Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia
When they come to take you downNotes
When they bring that wagon round
When they come to call on you
And drag your poor body down
Chorus
Just one thing I ask of you
Just one thing for me
Please forget you knew my name
My darling, Sugaree (note a)
Shake it, shake it, Sugaree
Just don't tell them that you know me
Shake it, shake it, Sugaree
Just don't tell them that you know me
You thought you was the cool fool
And never would do no wrong
You had everything sewed up tight
How come you lay awake all night long
[chorus]
Well in spite of all you gained
You still have to stand out in the pouring rain
One last voice is calling you (note b)
And I guess it's time you go
[chorus]
Well shake it up now, Sugaree
I'll meet you at the jubilee
And if that jubilee don't come
Maybe I'll meet you on the run
[chorus]
"Sugaree was written soon after I moved from the Garcia household to China Camp. People assume the idea was cadged from Elizabeth Cotten's Sugaree, but, in fact, the song was originally titled 'Stingaree,' which is a poisonous South Sea manta. The phrase 'just don't tell them that you know me' was prompted by something said by an associate in my pre-Dead days when my destitute circumstances found me fraternizing with a gang of minor criminals. What he said, when departing, was: 'Hold your mud and don't mention my name.'(b) in the alternate take on the re-issued CD "Garcia" Jerry sings something like "Big [more] trombone is calling you".
"Why change the title to 'Sugaree'? Just thought it sounded better that way, made the addressee seem more hard-bitten to bear a sugar-coated name. The song, as I imagined it, is addressed to a pimp. And yes, I knew Libba's song, and did indeed borrow the new name from her, suggested by the 'Shake it' refrain."
Grateful Dead Recordings | |||||
Date | Album | ||||
7 Aug 1971 | Dick's Picks Vol 35 | ||||
23 Aug 1971 | Road Trips Number 1, Volume 3 | ||||
22 Oct 1971 | Dave's Picks Volume 3 | ||||
26 Oct 1971 | Download Series Vol 3 | ||||
14 Nov 1971 | Road Trips Number 3, Volume 2 (bonus disc) | ||||
17 Nov 1971 | Dave's Picks Volume 26 | ||||
20 Nov 1971 | Dave's Picks Volume 48 | ||||
7 Dec 1971 | Dave's Picks Volume 22 | ||||
9 Dec 1971 | Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73 | ||||
10 Dec 1971 | Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73 | ||||
14 Dec 1971 | Dave's Picks Volume 26 | ||||
28 Mar 1972 | Dick's Picks Vol 30 | ||||
7 Apr 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
11 Apr 1972 | Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72 (note 8) | ||||
16 Apr 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
17 Apr 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
21 Apr 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
29 Apr 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
3 May 1972 | Europe '72: Vol. 2 (note 8) | ||||
11 May 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
13 May 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
16 May 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
18 May 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
23 May 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
26 May 1972 | Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
21 Jul 1972 | Download Series Vol 10 | ||||
27 Aug 1972 | Sunshine Daydream (CD only) | ||||
9 Sep 1972 | Dave's Picks Volume 46 | ||||
17 Sep 1972 | Dick's Picks Vol 23 | ||||
24 Sep 1972 | 30 Trips Around The Sun | ||||
17 Oct 1972 | Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73 | ||||
19 Oct 1972 | Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73 | ||||
