Lyrics: Grateful Dead
Music: Grateful Dead
This is not the same as the Frank Loesser song of the same name ("Standing on the corner, watching all the girls go by.") Nor with Blue Yodel #9 (which also starts "Standing On The Corner").
It was played a few times in 1966 but never taken forward.
The lyrics varied from version to version. This is the one on Birth Of The Dead:
I was standing on the corner, wondering what's become of meThis is the studio version on Rare Cuts And Oddities, with essentially the same verses but with the final two in reverse order:
I was standing on the corner, wondering what's become of me
Well things don't seem to be the way they used to seem to be
I think I'll go up on a mountain, I'll fling myself off into space
I think I'll go up on a mountain, I'll fling myself off into space
I'm not doing it because I'm desperate, I'm just trying to save some space
If you ask me what my name is, I'll just stop and scratch my head
If you ask me what my name is, I'll just stop and scratch my head
Well they took away my name and gave me a number instead
Well all the things I used to know, they seem so far behind
All the things I used to know seem so far behind
There's a lot of new things that are running around my mind
I was standing on the corner, wondering what's become of meThe version dated 23 Feb 1966 has the verses in the same order as Birth Of The Dead, but with the "gave away my name" variation.
I was standing on the corner, wondering what's become of me
Well things don't seem to be the way they used to seem to be
I think I'll go up on a mountain, I'll fling myself off into space
I think I'll go up on a mountain, I'll fling myself off into space
I'm not doing it because I'm desperate, I'm just trying to save some space
Well the things I used to know, I left them all behind
Well the things I used to know, I left them all behind
There's a lot of new things that are running round my mind
If you ask me what my name is, I'll just stop and scratch my head
If you ask me what my name is, I'll just stop and scratch my head
Well I gave away my name and took a number instead
I was standing on the corner, wondering what's become of me
I was standing on the corner, wondering what's become of me
Well things don't seem to be the way they used to seem to be
I think I'll go up on a mountain, I'll fling myself off into space
I think I'll go up on a mountain, I'll fling myself off into space
I'm not doing it because I'm desperate, I'm just trying to save some space
If you ask me what my name is, I'll just stop and scratch my head
If you ask me what my name is, I'll just stop and scratch my head
Well they took away my name and they gave me a number instead
If you ask me what I'm doing, I can't answer right
If you ask me what I'm doing, I can't answer right
Seems like nothin' ever changes, and nothing's gonna turn out right
Grateful Dead Recordings | |||||
Date | Album | ||||
studio 1966 | Rare Cuts And Oddities | ||||
23 Feb 1966 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2019) | ||||
live Jul 1966 | Birth Of The Dead (note 2) | ||||
29 Jul 1966 | The Grateful Dead: 50th Anniversary Edition |