Loser

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

If I had a gun for every ace that I had drawn
I could arm a town the size of Abilene
Don't you push me baby, 'cause I'm moaning low
And you know I'm only in it for the gold

All that I am asking for is ten gold dollars (note 1)
And I could pay you back with one good hand
You can look around at the wide world over
But you'll never find another honest man

Last fair deal in the country, sweet Susie (note 2)
Last fair deal in the town
Put your gold money where your love is baby
Before you let my deal go down

Don't you push me baby, 'cause I'm moaning low
Well I know a little something you won't ever know
Don't you touch hard liquor, just a cup of cold coffee
Gonna get up in the morning and go

Everybody's bragging and drinking that wine
I can tell the Queen of Diamonds by the way she shines
Come to daddy on an inside straight
Well I got no chance of losing this time
Well I got no chance of losing this time
Notes
(1) at some point, this changed from "one gold dollar" - inflation!
(2) after a while, Garcia dropped "sweet Susie" from this line, though he occasionally seemed to forget and bring it back again! It rarely appears after 1972, but instances are 5/14/74, 6/18/74 and 1/10/79.

Grateful Dead & Jerry Garcia Recordings
     Date Album
     18 Feb 1971 American Beauty (50th Anniversary Edition) (note 9)
     19 Feb 1971 Three From The Vault
     21 Feb 1971 Workingman's Dead (50th Anniversary Edition)
     18 Mar 1971 30 Trips Around The Sun
     13 Apr 1971 Dave's Picks Volume 51
     28 Apr 1971 Ladies And Gentlemen ... The Grateful Dead
     24 Aug 1971 Dick's Picks Vol 35
     22 Oct 1971 Dave's Picks Volume 3
     26 Oct 1971 Download Series Vol 3
     31 Oct 1971 30 Days Of The Dead (2018)
     14 Nov 1971 30 Days Of The Dead (2020)
     15 Nov 1971 Road Trips Number 3, Volume 2
      6 Dec 1971 Dave's Picks Volume 22 (bonus disc)
     10 Dec 1971 Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
     14 Dec 1971 Dave's Picks Volume 26
     studio 1972 Garcia (note 3)
     studio 1972 Garcia (alternate take) (note 4)
     26 Mar 1972 Dave's Picks Vol 14
      7 Apr 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     14 Apr 1972 Europe '72: Vol. 2 (note 5)
     16 Apr 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     24 Apr 1972 Rockin' The Rhein (note 5)
     26 Apr 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     29 Apr 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     10 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     13 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     26 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     21 Jul 1972 Download Series Vol 10
     25 Aug 1972 Dave's Picks Volume 24
     9 Sep 1972 Dave's Picks Volume 46
     17 Sep 1972 Dick's Picks Vol 23
     21 Sep 1972 Dick's Picks Vol 36
     24 Sep 1972 30 Trips Around The Sun
     18 Oct 1972 Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
     26 Feb 1973 Dick's Picks Vol 28
     24 Mar 1973 Dave's Picks Volume 32
     28 Mar 1973 Dave's Picks Volume 16
     13 May 1973 Here Comes Sunshine
     20 May 1973 Here Comes Sunshine
     26 May 1973 Here Comes Sunshine
      9 Jun 1973 Here Comes Sunshine
     24 Jun 1973 Pacific Northwest '73-'74
     26 Jun 1973 Pacific Northwest '73-'74
     29 Oct 1973 Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
     10 Nov 1973 Winterland 1973 - The Complete Recordings
     24 Feb 1974 Dave's Picks Volume 13
     14 May 1974 Dave's Picks Volume 9
     24 Sep 1976 Dave's Picks Vol 4
     25 Sep 1976 Dick's Picks Vol 20
      3 Oct 1976 30 Trips Around The Sun
     10 Oct 1976 Dick's Picks Vol 33
      8 May 1977 May 1977: Get Shown The Light Box
     11 May 1977 May 1977 Box Set
     19 May 1977 Dick's Picks Vol 29
     25 May 1977 Dave's Picks Volume 1
      9 Jun 1977 Winterland June 1977 - The Complete Recordings
      3 Sep 1977 Dick's Picks Vol 15
     14 Oct 1977 Road Trips Volume 1, Number 2
     29 Oct 1977 Dave's Picks Vol 33
     29 Dec 1977 Dick's Picks Vol 10
     31 Dec 1977 30 Days Of The Dead (2019)
      7 Apr 1978 Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
     12 Apr 1978 Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
     11 May 1978 Dick's Picks Vol 25
      3 Jul 1978 July 1978: The Complete Recordings
      4 May 1979 Live At The Coliseum
      6 May 1980 Road Trips Volume 3, Number 4
     11 Oct 1980 Dead Set
     30 Nov 1980 Dave's Picks Volume 8
     21 Sep 1982 In And Out Of The Garden
     11 Oct 1983 In And Out Of The Garden
     21 Oct 1983 30 Trips Around The Sun
     24 Jun 1985 30 Trips Around The Sun
     12 Jun 1987 Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991 Boxed Set
      7 Jul 1989 Crimson, White and Indigo (DVD & CD)
     16 Mar 1990 Spring 1990
     24 Mar 1990 Spring 1990 (note 7)
 
