mama tried, Mama tried to raise me better But her pleadin’ I denied, That leaves only me to blame ’cause mama tried
Grateful Dead Woodstock
Patter Break
While the tech issues are resolved a few people talk to take up the time.
Merry Prankster Ken Babbs rambles on and around quite a while before Country Joe arrives. He tells the crowd how he’s from San Francisco and how familiar with LSD he and others from San Francisco are. He then advises those who have taken “bad” acid to simply stop taking it and they’ll be fine.
Also, there have been questions as to whether Bear Owsley was at Woodstock. The recording of this break seems to answer that question affirmatively. Not only is he referred to (at the 8:40 mark of the break’s Rhino recording), but we also hear him.
Click to listen:
For an far more extensive and more positive view of their set, see this article written by Scott Parker, author of Woodstock Documented.
Grateful Dead Woodstock
Dark Star
Dark Star was one of the first songs that Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter wrote, although the whole band is typically credited. They played the song 249 times.
Dark star crashes, pouring its light into ashes Reason tatters, the forces tear loose from the axis Searchlight casting for faults in the clouds of delusion Shall we go, you and I while we can Through the transitive nightfall of diamonds?
Mirror shatters in formless reflections of matter Glass hand dissolving in ice, petal flowers revolving Lady in velvet recedes in the nights of good-bye Shall we go, you and I while we can Through the transitive nightfall of diamonds?
Grateful Dead Woodstock
High Time
Jerry Garcia
The Dead had not yet released this song on an album. Most bands release an album and then tour to promote it. The contrarian Dead were doing the opposite. They were perfecting their next album’s songs on the road before going into the studio. High Time appeared on their Workingman’s Dead album released in June, 1970.
Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics, Jerry Garcia the tune. High Time was performed about 60 times by the Grateful Dead between June 1969 and July 1970. The song was then dropped from the repertoire for 6 years returning in June 1976. It was then performed a few times most years through to 1995, though it was not performed in 1978, 1983 and 1989. In total the Grateful Dead performed the song just over 130 times.
You told me goodbye, how was I to know You didn’t mean goodbye, you meant please don’t let me go? I was having a high time, living the good life, well I know The wheels are muddy, got a ton of hay, Now listen here, Baby, ’cause I mean what I say.
I’m having a hard time, living the good life, well I know. I was losing time, I had nothing to do, No one to fight, I came to you.
Wheels broke down, leader won’t draw, The line is busted, the last one I saw. Tomorrow come trouble, tomorrow come pain, Now don’t think too hard Baby, ’cause I know what I’m saying.
I could show you a high time, living the good life, don’t be that way. Nothing’s for certain, it could always go wrong, Come in when it’s raining, go on out when it’s gone. We could have us a high time, living the good life, well I know.
Grateful Dead Woodstock
Turn On Your Lovelight
Pigpen
Another Dead cover. Perhaps their best known, band leader and arranger Joe Scott wrote “Turn On Your Love Light.” The Dead also extended this song out a long way. Woodstock’s was 40 minutes, but the longest version was likely on June 6 that year at the Fillmore West at 47 minutes.
The following are the “official” lyrics to, but Pigpen was famous for improvising around those lyrics.
Without a warning you broke my heart, takin’ it baby, tore it apart And you left me standin’ in the dark, said your love for me was dyin’
Come on baby, baby please come on baby, cause I’m on my knees Turn on your lights let it shine on me shine on your love light Let it shine on me let shine, let it shine, let it shine
When I get lonely in the middle of the night And I need you darlin’ to make things all right
So come on baby, baby please and I’m beggin’ you baby cause I’m on my knees, Turn on your lights let it shine on me Turn on your love light let it shine on me Let it shine, let it shine, let it shine
Without a warning you broke my heart, takin’ it baby, tore it apart And you left me standin’ in the dark, shine your love for me was dark
Come on baby, baby please come on baby, cause I’m on my knees Turn on your lights let it shine on me shine on your love light Let it shine on me let shine, let it shine, let it shine
Grateful Dead Woodstock
Double-dare
So there it is and now I dare you to click and open ↓ .
It’s really a nice listen for any day and always a slice of history. You’ll hear the actual radio feedback that Phil Lesh talks about during a quieter part of their set.
