Cryptical Envelopment

Lyrics: Jerry Garcia
Music: Jerry Garcia

This is part of the suite That's It For The Other One. See that link for an explanation about the confusion over the title.

The other day they waited
The sky was dark and faded (note 1)
Solemnly they stated
He has to die
You know he has to die

And all the children learning
From books that they were burning
Every leaf was turning
To watch him die
You know he has to die

The summer sun looked down on him
His mother could but frown on him
And all the others sound on him
But it doesn't seem to matter

And when the day had ended
With rainbow colors blended
His mind remained unbended (note 2)
He had to die
You know he had to die
You know he had to die

Notes
(1) It sounds as if in the very earliest performances (such as 22 October 1967), Jerry sings "Their breath was cold and bated" (thanks to Wil Gehne for pointing this out).
(2) this may be an allusion to the earlirt Garcia song Mindbender
(3) There is longstanding confusion over the title of this song. See the notes on the suite That's It For The Other One for an explanation. The Grateful Dead's recordings are not always consistent in the titles they give - see the footnotes to the discography information below.

Grateful Dead Recordings
	Date	Album
	22 Oct 1967	Anthem Of The Sun (2018 bonus disc)
	10 Nov 1967	30 Trips Around The Sun
	Studio/Live 1968	Anthem Of The Sun
	14 Feb 1968	Road Trips Volume 2, Number 2
	24 Feb 1968	Dick's Picks Vol 22
	17 Mar 1968	Download Series Vol 6
	23 Aug 1968	30 Days Of The Dead (2013)
	24 Aug 1968	Two From The Vault (note 3)
	13 Oct 1968	30 Days Of The Dead (2016)
	17 Jan 1969	30 Days Of The Dead (2018)
	11 Feb 1969	Fillmore East 2-11-69
	22 Feb 1969	30 Trips Around The Sun
	27 Feb 1969	So Many Roads (1965-1995) (note 4)
	28 Feb 1969	Fillmore West 1969 - The Complete Recordings
	1 Mar 1969	Fillmore West 1969 - The Complete Recordings
	2 Mar 1969	Fillmore West 1969 - The Complete Recordings
	17 Apr 1969	Download Series Vol 12
	26 Apr 1969	Dick's Picks Vol 26
	8 Jun 1969	30 Days Of The Dead (2012)
	7 Nov 1969	30 Days Of The Dead (2014)
	11 Dec 1969	Dave's Picks Volume 10 (bonus disc)
	2 Jan 1970	Dave's Picks Volume 30
	3 Jan 1970	Dave's Picks 2019 Bonus Disc
	23 Jan 1970	Dave's Picks Volume 19
	13 Feb 1970	Dick's Picks Vol 4 (note 5)
	1 Mar 1970	30 Days Of The Dead (2022) (note 7)
	15 Apr 1970	30 Trips Around The Sun
	2 May 1970	Dick's Picks Vol 8
	15 May 1970	Road Trips Vol 3 No 3 (early show)
	7 Jun 1970	30 Days Of The Dead (2020)
	19 Feb 1971	Three From The Vault
	2 Jul 1971	Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses) (50th Anniversary Bonus Disc)
	23 Aug 1971	Road Trips Number 1, Volume 3
	22 Oct 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 3
	17 Nov 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 26
	6 Dec 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 22
	14 Dec 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 26 (bonus disc)
	24 Jun 1985	30 Trips Around The Sun

(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
	2008	30 Years	Jake's Leg
	2014	Burbank Tread	Gent Treadly
	2015	A Grand Piano Tribute to the Grateful Dead	Rob Catterton
	2016	Better Left Unsung	Holly Bowling
	2019	Dead Air	Travis Elliott

(3) titled "The Other One" but also includes "Cryptical Envelopment"
(4) also on Fillmore West 1969 -The Complete Recordings
(5) titled "That's It For The Other One" and includes "Cryptical Envelopment"
(6) Hundred Year's Hall (26 Apr 1972) lists "Cryptical Envelopment" but what's played is just "The Other One"
(7) also released on 30 Days Of The Dead (2024)

Other Recordings
At the end of "Dark Star/The Other One" on Henry Kaiser's CD "Those Who Know History Are Doomed To Repeat It" he plays the instrumental introduction to "Cryptical Envelopment" - without lyrics.

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 sheet music, see:
Grateful Dead Anthology Volume 1 (piano arrangement)