Candyman

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

Written by Hunter/Garcia, and not to be confused with the Mississippi John Hurt song Candyman Blues

Come all you pretty women with your hair a-hanging down
Open up your windows, 'cause the Candyman's in town
Come on boys and gamble
Roll those laughing bones
Seven come eleven, boys, I'll take your money home

Chorus
Look out, look out, the Candyman
Here he comes and he's gone again
Pretty lady ain't got no friend
Till the Candyman comes around again

I come in from Memphis where I leant to talk the jive
When I get back to Memphis, be one less man alive
Good morning, Mister Benson
I see you're doing well
If I had me a shotgun, I'd blow you straight to hell (note a)

[chorus]

Come on boys and wager, if you have got the mind
If you've got a dollar, boys, lay it on the line
Hand me my old guitar
Pass the whiskey round
Won't you tell everybody you meet that the Candyman's in town

[chorus]

Look out, look out, the Candyman
Here he come and he's gone again
[repeat and fade]
Notes
(a) sometimes "I'd probably blow you straight to hell".

Grateful Dead Recordings
     Date Album
     studio 1970 American Beauty
     15 Apr 1970 American Beauty (note 1) (note 3)
     18 Apr 1970 Family Dog at the Great Highway
      1 May 1970 30 Days Of The Dead (2014)
      2 May 1970 Dick's Picks Vol 8
     15 May 1970 Road Trips Vol 3 No 3 (early show)
     24 May 1970 Long Strange Trip (DVD only, on bonus disc) (note 5)
     18 Feb 1971 American Beauty (50th Anniversary Edition)
     24 Oct 1971 30 Days Of The Dead (2019)
     19 Dec 1973 30 Days Of The Dead (2022)
     24 Feb 1974 Dave's Picks Volume 13
     11 Jun 1976 June 1976 Box Set
     15 Jun 1976 June 1976 Box Set
     21 Jun 1976 Download Series Vol 4
     28 Sep 1976 Dick's Picks Vol 20
     28 May 1977 To Terrapin: Hartford '77
      7 Jun 1977 Winterland June 1977 - The Complete Recordings
      2 Nov 1977 Dave's Picks Volume 12
      5 Nov 1977 Dick's Picks Vol 34
      4 Feb 1978 30 Days Of The Dead (2012)
      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
     22 Apr 1978 Dave's Picks Vol 15
      5 Jul 1978 July 1978: The Complete Recordings
      7 Jul 1978 July 1978: The Complete Recordings
     16 Sep 1978 Rocking The Cradle: Egypt 1978 (CD and DVD)
     27 Oct 1979 30 Trips Around The Sun
      6 Nov 1979 Road Trips Full Show: Spectrum 11/6/79
      9 Dec 1979 Dave's Picks Vol 47
     30 Dec 1979 Road Trips Vol 3, No 1 (bonus disc)
      3 Sep 1980 Download Series Vol 7
     29 Oct 1980 Dead Set
     29 Nov 1980 30 Days Of The Dead (2013)
      7 Jul 1981 30 Days Of The Dead (2017)
      9 Dec 1981 Dave's Picks Volume 20 (note 4)
      6 Apr 1982 Road Trips Volume 4, Number 4
     31 Jul 1982 30 Trips Around The Sun
     20 Sep 1982 In And Out Of The Garden
     18 Sep 1987 30 Trips Around The Sun
      3 Oct 1987 View From The Vault III (DVD & CD soundtrack)
      8 Oct 1989 Warlocks Box
      1 Apr 1990 Spring 1990 (The Other One)
     16 Jun 1991 Giants Stadium 1987, 1989, 1991 Boxed Set
 
(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
     2001 Built To Grass Grass Is Dead
     2001 Live At The Green Mill Sabertooth
      8 Feb 2006 Live At The Fillmore Grateful Grass
     2007 At Fine Arts Center, UMass The American Beauty Project
     2009 Acoustic Sessions Vol 1 Real Eyes
     2010 At Page Auditorium, Duke University The American Beauty Project
     2015 Twangin' The Dead Matt Rae
     2015 Songs Of Their Own Guitarmageddon
     2015 Jul 2 2015, Chicago, IL The Infamous Stringdusters and Keller Williams
     2016 Mar 22 2016, Mill Valley, CA Jackie Greene
     2016 Day Of The Dead Jim James & Friends
     2024 Grateful: The Music Plays The Band Katie Skene & Andrea Whitt
Notes
(1) included as a bonus track on remastered album, first released as part of the box set The Golden Road (1965-1973)
(2) a 4 Jun 1970 Grateful Dead recording has been made available for download as an outtake from "So Many Roads (1965-1995)"
(3) also released on 30 Trips Around The Sun
(4) also released on 30 Days Of The Dead (2011)
(5) mainly rehearsals of the harmonies


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 2 (piano arrangement)
          Grateful Dead Songbook Volume 1 (piano arrangement)
          Grateful Dead (Guitar Superstar Series) (simplified guitar TAB)
          Garcia/Hunter Songbook (vocal line and chords/TAB)

 


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