Passenger

Lyrics: Peter Monk
Music: Phil Lesh

Music by Phil Lesh but sung by Bob Weir and Donna Godchaux.

Firefly
Can you see me?
Shine on, glowing
Brief and brightly

Could you imagine (note 1)
One summer day
That same night
Be on your way

Do you remember?
Hearts were too cold
Seasons had frozen us (note 2)
Into our souls

People were saying
The whole world is burning
Ashes were scattered
Too hard to turn (note 3)

Chorus
Upside out
Or inside down
False alarm, the only game in town
No man's land, the only game in town (note 4)
Terrible, the only game in town

Passenger
Don't you hear me?
Destination
Seen unclearly

What is a man
Deep down inside
But a raging beast
With nothing to hide

[chorus]

Out-takes from the Terrapin Station album sessions reveal that when the song was being developed, the lyrics after the first chorus were sung in a different order and included additional verses:

Jet plane shadows
Under the sky
Just like the elephant
Planning to die

What is a man
Deep down inside
But a raging beast
With nothing to hide

[chorus]

Passenger
Don't you hear me?
Destination
Seen unclearly

Ask me no questions
Sing you no names
No more mysteries
Simple games

When Dead & Company played this at Bonnaroo on 12 June 2016 they included the two additional verses above, though with some variations in the second one. This is also what Bob Weir sang in 2017 with the Campfire Band (thanks to Kerry for pointing this out):

Jet plane shadows
Under the sky
Just like an elephant
Planning to die (note 5)

Ask me no questions
Sing you no lies
One more whiskey
Or a kiss is goodbye

Notes
(1) it sounds to me as if this line may sung as be "Can you measure"
(2) Ted Syrett suggests this couplet should be "Seasons had frozen ice into our souls" - that would fit well and it sounds as if it's what the Dead sing in the recording on "Dead Set." But earler recordings definitely sound like "Seasons had frozen us" as in the sheet music - and Larry Bingo says it's definitely "us" not "ice" in the version on Terrapin Station.
(3) this is the line in the sheet music, but I'm not sure it's right. It sounds more like "Too far in to turn"
(4) Ted Syrett suggests that on Dead Set, these two lines are sung as "You and I, the only game in town/Now we're the only game in town." I'm not sure I hear that, but it's an interesting variation.
(5) Gene Baran points out that with Wolf Bros, Bob Weir sings "Fixin' to die" (and "Pour me one more whiskey" in the next verse).

Grateful Dead Recordings
	Date	Album
	Studio 1977	Terrapin Station (note a)
	15 May 1977	May 1977 Box Set
	17 May 1977	May 1977 Box Set
	19 May 1977	Dick's Picks Vol 29 (note b)
	21 May 1977	Dick's Picks Vol 29
	26 May 1977	Dave's Picks Volume 41 (note c)
	28 May 1977	To Terrapin: Hartford '77
	8 Jun 1977	Winterland June 1977 - The Complete Recordings
	1 Oct 1977	Dave's Picks Volume 45
	7 Oct 1977	30 Days Of The Dead (2019)
	6 Nov 1977	Dave's Picks Volume 25
	5 Feb 1978	Dick's Picks Vol 18
	6 Apr 1978	Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
	10 Apr 1978	Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
	15 Apr 1978	Dave's Picks Volume 37
	24 Apr 1978	Dave's Picks Volume 7
	7 May 1978	30 Days Of The Dead (2016) (note d)
	7 Jul 1978	July 1978: The Complete Recordings
	21 Oct 1978	Road Trips Volume 1, Number 4 ("From Egypt With Love")
	4 May 1979	Live At The Coliseum
	7 May 1979	30 Days Of The Dead (2013)
	5 Nov 1979	Road Trips Full Show: Spectrum 11/5/79
	10 Nov 1979	Road Trips Volume 1, Number 1
	24 Nov 1979	30 Days Of The Dead (2014)
	11 Oct 1980	Dead Set
	28 Nov 1980	30 Trips Around The Sun
	26 Feb 1981	30 Days Of The Dead (2011)
	16 May 1981	30 Trips Around The Sun
	3 Jul 2015	Fare Thee Well (CD and DVD)

Phil Lesh and Friends Recordings
	Jan 2002	There And Back Again
	19 May 2006	Live At The Warfield

Other Recordings
	Date	Album	Recorded By
	1999	Terrapin	Joe Gallant & Illuminati
	2005	The 1000th Show	Dark Star Orchestra

Notes
(a) also on the compilation "The Arista Years"
(b) also included on the Best Of The Grateful Dead Hour. It was intended as a track on "So Many Roads (1965-1995)" but left off due to lack of space--though included on a sampler circulated to radio stations. It was for a while available as a free download from Amazon, but no longer seems to be.
(c) also released on 30 Days Of The Dead (2012)
(d) also released on 30 Days Of The Dead (2022)

Background
In an interview in issue 28 of Dupree's Diamond News, Phil Lesh said:

"What's weird about that song is I sort of did it as a joke. It's a take on a Fleetwood Mac tune called "Station Man." I just sort of sped it up and put some different chord changes in there..."

Fleetwood Mac's "Station Man" was included on their 1970 album "Kiln House" and it's certainly possible to hear the links to Passenger.

Station man
I've been waiting
Can you tell me
When we're leaving

Midnight train
Now is leaving
Engine screaming

Where I'm going I don't know
But you tell me I must go
When we're leaving I don't know
But you tell me now

I see it's coming
And bringing something
This train of loving
I see it's coming
I feel it's running
This train of loving
From ages past

Station man
I've been waiting
Can you tell me
When we're leaving

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)