I Know You Rider

Lyrics: Traditional
Music: Traditional

Played from the very earliest days of the Dead to the last. More recently played by The Other Ones, by Bob Weir with Ratdog, and by Phil & Friends. Almost invariably seguing out of China Cat Sunflower.

Chorus
I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
Gonna miss your baby, from rolling in your arms

[verse 1]
Lay down last night, Lord, I could not take my rest
Lay down last night, Lord, I could not take my rest
My mind was wandering like the wild geese in the West

[verse 2]
The sun will shine in my back door some day
The sun will shine in my back door some day
March winds will blow all my troubles away

[verse 3]
I wish I was a headlight on a north-bound train
I wish I was a headlight on a north-bound train
I'd shine my light through the cool Colorado rain

[chorus]

[chorus]
Early versions also included the following verse
[verse 4]
I'd rather drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log
I'd rather drink muddy water, sleep in a hollow log
Than stay here in Frisco, be treated like a dog
The pattern of verses above emerged from around 1970. Earlier versions were as follows: (thanks to Eric Levy for his research):
Warlocks demo, 1965 and Scorpio sessions, 1966:
Chorus, Verse 1, Chorus, Chorus
1966 live version:
Chorus, Verse 1, Verse 3, Verse 4, Verse 2, Chorus
Nov 1969 live version:
Chorus, Verse 1, Verse 2, Chorus, Chorus
Feb 1970 live version:
Chorus, Verse 1, Verse 2, Verse 3, Chorus, Chorus
May 1970 live acoustic version:
Chorus, Verse 1, Verse 2, Verse 3, Chorus, Verse 4, Chorus

In the very early versions, they all sang the verses together, but up until the 1975 break it then settled into all singing verses 1 and 2 and Garcia singing verse 3. In 1979, Weir sang verse 1, all sang verse 2 and Garcia sang verse 3. But soon after it settled into all singing verse 1, Weir singing verse 2 and Garcia singing verse 3.

Grateful Dead Recordings
 
Phil Lesh and Friends Recordings
     18 May 2006 Live At The Warfield

Related Recordings


Roots
Some of the lines is this song, such as "Sun gonna shine in my back door someday" date back a long way. But it seems that the song as we know it has its origins in a version included in Alan Lomax's book "American Ballads and Folk Songs" in 1934. The notes to the song say "An eighteen-year old black girl, in prison for murder, sang the song and the first stanza of these blues." Alan Lomax retained that stanza and added a number of floating verses from other sources, naming it 'Woman Blue.' (see below)

Thanks to Eric Levy for discovering that Lomax's original recording is available on the Lomax Digital Archive. This is under the title "Prison Rider Blues" and, as Lomax says, includes at the end the first verse of "I Know You Rider":
... Rider where have you been so long?
Oh Rider Rider Rider Rider where have you been so long?
I ain't had no lovin', baby, Rider since you been gone

I'm-a wake up in the mornin' baby 'n I ain't gonna say a word
I'm-a wake up in the mornin' baby 'n I ain't gonna say a word
I'm-a eat my breakfast baby over in sweet [of] Hattiesburg

Babe that little bell keeps a-ringin' and that little bell she sadly tones
[Yeah] that big bell keep a-ringin' and little bell she silently tones
Yeah I'm-a lonely lonely lonely now I'm a long way from home

I know you Rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know you Rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
You gonna miss your little mama, baby, from rollin' in your arms
Caleb Kennedy's Grateful Dead Guide has a comprehensive history of "I Know You Rider". Thanks to him for discovering that this wasn't an unrecorded traditional folk blues but that she was in fact singing the verses of a recent local hit record - "No Special Rider Blues," by Little Brother Montgomery. That had a few more verses:
Now, rider, rider, rider, mama, where you been so long
Now, rider, rider, [brown], Lord, where you been so long
I ain't had no lovin', mama, since you been gone

And I hate, hate to hear, hear the little Katy, when she blows
Lord, I hate to hear the little Katy when she blows
Puts me on a [wander], mama, makes me want to go

I can't see, see no train, can't hear no whistle blow
Lord, I can't see no train, neither hear no whistle blow
Now it keeps me wandering, from the wander to the door

Now, mama, I ain't got no plumb good rider now
Lord, I ain't got no plumb good rider now
Now, it seem like my rider, tryin' to quit me anyhow

Now, the big bell, the bell is ringin', and the little bell sadly tone
Lord, the big bell's ringin', the little bell, she sadly tones
Mama, and I'm lonely, lonely, lone, a long, long way from home

