Beer Barrel Polka Tuning

Lyrics: Lew Brown
Music: Timm, Zeman, Vejvoda

Played by the Grateful Dead as a 'tuning' jam between songs.

The melody is from a Czech song "Skoda Lasky" ("Unrequited Love"). English lyrics were added by Lew Brown.

There's a garden, what a garden
Only happy faces bloom there
And there's never any room there
For a worry or a gloom there

Oh there's music and there's dancing
And a lot of sweet romancing
When they play the polka
They all get in the swing

Every time they hear that oom-pa-pa
Everybody feels so tra-la-la
They want to throw their cares away
They all go lah-de-ah-de-ay

Then they hear a rumble on the floor, the floor
It's the big surprise they're waiting for
And all the couples form a ring
For miles around you'll hear them sing

Roll out the barrel, we'll have a barrel of fun
Roll out the barrel, we've got the blues on the run
Sing boom tararra, ring out a song of good cheer
Now's the time to roll the barrel, for the gang's all here

Da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da, da-da-da-da-da-da-da-da

Then they hear a rumble on the floor-or-or-or
It's the big surprise they're waiting for
And all the couples they form a ring
For miles around you'll hear them sing

Dring mopado dring-do da-da-da-da

Roll it out, roll it out, roll out the barrel
Da-da-da da-da da-da da-da-da-da-da
Sing a song of good cheer
'Cause the whole gang is here
Roll it out, roll it out
Let's do the beer barrel polka