17 Nov 1972 | Dave's Picks Volume 11 | ||||
28 Feb 1973 | Dick's Picks Vol 28 | ||||
13 May 1973 | Here Comes Sunshine | ||||
26 May 1973 | Here Comes Sunshine | ||||
9 Jun 1973 | Here Comes Sunshine | ||||
22 Jun 1973 | Pacific Northwest '73-'74 | ||||
24 Jun 1973 | Pacific Northwest '73-'74 | ||||
8 Sep 1973 | Dave's Picks Volume 38 | ||||
19 Oct 1973 | Dick's Picks Vol 19 | ||||
11 Nov 1973 | Winterland 1973 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
14 Nov 1973 | 30 Trips Around The Sun | ||||
21 Nov 1973 | Road Trips Volume 4, Number 3 | ||||
23 Feb 1974 | Dave's Picks Volume 42 | ||||
12 May 1974 | From The Mars Hotel (50th anniversary bonus disc) | ||||
17 May 1974 | Pacific Northwest '73-'74 | ||||
19 May 1974 | Pacific Northwest '73-'74 | ||||
29 Jul 1974 | Dave's Picks Volume 2 (Bonus disc) | ||||
18 Oct 1974 | Steal Your Face (note 1) | ||||
13 Aug 1975 | One From The Vault | ||||
10 Jun 1976 | June 1976 Box Set | ||||
11 Jun 1976 | June 1976 Box Set | ||||
15 Jun 1976 | June 1976 Box Set | ||||
18 Jun 1976 | Download Series Vol 4 | ||||
23 Jun 1976 | Dave's Picks Volume 28 | ||||
17 Jul 1976 | Dave's Picks Volume 18 | ||||
24 Sep 1976 | Dave's Picks Vol 4 | ||||
25 Sep 1976 | Dick's Picks Vol 20 | ||||
3 Oct 1976 | 30 Trips Around The Sun | ||||
9 Oct 1976 | Dick's Picks Vol 33 | ||||
26 Feb 1977 | Dave's Picks Volume 29 | ||||
29 Apr 1977 | Download Series Vol 1 | ||||
3 May 1977 | Dave's Picks Volume 50 | ||||
5 May 1977 | May 1977: Get Shown The Light Box | ||||
11 May 1977 | May 1977 Box Set | ||||
19 May 1977 | Dick's Picks Vol 29 | ||||
22 May 1977 | Dick's Picks Vol 3 | ||||
26 May 1977 | Dave's Picks Volume 41 | ||||
28 May 1977 | To Terrapin: Hartford '77 | ||||
8 Jun 1977 | Winterland June 1977 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
16 Oct 1977 | Road Trips Volume 1, Number 2 | ||||
29 Dec 1977 | Dick's Picks Vol 10 | ||||
7 Apr 1978 | Friend Of The Devils: April 1978 | ||||
18 Apr 1978 | Dave's Picks Vol 37 | ||||
6 May 1978 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2017) | ||||
5 Jul 1978 | July 1978: The Complete Recordings | ||||
28 Dec 1979 | Road Trips Vol 3, No 1 | ||||
26 Aug 1980 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2013) | ||||
13 Oct 1980 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2010) | ||||
26 Oct 1980 | Dead Set (note 2) | ||||
7 Aug 1982 | Dick's Picks Vol 32 | ||||
17 Oct 1983 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2012) | ||||
15 Oct 1984 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2022) | ||||
11 Apr 1987 | ONXRT: Live From The Archives, Vol. 4 (note 3) | ||||
18 Sep 1987 | 30 Trips Around The Sun | ||||
5 Apr 1988 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2019) | ||||
3 Jul 1988 | 30 Trips Around The Sun | ||||
1 Oct 1988 | (official YouTube video only) | ||||
12 Jul 1989 | RFK Stadium 1989 Box | ||||
15 Mar 1990 | Terrapin Station (Limited Edition) | ||||
3 Apr 1990 | Spring 1990 (The Other One) | ||||
27 Oct 1990 | 30 Trips Around The Sun | ||||
17 Mar 1991 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2020) | ||||
17 Jul 1998 | The Strange Remain (The Other Ones) | ||||
Jerry Garcia Recordings | |||||
Date | Album | Recorded By | |||
studio 1972 | Garcia | Jerry Garcia (note 4) | |||
studio 1972 | Garcia (alternate take) | Jerry Garcia (note 5) | |||
18 Nov 1975 | Jerry Garcia Collection, Volume 2: Let It Rock | Jerry Garcia Band | |||
21 May 1976 | Don't Let Go | Jerry Garcia Band | |||
13 Nov 1976 | Garcia Live Volume 17 | Jerry Garcia Band | |||
28 Feb 1980 | After Midnight | Jerry Garcia Band | |||
