Touch Of Grey

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

The Dead's most commercially successful song, debuted live in 1982 but not released until it was included on the In The Dark album in 1987.

It must be getting early
Clocks are running late
Paint by numbers morning sky
Looks so phony

Dawn is breaking everywhere (note a)
Light a candle, curse the glare
Draw the curtains, I don't care
'Cause it's alright

I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive

I see you got your list out (note e)
Say your piece and get out (note b)
Yes I got the gist of it
But it's alright

Sorry that you feel that way
The only thing there is to say
Every silver lining's got a
Touch of grey

It's a lesson to me
The Ables and the Bakers and the C's
The A B C's
We all must face
And try to keep a little grace (note f)

I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright

Cows are giving kerosene
The kid can't read at seventeen
The words he knows are all obscene (note c)
But it's alright

I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive

It's a lesson to me
The Deltas and the East and the Freeze
The A B C's
We all think of
And try to keep a little love

The shoe is on the hand it fits
There's really nothing much to it (note g)
Whistle through your teeth and spit (note d)
'Cause it's alright

Oh well a touch of grey
Kind of suits you anyway
That was all I had to say (note h)
And it's alright

I will get by
I will get by
I will get by
I will survive

We will get by
We will get by
We will get by
We will survive

Notes
(a) in an August 1980 performance, Hunter sang this verse as "Light a candle, curse the glare/As for me I couldn't care/ Gonna draw the curtains there/But it's alright
(b) the original lyrics were "Say your piece and piss off" but Hunter said that Jerry wanted him to change "piss off" to "get out" to give it a better chance at airplay (quoted by Bob Clinton in 'The Deadhead's Taping Companion Vol 2'). But it seems Jerry sang the original lyrics anyway on at least some occasions (eg 28 December 1982 and 18 March 1992 - thanks to Matt Carlson and Doug Reddick for these).
(c) in an early, solo, 1981 performance, Robert Hunter sang "His postcards are all obscene."
(d) as with the change from "piss off" to "get off", this line was also toned down from "Whistle through your teeth and shit"
(e) It sounds as if Weir/Mayer sang "I see you've got your fists out" with Dead & Company in 2016.
(f) In the studo rehearsal, Garcia sang "And try to do it with grace", as in the Hunter hand-written lyrics below.
(g) In the studo rehearsal, Garcia sang "That's all there really is to it"
(h) In the studo rehearsal, Garcia sang "That isn't all I had to say, but it's alright"

Hunter described the evolution of the song in his journal for 8 January 2006:

"Flipping through a green hardbound 1980 notebook I come upon a run of pages in which I discover "Touch of Grey" - dozens of verses that gradually fall away until the familiar ones emerge. As I read, I'm not otherwise than the person who wrote it down. It's the blear light of dawn after being up all night. I sit at the kitchen table in a 16th Century house in rural England, turning what I feel into images, awash in that writing trance in which I spent, and spend, so much of my life; a place that doesn't have much relationship to the nominal time stream. If I could slip back physically and change anything, perhaps I'd rip out those pages. No getting the genie back in the bottle."

Even this is bound to pass
Not the first, you're not the last
Fortune smiles then turns away
But it's OK

When it goes from bad to worse
Not the last, you're not the first
Today's tomorrow yesterday
So what's to say?

I will get by
I will get by
I will survive

It's a lesson to me
The Ables, the Bakers and C's
The ABC's of the fast ball curve
Trying not to lose your nerve

Robert Hunter's handwritten lyrics include some changes and one additional verse:

It must be getting early
The time is running late
Paint by numbers morning sky
It looks so phony

Dawn is breaking everywhere
As for me I couldn't care
I'll just pull the curtains there
It's all right

I see you got your list out
Say your piece and piss off
Yes I get the gist of it
But it's alright

Only thing that I can say
Sorry that you feel that way
Every silver lining has a
Touch of grey

I know the rent is in arrears
The dog has not been fed in years
It's even worse than it appears
But it's alright

The glove is on the hand it fits
That's all there really is to it
Whistle through my teeth and spit
'Cause it's alright

Modern saviours, saints and seers (note i)
A motley pack of Paul Reveres
Just keep on smiling through the tears
It's all right

It's all a lesson to me
The Ables and the Bakers and the C's
The A B C's
We got to face
Just try to do it with grace

The ABC's of the fast ball curve
Trying not to lose your nerve
The alphabet we all know of
Hold on to your love

(alternate chorus)
We can get on by
We can get on by
We can get on by
We will survive

Notes
(i) Robert Hunter sometimes sang this verse in solo performances in the early 1980s.

