Box Of Rain

THC never "got" the Grateful Dead.  He found most of their albums boring and when he heard live cuts from the concerts that his Deadhead friends would rave about they sounded to him like a bunch of guys randomly noddling around on their guitars with no particular purpose in mind.

But there was a brief period in 1970 when THC heard three Dead songs from their two albums of that year which have always remained favorites; Uncle John's Band from Workingman's Dead and Friend Of The Devil (with its terrific bass line) and Box Of Rain from American Beauty, all of which THC can listen to time and time again.

Look out of any window
any morning, any evening, any day
Maybe the sun is shining
birds are winging or
rain is falling from a heavy sky -
What do you want me to do,
to do for you to see you through?
this is all a dream we dreamed
one afternoon long ago
Walk out of any doorway
feel your way, feel your way
like the day before
Maybe you'll find direction
around some corner
where it's been waiting to meet you -

Walk into splintered sunlight
Inch your way through dead dreams
to another land
Maybe you're tired and broken
Your tongue is twisted
with words half spoken
and thoughts unclear
What do you want me to do
to do for you to see you through
A  box of rain will ease the pain
and love will see you through

Just a box of rain -
wind and water -
Believe it if you need it,
if you don't just pass it on
Sun and shower -
Wind and rain -
in and out the window
like a moth before a flame