Believe It Or Not

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

A Hunter/Garcia ballad recorded for Built To Last but not released on the album. It was played live only six times in 1988 and once in 1990.

One or two moments, a piece of your time
Is all that I'm asking, and I'll give you mine
One or two moments out of all you have got
To show how I love you, believe it or not
To show how I love you, believe it or not

Remember the day I rolled in to town (note 1)
With my heart in my shoes, with my head hanging down
Now my only trouble, the rest I forgot
Is to show how I love you, believe it or not
Is to show how I love you, believe it or not

Done time in the lockup, done time in the street
Done time on the upswing and time in defeat
I know what I'm asking, and I know it's a lot
When I say that I love you, believe it or not
Believe it or not

I know I'm no angel, my prospects are high
As the flood line in summer when the river's gone dry (note 2)
But I'll roll up my shirt-sleeves and make my best shot (note 3)
To show how I love you, believe it or not
To show how I love you, believe it or not

Right now while the sun shines on the crest of the hill
With a breeze in the pines and a grey whippoorwill
Making music together that guitars never caught (note 4)
Let me show how I love you, believe it or not
Let me show how I love you, believe it or not
Let me show how I love you, believe it or not
Let me show how I love you, believe it or not
[etc]
Notes
(1) Garcia misses out this verse (and sings the fourth verse here)
(2) Garcia sings "... the river's run dry" in the version on "So Many Roads"
(3) Garcia sings "... give my best shot" in the version on "So Many Roads"
(4) Garcia sings "Making music together in a world time forgot" in the version on "So Many Roads" (thanks to Olav �rskog for pointing this out)

Grateful Dead Recordings
     Date Album
     studio 1988 So Many Roads (1965-1995)
     30 Jun 1988 30 Days Of The Dead (2019)
     22 Mar 1990 Spring 1990


Further Information
For an online discussion of the lyrics to this song see the deadsongs.vue conference on The Well.
For more information on recordings see Matt Schofield's Grateful Dead Family Discography
For information on references in the lyrics see David Dodd's Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics
For online chords and TAB see www.rukind.com
For sheet music, see:
          Grateful Dead Anthology Volume 2 (piano arrangement)
          Garcia/Hunter Songbook (vocal line and chords/TAB)

 


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