Black Peter

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

All of my friends come to see me last night
I was laying in my bed and dying
Annie Beauneu from Saint Angel (note 1)
Say "the weather down here so fine"

Just then the wind came squalling through the door (note 2)
But who can the weather command
Just want to have a little peace to die
And a friend or two I love at hand

Fever roll up to a hundred and five
Roll on up, gonna roll back down
One more day I find myself alive
Tomorrow maybe go beneath the ground

See here how everything
Lead up to this day
And it's just like any other day
That's ever been
Sun going up and then
The sun going down
Shine through my window
And my friends they come around
Come around, come around

The people might know, but the people don't care
That a man can be as poor as me (note 3)
Take a look at poor Peter, he's lying in pain
Now let's come run and see
Run and see
Run and see
Run, run and see, and see

Notes
(1) There seems to be some confusion over the spelling of "Beauneu." That is the spelling used by Hunter in his books of lyrics "Box Of Rain." But the spelling in the sheet music as originally published ("Grateful Dead" with music for Workingman's Dead and American Beauty) is "Bonneau", which sounds closer to what Garcia sings. That spelling is also used in the sheet music in "Anthology Vol II." But just to make matters even more confusing, the spelling in "Selections From Workingman's Dead" is "Beuneau" - almost certainly a mistake I would guess!
(2) Some of the songbooks have "... squalling through the dark", but this seems to be a mistake: the lyrics in Hunter's "Box Of Rain" have "... through the door" and that sounds to be what Garcia sings.
(3) in the performance from 8 July 1990 on View From The Vault, Jerry sings "That a man could be as strong as me." I believe he may also have sung that on other occasions around that time. (thanks to Todd Prusin for pointing this out to me).

Grateful Dead Recordings
	Date	Album
	12 Dec 1969	Dave's Picks Volume 10
	21 Dec 1969	Dave's Picks Volume 6 (Bonus disc)
	26 Dec 1969	Dave's Picks Volume 43
	Studio 1970	Workingman's Dead (note 4)
	2 Jan 1970	Dave's Picks Volume 30
	10 Jan 1970	Workingman's Dead (note 5)
	18 Jan 1970	Download Series Vol 2
	23 Jan 1970	Dave's Picks Volume 19
	24 Jan 1970	Dave's Picks Volume 19
	2 Feb 1970	Dave's Picks Volume 6
	4 Feb 1970	Download Series: A Night At The Family Dog
	11 Feb 1970	30 Days Of The Dead (2012)
	13 Feb 1970	Bear's Choice (History Of The Grateful Dead Vol 1)
	28 Feb 1970	30 Days Of The Dead (2022)
	1 Mar 1970	30 Days Of The Dead (2022) (note 8)
	2 May 1970	Dick's Picks Vol 8
	15 May 1970	Road Trips Vol 3 No 3 (late show)
	22 Oct 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 3
	24 Oct 1971	30 Days Of The Dead (2019)
	12 Nov 1971	30 Days Of The Dead (2013)
	6 Dec 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 22 (bonus disc)
	9 Dec 1971	Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
	14 Dec 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 26 (bonus disc)
	31 Dec 1971	New Year's Eve At The Winterland
	24 May 1972	Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72 (note 6)
	25 Aug 1972	Dave's Picks Volume 24
	21 Sep 1972	Dick's Picks Vol 36
	17 Oct 1972	Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
	22 Jun 1973	Pacific Northwest '73-'74
	26 Jun 1973	Pacific Northwest '73-'74
	23 Jun 1974	Dave's Picks Volume 34
	19 Oct 1974	Grateful Dead Movie (CD only)
	1 Oct 1977	Dave's Picks Volume 45
	16 Oct 1977	Road Trips Volume 1, Number 2
	29 Oct 1977	Dave's Picks Vol 33
	5 Nov 1977	Dick's Picks Vol 34
	7 Apr 1978	Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
	10 Apr 1978	Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
	14 Apr 1978	Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
	24 Apr 1978	Dave's Picks Volume 7
	7 May 1978	30 Days Of The Dead (2024)
	7 Jul 1978	July 1978: The Complete Recordings
	27 Oct 1979	30 Trips Around The Sun
	6 Nov 1979	Road Trips Full Show: Spectrum 11/6/79
	9 Dec 1979	Dave's Picks Vol 47
	7 May 1980	Road Trips Volume 3, Number 4
	3 Sep 1980	Download Series Vol 7
	28 Nov 1980	30 Trips Around The Sun
	21 Sep 1982	In And Out Of The Garden
	2 Sep 1983	Dave's Picks Volume 27
	12 Oct 1983	In And Out Of The Garden
	27 Apr 1985	Dave's Picks Vol 49
	21 Jun 1985	30 Days Of The Dead (2024)
	26 Mar 1987	Dave's Picks Volume 36
	12 Jul 1989	RFK Stadium 1989 Box
	14 Mar 1990	Spring 1990 (The Other One)
	25 Mar 1990	Dozin' At The Knick (note 7)
	8 Jul 1990	View From The Vault (video/DVD & CD soundtrack)
	19 Jul 1990	Dave's Picks Volume 40
	25 Mar 1991	30 Days Of The Dead (2023)
	16 Jun 1991	Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991 Boxed Set