Goin' to get up, get up in the mornin', mama, and I ain't gon' say a word
Gonna get up in the mornin', Lord, I ain't gon' say a word
Gonna eat my breakfast and sling to Hattiesburg

Lord, I know you, gonna miss me when I'm gone
Lord, I know you, gonna miss me when I'm gone
Gonna miss your baby, from rollin' in your arms

Credit for the resurrecting the song from the Alan Lomax book is claimed by Bob Coltman. He says:
"I resurrected and debuted the song. I followed the tune given in Lomax, roughly but not exactly, changed the song from a woman's to a man's viewpoint, dropped two verses, and was its first arranger, voice and guitar in a heavy drag downbeat, sort of an early folk-rock sound.

"I sang it a lot in folk circles around Philadelphia, in concerts, around Boston, mostly at the legendary Old Joe Clarke's, and in Dartmouth Outing Club hiker/climber/skier circles, which took me around New York State and New England circa 1957-60. I also sang it in the west, in Wyoming/Tetons "Teton Tea Parties" and on the West Coast, especially in San Francisco and Los Angeles, late summer-early fall '59. Then I went in the Army (sorta like prison) and everything went on hold."
Harry Tuft has has added to this:
I learned it from Bob Coltman from a tape made at a party at my home outside Phla. in the summer of 1958. Bob and I were classmates at Dartmouth and met through the folksong club there. I sang it around Phila., taught it to Tossi Aaron, and when journeying" to New York I met Karen Dalton at Dick's apartment, I taught it to her. Then I taught it to John Phillips at the time when the Journeymen were forming, rehearsing at Dick's. I believe that they learned it and sang it, although it never made it to a recording. Then it traveled one of two ways: Through the Seldom Scene who would have heard the Journeymen at the Cellar Door or the Shadows in D.C. It might also have been heard by Jerry Garcia when the Journeymen were in the Bay area. In Colorado I taught it to Judy Roderick, who adapted it and combined it with another blues song with similar lyrics. The rest is history.
This is the song as it appears in Alan Lomax's book:
WOMAN BLUE

"Great Gawd, I'm feelin' bad!
Ain' got de man I thought I had."
     --From The American Songbag.

An eighteen-year-old black girl, in prison for murder, sang the tune and first stanza of these blues.

[verse 1]
I know you, rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know you, rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
Gonna miss yo' li'l mama, baby, f'um rollin' in yo' arms

[verse 2]
I's going' down de road where I get better care
I's going' down de road where I get better care
I b'lieve I'll go, baby, I don' feel welcome here

[verse 3]
An' I laid right down and tried to take my res'
An' I laid right down and tried to take my res'
But my min' kep' ramblin' like the wil' geese in de Wes'

[verse 4]
Did you ever wake up and fin' yo' rier gone?
Did you ever wake up and fin' yo' rier gone?
Put you on a wonder, wish you never had been bo'n

[verse 5]
I knows my baby, he's boun' to love me some
I knows my baby, he's boun' to love me some
He throws his arms aroun' me like a circle 'roun' de sun

[verse 6]
Jes' as sure as de birds fly in de sky above
Jes' as sure as de birds fly in de sky above
Life ain' worth livin', honey, ain' wid de man you love

[verse 7]
I'm goin' to de river, set down on a log
I'm goin' to de river, set down on a log
Ef I can' be yo' woman, sho gonna be yo' dog

[verse 8]
Take me back, take me back, baby
Take me back, take me back, baby
I won' do nothin' you don' lak, baby

[verse 9]
I'll cut yo' wood, I'll make yo' fire
I'll cut yo' wood, I'll make yo' fire
I'll tote yo' water f'um de Fresno bar

[verse 10]
De sun gwine shine in my back do' some day
De sun gwine shine in my back do' some day
De win' gwine rise, baby, an' blow my blues away

The Grateful Dead verses relate as follows:
     I know you rider ... Lomax verse 1
     Lay down last night ... Lomax verse 3
     The sun will shine ... Lomax verse 10
     Wish I was a headlight ... Non-Lomax verse (but see below for reference in "Easy Rider")
     I'd rather drink muddy water ... Lomax verse 7

Bob Coltman's version has much more of the Lomax version, but re-arranges the order of the verses, and changes the lyrics slightly:
[Lomax verse 1]
I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
Gonna miss your man, baby, from rollin' in your arms