1 Mar 1980 | Garcia Live Volume 1 | Jerry Garcia Band | |||
(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 | |||
22 Oct 1990 | Save The Planet | Merl Saunders | |||
1995 | Still Having Fun | Merl Saunders | |||
1996 | Long Live The Dead | Billy And Terry Smith | |||
1997 | Fire On The Mountain Vol 2 | Reggae Celebrates The Grateful Dead (Gregory Isaacs) | |||
Aug 1999 | Gathering On The Mountain, Live Part 1 | Merl Saunders | |||
2000 | Picking On The Grateful Dead Vol 2 | David West et al | |||
2000 | The Grass Is Dead | Crazy Fingers | |||
2000 | Wake The Dead | Danny Carnahan et al | |||
2000 | Might As Well | The Persuasions (note 9) | |||
2000 | Live At The Wetlands | Soulfarm | |||
2001 | Pickin' On Jerry Garcia | David West et al | |||
2001 | Live From Berkeley | Wake The Dead (note 6) | |||
2001 | Live At Twenty North | Jake's Leg | |||
2002 | It Was Hot | Greta Gaines | |||
24 Jul 2002 | Live: Westbury, NY | Bruce Hornsby (note 11) | |||
2003 | Grateful Guitar | David Cullen | |||
2004 | Live From Austin, TX | Susan Tedeschi (note 10) | |||
2004 | Your Country | Graham Parker (note 7) | |||
2005 | Jerry Jams, Jerry Cares | Soulfarm | |||
20 May 2005 | Live At The Sweetwater Saloon | Mark Karan's Buds | |||
8 Oct 2005 | Live: Suede, Park City, UT | Gov't Mule (note 11) | |||
1 Aug 2006 | Jerry Jams for Rex | The Black Crowes | |||
15 Dec 2006 | Live Butter, Petaluma, CA | Hot Buttered Rum (note 11) | |||
2 Nov 2007 | IMAC, Huntingdon, NY | Moonalice | |||
5 Jul 2008 | Owsley's Golden Road, Denver, CO | Puja | |||
2008 | Fennario: Songs by Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter | Emory Joseph | |||
2009 | Katie Wilson | Katie Wilson | |||
28 Mar 2009 | Live, Beacon Theater | Allman Brothers Band (with Bob Weir and Phil Lesh) | |||
2011 | Dirty Old World | Saints & Sinners | |||
2011 | Iron Shore | Gene Clemetson | |||
2012 | In The Middle Of Somewhere | Eliot Chamberlain | |||
2012 | Live At The Red Parka Pub | The Gravel Project | |||
12 Jul 2012 | Live At The Iridium | Donna Jean Godchaux Band | |||
2011 | Live At The 2011 Wanee Music Festival | Melvin Seals and JGB | |||
17 Apr 2011 | Live: Visalia, CA | Chris Robinson Brotherhood (note 11) | |||
2013 | The Grateful EP | Jackie Greene | |||
7 Dec 2013 | Dos | Grateful Grass | |||
7 Feb 2014 | The Capitol Theatre, Port Chester, NY | moe. | |||
2015 | Twangin' The Dead | Matt Rae | |||
14 May 2015 | Dear Jerry: Celebrating The Music Of Jerry Garcia | Jorma Kaukonen | |||
20 Jun 2015 | Live: San Rafael, CA | Reid Genauer | |||
26 Sep 2015 | Live: Woodstock, NY | Jackie Greene (note 11) | |||
2015 | The Promised Land | Sagol 59 & Ami Yares | |||
2015 | Songs Of Their Own | Jackie Greene | |||
2016 | Day Of The Dead | Phosphorescent, Jenny Lewis & Friends | |||
2016 | Dead Giveaway | Be Gulls | |||
2018 | Grateful Dub | Roots of Creation | |||
2018 | How Long | Steven Graves | |||
31 Dec 2018 | Rising Up To Paradise | Big Swell | |||
2024 | Grateful: The Music Plays The Band | Brown Eyed Women |
After "Your Country" (my new CD which contains said Garcia cover) was released, a friend who happens to be a Deadhead pointed out in barely concealed disgruntlement that I had sung the word "raygun" in the first verse when the word is actually "wagon," thus pretty much destroying the entire meaning of the number! Oh well, happens with most of the covers of my stuff, so I guess it was my turn screw with the writers' heads, one of whom - a bloke named Hunter I believe - may well be still alive (although Jerry most certainly is not).(8) also on the box set Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings