Casey Jones

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

This is the Hunter/Garcia original, not to be confused with the traditional song Casey Jones, which the Dead also played, as did Jerry with some of his other bands. The latter is normally called "The Ballad Of Casey Jones" in setlists.

Chorus
Driving that train, high on cocaine
Casey Jones you'd better watch your speed
Trouble ahead, trouble behind
And you know that notion just crossed my mind (note 1)

This old engine makes it on time
Leaves Central Station 'bout a quarter to nine
Hits River Junction at seventeen to
At a quarter to ten you know it's travelling again

[chorus]

Trouble ahead, the lady in red
Take my advice you'd be better off dead
Switchman's sleeping, train Hundred and Two
Is on the wrong track and headed for you

[chorus]

Trouble with you is the trouble with me
Got two good eyes but we still don't see
Come round the bend, you know it's the end
The fireman screams and the engine just gleams

[chorus - repeated]
Notes
(1) Jerry often sang "And you know that notion, it just crossed my mind."
Mike Mehan suggested to me that Jerry sometimes sang "And you know that notion just cost my mind" - I like the thought!

Grateful Dead Recordings
     Date Album
      3 Jul 1969 30 Days Of The Dead (2020)
     26 Oct 1969 30 Days Of The Dead (2023)
      2 Nov 1969 Dave's Picks Volume 43
      8 Nov 1969 Dick's Pick's Vol 16
     12 Dec 1969 Dave's Picks Volume 10
     26 Dec 1969 Dave's Picks Volume 43
     Studio 1970 Workingman's Dead (note 2)
      2 Jan 1970 Dave's Picks Volume 30
      3 Jan 1970 Dave's Picks 2019 Bonus Disc
     23 Jan 1970 Dave's Picks Volume 19
      2 Feb 1970 Dave's Picks Volume 6
     14 Feb 1970 Dick's Pick's Vol 4
     28 Feb 1970 30 Days Of The Dead (2024)
      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)
     24 Oct 1970 Dave's Picks Volume 51
     18 Feb 1971 American Beauty (50th Anniversary Edition)
     19 Feb 1971 Three From The Vault
     21 Feb 1971 Workingman's Dead (50th Anniversary Edition)
     18 Mar 1971 30 Trips Around The Sun
     20 Mar 1971 30 Days Of The Dead (2023)
     12 Apr 1971 Dave's Picks Volume 51
     13 Apr 1971 Dave's Picks Volume 51
     27 Apr 1971 Ladies And Gentlemen ... The Grateful Dead
     30 May 1971 Winterland 1971
      2 Jul 1971 Fillmore: The Last Days
      7 Aug 1971 Dick's Picks Vol 35
     22 Oct 1971 Dave's Picks Volume 3
     15 Nov 1971 Road Trips Number 3, Volume 2
     17 Nov 1971 Dave's Picks Volume 26
     20 Nov 1971 Dave's Picks Volume 48
      6 Dec 1971 Dave's Picks Volume 22 (bonus disc)
      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 (bonus disc)
     28 Mar 1972 Dick's Picks Vol 30
      8 Apr 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     11 Apr 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     14 Apr 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     17 Apr 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     24 Apr 1972 Rockin' The Rhein (note 3)
     26 Apr 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     29 Apr 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
      3 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
      4 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
      7 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     10 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     11 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     13 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     18 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     23 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     24 May 1972 Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
     25 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
     27 Sep 1972 Dick's Picks Vol 11
     17 Oct 1972 Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
     18 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
      2 Apr 1973 Dave's Picks Volume 21
     13 May 1973 Here Comes Sunshine
     20 May 1973 Here Comes Sunshine
     26 May 1973 Here Comes Sunshine
     22 Jun 1973 Pacific Northwest '73-'74
     26 Jun 1973 Pacific Northwest '73-'74
     29 Oct 1973 Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
     10 Nov 1973 Winterland 1973 - The Complete Recordings
     17 Nov 1973 Dave's Picks Volume 5
      4 Dec 1973 Winterland 1973 - The Complete Recordings (bonus disc)
     10 Dec 1973 Download Series Vol 8
     23 Feb 1974 Dave's Picks Volume 42
     23 Jun 1974 Dave's Picks Volume 34
      4 Aug 1974 Dick's Picks Vol 31
     17 Oct 1974 Steal Your Face (note 4)
     2 Oct 1977 Dave's Picks Volume 45
     11 Nov 1978 Saturday Night Live Vol 1
     31 Dec 1978 The Closing Of Winterland (DVD & CD)
      5 Nov 1979 Road Trips Full Show: Spectrum 11/5/79
     28 Dec 1979 Road Trips Vol 3, No 1
     26 Aug 1980 30 Days Of The Dead (2019)
     16 Dec 1992 Dick's Picks Vol 27
     27 Mar 1993 30 Trips Around The Sun
      1 Apr 1995 30 Days Of The Dead (2018)
 