Bob Weir Recordings
     25 Apr 2001 Live At The Roseland Ratdog
 
(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 No Regrets Danny Carnahan & Robin Petrie
      1993 Kerosene Hat Cracker
      1994 Warriors: KFOG Jam Cracker   (note 6)
      May 1999 Furthur Most Bruce Hornsby
      2001 Pickin' On Jerry Garcia David West et al
      1 Jul 2005 Live: Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO Gov't Mule   (note 8)
      2005 Grass Keller and The Keels
      2006 Here In California Dave Alvin
     2008 Ithica 30 Years Later Dark Star Orchestra
     2008 Fennario: Songs by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter Emory Joseph
     2009 Acoustic Sessions, Vol. 1 Real Eyes
     2009 Acoustic Sessions Vol 1 Real Eyes
      4 Sep 2010 House Concert, Club Meg, Missoula, MT David Gans
     2010 Songs Of The Grateful Dead Jesse McReynolds
     2010 Simply Tony Tony Tale
     2012 A Word Child Susan Kane
     2012 Solid Damia Timoner
     2013 Rocky Mountain Honky Tonk Haden Wofford & The Hi-Beams
     2015 Punk Is Dead Punk Is Dead
     2015 It's A Hand-Me-Down David Gans
     14 May 2015 Dear Jerry: Celebrating The Music Of Jerry Garcia moe.
     2015 Songs Of Their Own Albino Dirt
      4 Jul 2015 Mountain Jam, Hunter, NY moe.   (note 8)
     2015 The Promised Land Sagol 59 & Ami Yares
     2015 A Grand Piano Tribute to the Grateful Dead Rob Catterton
     2016 Day Of The Dead Ed Droste, Binki Shapiro & Friends
     2018 The Travellin' McCourys The Travellin' McCourys
     2021 Jerry's Smilin': Guitar Tribute To The Grateful Dead Damià Timoner
     2021 Grateful Deadication David McMurray   (note 10)
     2021 Tempting Fate Carolyn Wonderland
     2024 Grateful: The Music Plays The Band Michael James Wheeler

Notes
(3) also on the compilation The Best Of Jerry Garcia
(4) bonus track on the version of the album reissued in the box set All Good Things.
(5) also on the box set Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
(6) this is a live version, not the studio version recorded on "Kerosene Hat"
(7) also on the compilation So Glad You Made It
(8) The list above includes only one illustrative example of the series of live recordings by these bands. For a full list see the Grateful Dead Family Discography.
(9) also included in 30 Days Of The Dead (2016)
(10) featuring Bettye LaVette & Bob Weir and Wolf Bros


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)
          Garcia Songbook (piano arrangement)
          Garcia/Hunter Songbook (vocal line and chords/TAB)

 


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