Franklin's Tower

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia, Bill Kreutzmann

In another time's forgotten space
Your eyes looked from your mother's face (note a)
Wildflower seed on the sand and stone
May the four winds blow you safely home

Chorus
Roll away the dew
Roll away the dew
Roll away the dew
Roll away the dew

I'll tell you where the four winds dwell (note b)
In Franklin's tower there hangs a bell
It can ring, turn night to day
It can ring like fire when you lose your way

[chorus]

God save the child who rings that bell (note c)
It may have one good ring, baby, you can't tell (note d)
One watch by night, one watch by day
If you get confused, listen to the music play

[chorus]

Some come to laugh their past away
Some come to make it just one more day
Whichever way your pleasure tends
If you plant ice, you're gonna harvest wind

[chorus]

In Franklin's tower the four winds sleep (note e)
Like four lean hounds the lighthouse keep
Wildflower seed in the sand and wind
May the four winds blow you home again

[chorus]
[chorus]
[etc]
Notes
(a) Robert Hunter's lyrics in "Box Of Rain" are "Your eyes looked through your mother's face"
(b) the lyrics in "Box Of Rain" are "You ask me where the four winds dwell"
(c) the lyrics in "Box Of Rain" are "God help the child ..."
(d) the lyrics in "Box of Rain" are "It may have one good ring left ..."
(e) this is the lyrics in "Box Of Rain" and the studio recording, but Jerry mostly sang "I'll tell you where the four winds sleep." Thanks to Dan Franzen for pointing this out.

Grateful Dead Recordings
     Date Album
     studio 1975 Blues For Allah (note 9)
     13 Aug 1975 One From The Vault
     28 Sep 1975 30 Trips Around The Sun (note 6)
      9 Jun 1976 Road Trips Volume 4, Number 5
     10 Jun 1976 June 1976 Box Set
     14 Jun 1976 June 1976 Box Set
     17 Jun 1976 Dave's Picks Volume 28 (note 8)
     19 Jun 1976 June 1976 Box Set
     24 Sep 1976 Dave's Picks Vol 4 (note 5)
      9 Oct 1976 Dick's Picks Vol 33
     26 Feb 1977 Dave's Picks Volume 29
      9 May 1977 May 1977: Get Shown The Light Box
     22 May 1977 Dick's Picks Vol 3
      9 Jun 1977 Winterland June 1977 - The Complete Recordings
     11 Oct 1977 Road Trips Volume 1, Number 2
     10 Apr 1978 Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
      9 May 1978 30 Days Of The Dead (2012)
      8 Jul 1978 July 1978: The Complete Recordings
      1 Sep 1979 30 Days Of The Dead (2016)
     27 Oct 1979 30 Trips Around The Sun
      5 Nov 1979 Road Trips Full Show: Spectrum 11/5/79
      9 Nov 1979 Road Trips Volume 1, Number 1
      4 Dec 1979 Dave's Picks Vol 31
     15 May 1980 Go To Nassau
      3 Sep 1980 Download Series Vol 7
     25 Oct 1980 Dead Set (note 1)
     31 Oct 1980 Dead Ahead (video/DVD)
     10 Mar 1981 In And Out Of The Garden
      7 Dec 1981 30 Days Of The Dead (2017)
     26 Apr 1983 Dave's Picks Volume 39
      2 Sep 1983 Dave's Picks Volume 27
     11 Sep 1983 Dave's Picks Vol 52
     12 Oct 1983 In And Out Of The Garden
      1 Apr 1984 30 Days Of The Dead (2014)
     17 Apr 1984 30 Days Of The Dead (2018)
     21 Apr 1984 30 Days Of The Dead (2021)
     10 Jul 1989 Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991 Boxed Set
      8 Oct 1989 Warlocks Box
     22 Oct 1989 30 Days Of The Dead (2017)
     24 Mar 1990 Spring 1990
     30 Mar 1990 Without A Net (note 4)
     18 Jul 1990 Dave's Picks Volume 40
     24 Mar 1991 30 Days Of The Dead (2016)
      5 May 1991 30 Days Of The Dead (2010)
     14 Jun 1991 View From The Vault II (video/DVD & CD soundtrack)
     10 Sep 1991 30 Trips Around The Sun
     25 Sep 1991 Dick's Picks Vol 17
      1 Oct 1994 30 Trips Around The Sun (note 10)
      3 Jul 2015 Fare Thee Well (CD and DVD)
 
Phil Lesh and Friends Recordings
      5 Jun 1999 Love Will See You Through
     19 May 2006 Live At The Warfield
 
(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
     1985 Live '85 Robert Hunter
     1990 Box Of Rain Robert Hunter
     1990 Fast Food For Thought Henry Rollins and Wartime (note 2)
     1996 Fire On The Mountain Vol 1 Reggae Celebrates The Grateful Dead (Steel Pulse)
     1996 Blues For Allah Joe Gallant and Illuminati
     1996 Live Medicine Mighty Manatees Medicine Show
     1997 Jake's Leg Jake's Leg
     1998 Blue Light Rain Jazz Is Dead
     1999 Tie-Die Yippie Ki Yay McEuen and Salazar
     1999 Meat Puppets Meat Puppets
     2000 Struggling Man Merl Saunders
     2001 Goodnight Irene Woodshed
     2001 Live At The Green Mill Sabertooth
     20 Jun 2004 On The Road, North Plains, OR String Cheese Incident (note 7)
     22 Oct 2004 Great American Music Hall, San Francisco, CA Umphrey's McGee (note 7)
      2 Aug 2004 Instant Live: Mansfield, MA Allman Brothers Band (note 7)
     16 Feb 2005 Bruce Horrnsby Live: Montgomery, AL Bruce Hornsby
     2005 Jerry Jams, Jerry Cares Matt Angus Thing
     2005 Live At Berkner Hall Great Caesar's Ghost with G.E.Smith
     2006 One More Ride Great Caesar's Ghost (note 7)
     2006 Trials And Tribulations In-Cog-Nito
     29 Jun 2006 Late Night Show High Sierra Music Festival Zero (note 7)
     2007 Live At Soho Trio Grande
      8 Sep 2007 George's Majestic Lounge, Fayrtteville, AR Steve Kimock & Friends
     16 Aug 2008 YrmonyGrass Rebel Alliance Jam
     28 Mar 2009 Live, Beacon Theater Allman Brothers Band (with Bob Weir and Phil Lesh)
     17 Jul 2010 Horning's Hideout, OR Yonder Mountain String Band
     2010 Songs Of The Grateful Dead Jesse McReynolds
     2011 The Wheel: A Musical Celebration of Jerry Garcia Jesse McReynolds, David Nelson et al
     2011 Sessions, Vol. 1 Jah Grateful Dead
     2012 D'Eadphibians D'Amphibiand
     2012 Live At The 2012 Peach Music Festival Dark Star Orchestra
     2012 Essential Country Collection Midday Sun
     1 Dec 2012 A Buckdancer's Choice Mickey Hart Band
     2013 Yoga Tribute To Grateful Dead Vol 2 Yoga Pop Ups
     2013 Harpin' On The Dead Anela Lauren
     2013 Move Me Brightly Bob Weir et al (DVD)
     2014 Grateful Dead Bluegrass Tribute David Holodiloff
     17 Apr 2015 Morrison, CO Disco Biscuits
     14 May 2015 Dear Jerry: Celebrating The Music Of Jerry Garcia Billy & The Kids
     2016 Day Of The Dead Orchestra Baobab
     18 Aug 2016 Stage AE Outdoos, Pittsburgh, PA Gov't Mule
     2016 Better Left Unsung Holly Bowling
     2018 Garcia Songbook Joe Craven & The Sometimers
     2018 Almost Live Eric Fincher
     2019 Live At The Old Church Holly Bowling
     31 Dec 2018 Rising Up To Paradise Big Swell
     2021 Grateful Deadication David McMurray
Notes
(1) also on the compilations The Arista Years and The Very Best Of The Grateful Dead
(2) also on the compilation "Stolen Roses"
(3) versions of "Franklin's Tower" are on various of the Allman Brother's "Instant Live" CDs, and on String Cheese Incident "On The Road" releases.
(4) also on the box set Spring 1990
(5) also made available for download on 30 Days Of The Dead (2011)
(6) also on the compilation 30 Trips Around The Sun: The Definitive Live Story 1965-1995
(7) The list above includes only one illustrative example of the series of live recordings by these artists. For a full list see the Grateful Dead Family Discography.
(8) also included in 30 Days Of The Dead (2012)
(9) also released as the Grateful Dead 7" single volume 12.
(10) also included in 30 Days Of The Dead (2022)


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 1 (piano arrangement)
          Grateful Dead Songbook Volume 2 (piano arrangement)
          Without A Net Songbook (piano arrangement)
          Very Best Of The Grateful Dead (guitar TAB)
          Garcia/Hunter Songbook (vocal line and chords/TAB)

 


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