(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 Recorded By Album
     1973 King's Road Watkin's Glen
     1991 Warren Zevon Deadicated
     1996 Billy & Terry Smith Long Live The Dead
     1996 Wailing Souls Fire On The Mountain: Reggae Celebrates The Grateful Dead
     1997 David West et al Pickin' On The Dead ... A Tribute
     1999 Steve Marsh et al Swingin' To The Grateful Dead
     2000 McEuen & Salazar Tie-Die Yippie Ki Yay
     2000 Vassar Clements Dead Grass
     2001 Various (Michael Hill) Blues Tribute To The Grateful Dead
     2003 Grateful Guitar David Cullen
     2004 Live t The Rendevous, Seattle 2004 Sweeter Than The Day
     2005 Deadgrass Deadgrass
     2005 On The Road October 23 2005 String Cheese Incident (note 6)
      8 Feb 2006 Live At The Fillmore Grateful Grass
     2007 At Fine Arts Center, UMass The American Beauty Project
     2009 December 31 2009, Portland, OR Railroad Earth
     2009 Yoga Tribute To Grateful Dead Yoga Pop Ups (note 5)
     2010 One Step Back In Time D.T. Worthy
     2010 At Page Auditorium, Duke University The American Beauty Project
     2010 One Hesher, Two Punks And A Hippy Punk Is Dead
     2011 The Wheel: A Musical Celebration of Jerry Garcia Jesse McReynolds, David Nelson et al
     2011 Sessions, Vol. 1 Jah Grateful Dead
     ?2012 Karaoke Legends, Vol. 45 Unknown
     2012 Psychocountry Maciej Malenczuk
     2013 Feb 9 2013, Riviera Theatre, Chicago, IL moe. (note 6)
     2014 Grateful Dead Bluegrass Tribute David Holodiloff
     2015 Apr 17 2015, Morrison, CO Disco Biscuits
     2015 Feb 21 2015, Omaha, NE Twiddle (note 6)
     2018 Grateful Dub Roots of Creation
     2019 Dead Air Free Union

Notes
(2) also on the compilations Skeletons From The Closet, The Very Best Of The Grateful Dead and The Best Of The Grateful Dead.
(3) also on the box set Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
(4) also released on The Grateful Dead Movie (video, DVD and CD)
(5) also released as "Lullaby Versions of Grateful Dead"
(6) The list above includes only one illustrative example of the series of live recordings by these artists. For a full list see the Grateful Dead Family Discography.

Roots
See the section in The Ballad Of Casey Jones for information on the background to the traditional song.

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 1 (piano arrangement)
          Grateful Dead Authentic Guitar Classics Volume 1 (guitar TAB)
          Grateful Dead Songbook Volume 1 (piano arrangement)
          Very Best Of The Grateful Dead (guitar TAB)
          Garcia/Hunter Songbook (vocal line and chords/TAB)

 


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