King Solomon's Marbles

(Stronger Than Dirt/Milkin' The Turkey)

Lyrics: [none]
Music: Lesh, Hart, Kreutzmann

This is an instrumental on the "Blues For Allah" album. There are inconsistencies over titles and authorship of the various components.

The original "Blues For Allah" LP listed two tracks:

     -   King Solomon's Marbles (Lesh)
     -   Stronger Than Dirt Or Milkin' The Turkey (Hart, Kreutzmann, Lesh)

That is how Jesse Jarnow identified the two parts in the edition of Deadcast covering this track from the album. That does seem the best fit to the music, despite the confusion described below.

"Stronger Than Dirt" is a quote from an old Ajax commercial. Hank Harrison's "The Dead Book" reproduces a "handwriting sample" from Phil Lesh dating from 1962. It includes the words "Stronger Than Dirt" (in block capitals). The notes in the book say this "was an allusion to an Ajax scouring powder commercial of the day. Phil has mentioned that he often heard classical riffs in commercials and this is probably one of them."

The LP and subsequent re-releases give the timing of the first section as "(1:55)" even though the Stronger Than Dirt quote starts a little before that.

The original CD of "Blues For Allah" started the confusion about the titles and split of the tracks by listing them as:

     -   King Solomon's Marbles
        -   Part 1: Stronger Than Dirt
        -   Part 2: Milkin' The Turkey

This can't be right as the quote from the Ajax commercial comes some way into the track.

The CD doesn't say who wrote the music, though the "Grateful Dead Anthology II" songbook lists both Part 1 and Part 2 as by "Lesh-Hart-Kreutzmann". The re-released editions of the CD in the box set "Beyond Description" and in the 50th Anniversary edition both set out the tracks in the same way, and list "Stronger Than Dirt" by Lesh and "Milkin' The Turkey" by Hart/Kreutzmann/Lesh.

The "One From The Vault" CD just lists

     -   King Solomon's Marbles (Lesh)

but what is played is the full suite as on "Blues For Allah", including "Stronger Than Dirt".

The bonus disc with the box set "Beyond Description" lists it as part of a longer sequence

     -   Blues For Allah>Stronger Than Dirt (Or Milking' The Turkey)>Drums>Stronger Than Dirt (Or Milking' The Turkey)>Blues For Allah
     -   (with the Stronger Than Dirt sections credited to Hart/Kreutzmann/Lesh)

but what is played is in fact "King Solomon's Marbles" and doesn't include "Stronger Than Dirt".

That sequence was re-released as part of the 50th Anniversary Edition of Blues For Allah, with the same titles.

The 1975 CD in the box set "30 Trips Around The Sun" lists it as

     -   Stronger Than Dirt/Milkin' The Turkey (Hart/Kreutzmann/Lesh)

But what is played is the full suite as on "Blues For Allah" with both King Solomon's Marbles and Stronger Than Dirt.

David Fricke's essay in the "Beyond Description" booklet adds to the confusion. He refers to:

" the compact acid-fusion of "Milkin' The Turkey," the second part of the furious instrumental compound "King Solomon's Marbles" (a title erroneously listed on the label and back cover of the original vinyl Allah as an entirely separate piece)."

"Bassist Phil Lesh contributed the twisted rockin' bones on "Stronger than Dirt," the first half of "King Solomon's Marbles."