(Plus live recordings by The Dead, Furthur, Dead & Company, Ratdog, Phil Lesh & Friends etc not listed here. See Grateful Dead Family Discography for a full list.)


Other Recordings
	Date	Album	Recorded By
	1989	Fiddlehead Blues	Randy Sabien
	1989	Classical Music	The Palookas
	9 Aug 1995	Stolen Roses	Patti Smith Band
	1996	DeadBeats Acoustic	DeadBeats
	2000	Live In Amsterdam	Billy Goodman
	2001	Solo Acoustic	David Gans
	2001	Blues Tribute To The Grateful Dead	Various (Richie and the Pocket Rockets)
	2001	Built To Grass	Grass Is Dead
	2003	Solo Acoustic	David Gans
	8 Feb 2006	Live At The Fillmore	Grateful Grass
	2007	At Fine Arts Center, UMass	The American Beauty Project
	2007	Live At The Starlight 07	Mo Pair and the Ugly Mooks
	2008	30 Years	Jake's Leg
	2008	Fennario: Songs by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter	Emory Joseph
	2008	Piano Expressions	Lore Constantine
	2009	Henry Kaiser Plays Dead	David Gans and Henry Kaiser
	2009	Piano Expressions	Lorne Constantine
	2009	Hiding Under The Covers	Alison Scott
	2010	At Page Auditorium, Duke University	The American Beauty Project
	2014	Steel Drivin' Man	Joe Goldmark with John McFee
	2010	Dead To The Core	Jeffrey Pepper Rodgers
	2015	It's A Hand-Me-Down	David Gans
	2015	Songs Of Their Own	Pete Lavezzoli
	2016	Songs To Fill The Air (WFMU Pledge Drive)	Matt Valentine
	2016	Day Of The Dead	Anohni and yMusic
	2019	Dead Air	Scott Miller
	2020	Bodhisattva Blues	Reverend Freakchild

(4) also on the compilation What A Long Strange Trip It's Been
(5) included as a bonus track on remastered album, first released as part of the box set The Golden Road (1965-1973)
(6) also on the box set Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
(7) also in Spring 1990 (The Other One)
(8) also in 30 Days Of The Dead (2024)

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 David Dodd's discussion of this song on dead.net see Greatest Stories Ever Told
For online chords and TAB see www.rukind.com
For sheet music, see:
          Grateful Dead Anthology Volume 2 (piano arrangement)
          Grateful Dead Authentic Guitar Classics Volume 1 (guitar TAB)
          Grateful Dead Songbook Volume 1 (piano arrangement)
          Garcia/Hunter Songbook (vocal line and chords/TAB)