[Lomax verse 3]
I laid down last night, babe, tried to take my rest
I laid down last night, babe, tried to take my rest
But my mind kept ramblin' like wild geese in the west

[Lomax verse 5]
I know my woman bound to love me some
I know my woman bound to love me some
'Cause she throws her arms round me like a circle round the sun

[Lomax verse 7]
I'm goin' down to the river, set down on a log
I'm goin' down to the river, set down on a log
If I can't be your man, honey, sure won't be your dog

[Lomax verse 9]
I cut your wood, baby, and I made your fire
I cut your wood, baby, and I made your fire
I tote your liquor babe, from the Fresno Bar

[Lomax verse 6]
Just as sure as the birds fly high in the sky above
Just as sure as the birds fly high in the sky above
Life ain't worth livin' if you ain't with the one you love

[Lomax verse 2]
I'm goin' down the road, get some better care
I'm goin' down the road, get some better care
I'm goin' back to my used-to-be rider, for I don't feel welcome here

[Lomax verse 10]
Sun gonna shine in my back door some day
Sun gonna shine in my back door some day
Wind gonna rise up, blow my blues away

[note: misses Lomax verses 4 and 8]
Harry Taft's memory of Bob Coltman's version is slightly different:
Lomax verse 1]
I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
Gonna miss your man, baby, from rollin' in your arms

[Lomax verse 3]
I laid down last night, babe, tried to take my rest
I laid down last night, babe, tried to take my rest
But my mind kept ramblin' like wild geese in the west

[modified Lomax verse 7]
Loving you baby is just as easy as rolling off a log
Loving you baby is just as easy as rolling off a log
If I can't be your man, I'm sure gonna be your dog

[Lomax verse 9]
I'll cut your wood, baby, I'll tend your fire
I'll cut your wood, baby, I'll tend your fire
I tote your water, babe, from the Fresno Bar

[mostly non-Lomax verse]
I'm going down to the river, set in my rocking chair
I'm going down to the river, set in my rocking chair
If the blues don't get me, gonna rock all away from here

[Lomax verse 10]
The sun's gonna shine in my back door some day
The sun's gonna shine in my back door some day
The wind's gonna rise up, blow all my blues away
The song spread widely round folk circles and then into the wider rock scene: a list of early recordings is as follows (thanks to Matt Schofield, Caleb Kennedy and Eric Levy for help with this):
Date Recorded by Title Album
1960 Joan Baez I Know You Rider Joan Baez (note a)
1961 Tossi Aaron I Know You Rider Tossi Sings Folk Songs and Ballads
1961 David Gude I Love My Baby New Folks (note b)
1962 Esther Halpern I Know You Rider Esther Halpern Sings From The Gilded Cage
1962 Martha Gerenbeck I Know You Rider Green Trees and Blue Water (note b)
1963 Judy Henske I Know You Rider Judy Henske
1963 The Kingston Trio Rider Sunny Side!
1963 The Big 3 Rider The Big 3
1963 The Outsiders Gonna Miss Your Lovin' Papa Cheer Me Up Lads
1964 The Serendipity Singers Rider Take Your Shoes Off
1964 Carol Hedin I Know You Rider Devil Take Me With You
1964 Alice Stewart Woman Blue All The Good Times (note c)
1964 Vince Martin and Fred Neil I Know You Rider Tear Down The Walls
1964 Gale Garnett I Know You Rider My Kind Of Folk Songs
1965 Judy Roderick Woman Blue Woman Blue
1965 Jim & Jean Rider Jim & Jean
1965 The Grateful Dead I Know You Rider Birth of the Dead (demo)
1966 The Byrds I Know My Rider Fifth Dimension (note d)
1966 Big Brother and the Holding Company I Know You Rider Big Brother and the Holding Company Live (note e)
1966 The Everpresent Fullness Rider The Everpresent Fullness
1966 John Renbourn I Know You Rider Another Monday
1967 The Astronauts I Know You Rider Travelin' Men
1967 The Indefinite Four I Know You Rider Do As They Say
1968 The Rose Garden Rider The Rose Garden
1968 James Taylor Circle Round The Sun James Taylor
1970 Hot Tuna Know You Rider Hot Tuna
1971 Mountain Bus I Know You Rider Sundance
1973 Seldom Scene Rider Act 3

Notes
(a) released as a bonus track on 2001 re-issue
(b) thanks to Eric Levy for tracking these two recordings down
(c) released as a bonus track on 2002 re-issue
(d) released as a bonus track on 1996 re-issue
(e) 1966 live recording released in 1984
(f) David Crosby is said to have recorded a version in 1963 for a solo album produced by Jim Dickson, but that doesn't seem to have been released

Harry Tuft explained the way the tune of the song developed:
"My version from Bob [Coltman] was very simple - three chords. That was the version I sang when sitting around in Dick Weissman's appartment in maybe the summer of 1960 when Dick was working with John Phillips and Scott McKenzie to start the Journeymen. ... John had that gift of arrangement and so from that very simple straightforward one he just added a few chords. That really made all the difference. And it's the fact that he added those chords to what is now the way the song is sung today that really is the proof that this was the lineage of I Know You Rider."

Tossi Aaron's and Judy Roderick's versions use the original Bob Coltman version of the tune, no doubt reflecting the fact that Harry Tuft says they learnt the song from him. Joan Baez also uses that version, though it's not clear where she learnt it from. All the other recordings (including the Grateful Dead's) use the John Phillips version. It seems likely that must have spread through performances by The Journeymen, though rather frustratingly there's no evidence I can find of them playing it.

The various recordings have multiple variations on the lyrics. Caleb Kennedy's piece I Know You Rider Lyric Variations has a comprehensive list. He also in his piece The Origins of I Know You Rider 1930-1965 has some interesting research on the way the lyrics draw on verses and phrases from other songs of the period or even earlier.

Before he'd written that I'd set out some of the different lyrics below.

Joan Baez's version in 1960 seems to have been the first recording:
[Lomax verse 1]
I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know you rider you're gonna miss me when I'm gone
Gonna miss your pretty mama from rollin' in your arms

[Lomax verse 5]
I love you rider and I know you must love me some
I love you rider and I know you must love me some
You put your arms around me like a circle 'round the sun

[Lomax verse 3]
I lay down last night and I tried to take my rest
I lay down last night and I tried to take my rest
My heart was a-ramblin' like wild geese in the West

[Lomax verse 7]
Goin' to the river I'm gonna sit down on the log
I'm goin' to the river I'm gonna sit down on the log
If I can't be your honey, well I'll sure gonna be your dog

[Lomax verse 10]
Sun's gonna shine in my back yard someday
Sun's gonna shine in my back yard someday
The West wind's gonna rise up and blow my blues away
Tossi Aaron also recorded a version in 1960:
[Lomax verse 1]
Well, I know you rider, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone
Oh yes, I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
Gonna miss your ever-loving mama, from rolling in your arms

[Lomax verse 2]
Well, I'm going down the road where I can get more decent care
Oh yes, I'm going down the road where I can get more decent care
Going back to my used-to-be rider, 'cause I don't feel welcome here

[Lomax verse 6]
Just as sure as the birds fly, fly in in the sky above
Just as sure as the birds fly, fly in in the sky above
Life ain't worth living when you ain't with the one you love

[Lomax verse 10]
But the sun's gonna shine in my backyard someday
Oh yes the sun's gonna shine in my backyard someday
And the wind's gonna rise up, and blow my blues away

[Lomax verse 1]
Well, I know you rider, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone
Yes, I know you rider, you're gonna miss me when I'm gone
Gonna miss your ever-loving mama, from rolling in your arms
Esther Halpern recorded it soon afterwards on her album "Esther Halpern Sings From The Gilded Cage". It is very likely that she learnt it from Tossi Aaron, since they were both founder members of the Philadelphia Folksong Society.

David Gude's version is based on Joan Baez's; they were friends and collaborators, so it's likely he learnt it from her. But he misses out the first verse ("I know you rider ...") and has some minor variations in the other verses:
I love my baby, and she's bound to love me some
I love my baby, and she's bound to love me some
She throws her arms around me like a circle round the sun

I lay down last night, trying to take my rest
I lay down last night, trying to take my rest
But my heart was meandering like wild geese in the west

I know that sun's gonna rise in my back yard someday
And the wind's gonna rise up and blow my blues away
The liner notes to Martha Gerenbeck's recording say she learnt the major portion from "Davy" Gude's recording on the New Folks album, though unlike David Gude she includes the "I know you rider ..." verse as well the "Goin' to the river I'm gonna sit down on the log" verse from Joan Baez's version. (thanks to Eric Levy for his research on David Gude and Martha Gerenbeck)