Grateful Dead Recordings
	Date	Album
	(studio) Aug 1982	In The Dark (note 1)
	20 Sep 1982	In And Out Of The Garden
	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
	3 Jul 1984	30 Days Of The Dead (2014) (note 5)
	(studio) Jan 1987	In The Dark (note 2)
	27 Mar 1987	Dave's Picks Volume 36
	11 Apr 1987	ONXRT: Live From The Archives, Vol 11
	9 May 1987	The Making Of The Touch Of Grey Video (video only)
	3 Jul 1988	30 Trips Around The Sun
	4 Jul 1989	Truckin' Up To Buffalo (DVD & CD soundtrack) (note 7)
	12 Jul 1989	RFK Stadium 1989 Box
	14 Oct 1989	The Music Never Stopped: Music From The Motion Picture
	16 Mar 1990	Spring 1990
	25 Mar 1990	Spring 1990 (The Other One)
	1 Apr 1990	Spring 1990 (The Other One)
	16 Jun 1990	View From The Vault III (video/DVD & CD soundtrack)
	8 Jul 1990	View From The Vault (video/DVD & CD soundtrack)
	20 Sep 1990	Road Trips Number 2, Volume 1
	18 Mar 1991	30 Days Of The Dead (2021)
	20 Jun 1991	Download Series Vol 11
	5 Jul 2015	Fare Thee Well (CD and DVD) (note 4)

(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.)

Tribute Albums
	Date	Album	Recorded By
	1996	Fire On The Mountain Vol 1	Reggae Celebrates The Grateful Dead (Mighty Diamonds)
	1996	Long Live The Dead	Billy And Terry Smith
	1997	Pickin' On The Grateful Dead	David West et al
	1999	Swingin' To The Grateful Dead	Steve Marsh et al
	2000	Wake The Dead	Danny Carnahan et al
	2000	Whole Lotta Rock	Lamajam
	2001	Blues Tribute To The Grateful Dead	Various (Richie and the Pocket Rockets)
	2002	Finger Play	Kugel
	2003	Ukelele Summit 5	Various (Kawaihae)
	2004	Werewolves Of Atlanta: Halloween 2004	Dark Star Orchestra
	2005	Deadgrass	Deadgrass
	2009	Yoga Tribute To Grateful Dead	Yoga Pop Ups (note 6)
	4 Aug 2012	Live: San Rafael, CA	Yonder Mountain String Band
	2013	Keys	Keller Willams
	14 May 2015	Dear Jerry: Celebrating The Music Of Jerry Garcia	Bob Weir, Mickey Hart, Bill Kreutzmann
	2016	Day Of The Dead	The War On Drugs
	2017	Dead Songs Vol 1	Barton Hills Choir
	2019	Dead Air	Chamomile & Whiskey
	2021	Jerry's Smilin': Guitar Tribute To The Grateful Dead	Damià Timoner
	2021	Grateful Deadication	David McMurray
	2024	Grateful: The Music Plays The Band	Doom Flamingo

Covers By Other Artists
	Date	Album	Recorded By
	1998	Put Some Style In It	Lounge Brigade
	1998	Super Bos	The Binghampton Crosbys
	1999	Rockin' Race	John Boy & Billy
	2002	Finger Play	Kugel
	?2012	Karaoke Legends, Vol. 45	Unknown
	?2016	Live Big Sur	Little Wings
	31 Dec 2018	Rising Up To Paradise	Big Swell

Notes
(1) rehearsal issued as a bonus track in the box set Beyond Description (1973-1990)
(2) also on the compilations The Arista Years, The Very Best Of The Grateful Dead and The Best Of The Grateful Dead.
(3) a live version of "Touch Of Grey" by the Grateful Dead is on the benefit CD "Earth Charter: Unesco CD for Young People." I assume it is more likely to be one of the live recordings above, though I haven't confirmed which.
(4) also on the compilation Best Of Fare Thee Well.
(5) also on 30 Days Of The Dead (2016).
(6) also released as "Lullaby Versions of Grateful Dead"
(7) also on the compilation The Best Of The Grateful Dead Live

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 online chords and TAB see www.rukind.com
For sheet music, see:
          Grateful Dead Anthology Volume 2 (piano arrangement)
          Grateful Dead Authentic Guitar Classics Volume 2 (guitar TAB)
          In The Dark Songbook (piano arrangement)
          Very Best Of The Grateful Dead (guitar TAB)
          Garcia/Hunter Songbook (vocal line and chords/TAB)