Another early version was Judy Henske in 1963, seemingly the first to use the John Phillips version of the tune, though it isn't clear where she would have got it from:
[Lomax verse 1]
I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
Gonna miss your sweet-lovin' woman rollin' in your arms

[Lomax verse 10]
Well the sun gonna shine 'round my back door some day
I said the sun's gonna shine 'round my back door some day
And the wind from the river's gonna blow my blues away

[Non-Lomax verse]
It takes a red-headed man to make a long-time woman feel bad
It takes a red-headed man to make a long-time woman feel bad
Oh it makes me remember 'bout that long slow rollin' I had

[Lomax verse 1]
I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know you rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
Gonna miss your sweet-lovin' woman rollin' in your arms
The Kingston Trio recorded a version in 1963:
Chorus
Well, I know you, Rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
Well, I know you, Rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
You're gonna miss your daddy rollin' in your arms

[Lomax verse 10]
Well, the sun's gonna shine on my back porch some day
I said, the sun's gonna shine on my back porch some day
Then the wind from the river's gonna blow all my troubles away

[chorus]

[Non-Lomax verse]
Well, I ain't got a nickel, no, I ain't got a lousy dime
Well, I ain't got a nickel, no, I ain't got a lousy dime
But I got a long way to go 'fore the end of my time

[chorus]

[Non-Lomax verse]
It takes a hard hearted woman to make a long time men feel bad
It takes a hard hearted woman to make a long time men feel bad
'Cause it makes him remember the long hard road that he's had

[chorus]
Mama Cass with "The Big Three" (her, Tim Rose and James Hendricks) recorded a version in 1963 under the title "Rider":
[Lomax verse 1]
I know my rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know my rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know she's gonna miss me from rolling in her arms

[Lomax verse 4]
Well did you ever wake up and found your rider gone?
Well did you ever wake up and found your rider gone?
Well put you on a wonder and wish you'd never been born

[Lomax verse 10]
Sun's gonna shine in my back door some day
Sun's gonna shine in my back door some day
Winds gonna rise and blow my blues away

[Lomax verse 9]
I'll build your fire, you know I'll cut your logs
I'll build your fire, you know I'll cut your logs
I'll be a loving baby but I ain't gonna be your dog

[Non-Lomax verse]
Well dawn's coming early, night's gonna fade away
I said dawn's coming early, night's gonna fade away
Ever see your rider coming, baby, 'bout the break of day

[Lomax verse 1]
I know my rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know my rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know she's gonna miss me from rolling in her arms

I know my rider gonna miss me when I'm gone
When I'm gone, when I'm gone
When I'm gone
The version recorded in 1964 by Carol Hedin is the same as Tossi Arnold's except it omits the "the sun's gonna shine in my backyard someday" verse and includes a verse not found in other versions:
Well it's been good times baby but there's better down the road
Been good times baby but there's better down the road
You taught my heart more blues Lord than it ever known
The version recorded in 1964 by Vince Martin and Fred Neil is:
[Lomax verse 1]
I say I know you rider miss me when I'm gone
I say I know you rider miss me when I'm gone
Won't have nobody now, mama, roll 'round in your sweet lovin' arms

[Lomax verse 7]
Lovin' you baby, easy as fallin' off a log
Lovin' you baby, easy as fallin' off a log
I can't make love to you, mama, ain't gonna hang around and be your dirty dog

[Non-Lomax verse]
Early one mornin', rider, and it won't be long
Early one mornin', rider, and it won't be long
You gonna call my name now, baby, sweet lovin' daddy gonna be long gone

[Lomax verse 1]
I say I know you rider miss me when I'm gone
I say I know you rider miss me when I'm gone
Won't have nobody now, mama, roll 'round in your sweet lovin' arms
Brent Wood in his book "The Tragic Odes of Jerry Garcia and the Grateful Dead" says:
"Neil's album with Vince Martin included 'Morning Dew' and a bluesy version of "Know You Rider" which caught the attention of Laird Grant, who passed it on to his friend Garcia. The folk-banjoist-turned-eledtric guitarist responded by revisiting the chord progression he had been using for 'Know You Rider' and developing a new arrangement for 'Morning Dew', both based on Neil's recording."
The influence of Fred Neil's recording of 'Morning Dew' is pretty clear. I can sort-of hear the influence of Neil's recording of 'Know You Rider' on Jerry Garcia's chord progression though the song sounds very different.

Judy Roderick recorded a version in 1965 under the title "Woman Blue":
[Lomax verse 1]
I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
Miss your loving woman from rolling in your arms

[Lomax verse 7]
Loving you baby is as easy as falling off a log
Loving you baby is as easy as falling off a log
[If] I can't be your woman, baby I'll be your dog

[Lomax verse 9]
I'd cut your wood and, baby, I'd tend your fire
I'd cut your wood and, baby, I'd tend your fire
I'd even haul your whiskey up from Fresno bar

[Lomax verse 3]
I lay down and I tried to take my rest
I lay down and I tried to take my rest
My mind it keeps rambling like wild geese in the west

[Lomax verse 10]
Sun's gonna shine on my back door someday
The sun's gonna shine on my back door someday
Wind is gonna rise, it's gonna blow my blues away

[Lomax verse 1]
I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
I know you rider, gonna miss me when I'm gone
Miss your loving woman from rolling in your arms
James Taylor recorded a version on his first album in 1968 under the title "Circle Round The Sun":
[Lomax verse 5]
Now, I love my baby, and she's bound to love me some
Yes, I love my baby, and she's bound to love me some
Now, she throws her arms around me just like a circle around the sun

[Lomax verse 3]
I lay down last night just to try to take my rest
I said I lay down last night, Lord, I was trying to take my rest
But my thoughts they just kept wandering just like them wild geese in the west

[Lomax verse 10]
Now I know that sunrise, sunrise, it's gonna shine in my back yard someday
I said I know that sunrise, sunrise, sunrise, it's gonna shine in my back yard someday
And that wind's just bound to rise up, gonna blow, blow all my blues away

[Lomax verse 5]
I love my baby and she's bound to love me some
Hear me say that I love my baby, and she's bound to love me some
Now, she throws her arms around me just like a circle around the sun

Lomax: Easy Rider
None of these versions have the "I wish I was a headlight" verse that the Grateful Dead sing. The Digital Tradition database included a version of Easy Rider from Alan Lomax's book with the verse:
If I was a headlight on some western train, Lawd, Lawd
I'd shine my light on cool Colorado Springs
I'd shine my light on cool Colorado Springs
Hey, hey, hey, hey
Very early recordings of Easy Rider (e.g. by Ma Rainey) don't include that verse. The earliest I have found that includes it is by Odetta on her 1957 album "Odetta Sings Ballads and Blues".

Other songs with the "headlight" verse
Another early recording to include a similar verse is the Kingston Trio's version of "Chilly Winds" from a live recording released in 1962 (thanks to Craig Morrison for pointing this out). It is credited to John Stewart and John Phillips, though their introduction describes (perhaps in jest) how they learnt it from a group in a San Francisco coffee house.
Wish I was a headlight on a west-bound train
I'd shine my light o'er cool Colorado rain
Out where them chilly winds don't blow
Other early recording are by Karen Dalton, also in 1962, under the title "Blues Jumped The Rabbit" and one by Judy Henske in 1964 titled "Blues Chase Up A Rabbit". Both those songs seem to derive from Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Rabbit Foot Blues" recorded in 1926, but that doesn't include the "wish I was a headlight" verse. It isn't clear to me where Karen Dalton (or Judy Henske) got it from, or indeed how it found its way into the Dead's version of I Know You Rider.

Karen Dalton's version:
Wish I was a headlight
On some western train
I'd shine my light
On cool Colorado rain
Judy Henske's version:
Oh I wish that I was a headlight
Shining on the eastbound train
I'd shine my little light
On cool Colorado rain
Other versions of "Blues Chase Up A Rabbit" have it slightly differently (and less like the Dead's version):
I wish I was a headlight
On some lonesome southbound train
I'd follow you baby
Wouldn't be back again
Note that between these versions and the Dead's, all the points of the compass are covered (north, south, east and west)!

The Seldom Scene version of I Know You Rider has identical lyrics to the Grateful Dead's version, including the verse "I wish I was a headlight on a north-bound train". But they were not formed until 1971, and didn't record it until 1973. And there's no evidence that their forerunners, such as The Country Gentlemen, played this song.

Craig Morrison tells me that the headlight verse has also been sung under the title "Cool Colorado" by various folk singers, including the folklorist Roger Abrahams on his 1962 LP "Make Me A Pallet On Your Floor And Other Folk Songs"

Note
Caleb Kennedy has found a 1926 recording of "Wartime Blues" by Blind Lemon Jefferson with the verse:
If I could shine my light like a headlight on some train
I would shine my light in Colorado Springs

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 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:
          Without A Net Songbook (piano arrangement)

 

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