Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleloo

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

On the day that I was born Daddy sat down and cried (note 1)
I had the mark just as plain as day, I could not be denied
They say that Cain caught Abel rolling loaded dice (note 2)
Ace of spades behind his ear and him not thinking twice

Chorus
Half step, Mississippi uptown toodleloo (note 3)
Hello baby I'm gone goodbye
Half a cup of rock and rye
Farewell to you old southern skies
I'm on my way, on my way

If all you got to live for is what you left behind
Get yourself a powder charge and seal that silver mine
Lost my boots in transit babe, pile of smoking leather
Nailed a retread to my feet and prayed for better weather

[chorus]

They say that when your ship comes in, first man takes the sails
Second takes the after deck, third the planks and rails
What's the point of calling shots, this cue ain't straight in line
Cue ball's made of styrofoam and no-one's got the time

[chorus]

Across the Rio Grand-eo
Across the lazy river
[etc]

Notes
(1) on one early version (18 July 1972), Garcia sang "... my papa sat down and died" (thanks to Lucius for pointing this out)
(2) in the first performance, on 16 July 1972, Jerry sang "They say that Cain slew Abel ..." (thanks to Jesse `jarnow for pointing this out)
(3) Hunter in "Box of Rain" spells it "toodleloo." The more normal spelling, used on the cover of "Wake of the Flood" and other albums is "toodeloo." Just to add to the confusion, the sheet music spells it "toodle-oo."

Grateful Dead Recordings
	Date	Album
	17 Sep 1972	Dick's Picks Vol 23
	19 Sep 1972	Dave's Picks Bonus Disc 2023
	21 Sep 1972	Dick's Picks Vol 36
	17 Oct 1972	Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
	18 Nov 1972	Houston, Texas 11-18-1972
	studio 1973	Wake Of The Flood
	26 Feb 1973	Dick's Picks Vol 28
	26 Mar 1973	30 Days Of The Dead (2011) (note e)
	28 Mar 1973	Dave's Picks Volume 16 (note c)
	2 Apr 1973	Dave's Picks Volume 21
	13 May 1973	Here Comes Sunshine
	26 May 1973	Here Comes Sunshine
	9 Jun 1973	Here Comes Sunshine
	24 Jun 1973	Pacific Northwest '73-'74
	19 Oct 1973	Dick's Picks Vol 19
	30 Oct 1973	Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
	1 Nov 1973	Wake Of The Flood (50th Anniversary Edition bonus disc)
	9 Nov 1973	Winterland 1973 - The Complete Recordings
	11 Nov 1973	Winterland 1973 - The Complete Recordings
	21 Nov 1973	Road Trips Volume 4, Number 3
	2 Dec 1973	Dick's Picks Vol 14
	19 Dec 1973	Dick's Picks Vol 1
	12 May 1974	From The Mars Hotel (50th anniversary bonus disc)
	19 May 1974	Pacific Northwest '73-'74
	23 Jun 1974	Dave's Picks Volume 34
	31 Jul 1974	Dave's Picks Volume 2
	5 Aug 1974	Dick's Picks Vol 31
	10 Sep 1974	Dick's Picks Vol 7
	19 Oct 1974	Steal Your Face
	20 Oct 1974	Grateful Dead Movie (CD only)
	17 Jul 1976	Dave's Picks Volume 18
	25 Sep 1976	Dick's Picks Vol 20
	9 Oct 1976	Dick's Picks Vol 33
	30 Apr 1977	Download Series Vol 1
	4 May 1977	Dave's Picks Volume 50
	7 May 1977	May 1977: Get Shown The Light Box
	12 May 1977	Winterland June 1977 - The Complete Recordings (bonus disc) (note a)
	17 May 1977	May 1977 Box Set
	25 May 1977	Dave's Picks Volume 1
	9 Jun 1977	Winterland June 1977 - The Complete Recordings
	3 Sep 1977	Dick's Picks Vol 15
	14 Oct 1977	Road Trips Volume 1, Number 2
	5 Nov 1977	Dick's Picks Vol 34
	6 Nov 1977	Dave's Picks Volume 25
	8 Apr 1978	Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
	15 Apr 1978	Dave's Picks Volume 37
	14 May 1978	30 Trips Around The Sun
	1 Sep 1979	30 Days Of The Dead (2016)
	3 Sep 1980	Download Series Vol 7
	10 Mar 1981	In And Out Of The Garden
	7 Dec 1981	30 Days Of The Dead (2017)
	28 Apr 1985	Dave's Picks Vol 49
	24 Jul 1987	View From The Vault IV (DVD & CD soundtrack)
	1 Apr 1988	Road Trips Volume 4, Number 2
	12 Jul 1989	RFK Stadium 1989 Box (note d)
	16 Oct 1989	Nightfall Of Diamonds
	21 Mar 1990	Without A Net (note b)
	2 Apr 1990	Spring 1990
	16 Jul 1990	(official YouTube video only)
	18 Sep 1990	Road Trips Number 2, Volume 1 (bonus disc)
	5 Jun 1999	Love Will See You Through (Phil Lesh & Friends)

(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
	1996	DeadBeats Acoustic	DeadBeats
	1999	Laughing Water	Jazz Is Dead
	2005	Jerry Jams, Jerry Cares	Toni Brown Band
	2005	Deadgrass	Deadgrass
	8 Feb 2006	Live At The Fillmore	Grateful Grass
	29 Jul 2006	Jerry Jams for Rex	Railroad Earth (note e)
	2007	Blue Light Cheap Hotel	Wake The Dead
	2010	Acoustic	Andrew Luttrell & Shane Grimm
	19 Feb 2010	Live: St Louis, MO	Yonder Mountain String Band (note e)
	2012	Double Down Dead EP	Band Of Heathens
	2015	The Dead Session	Town Mountain
	2016	Elem Mississippi	Sagol 59 & The Promised Land
	2016	Zen-rhymed songs of Grateful Dead vol. 1	Warlocks of Tokyo
	2024	Grateful: The Music Plays The Band	Unlimited Devotion

Notes
(a) also in the May 1977 Box Set
(b) also in Spring 1990 (The Other One)
(c) also on 30 Days Of The Dead (2014)
(d) also released as an official YouTube video
(e) also on 30 Days Of The Dead (2021)
(f) The list above includes only one illustrative example of the series of live recordings by these bands. For a full list see the Grateful Dead Family Discography.

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 Songbook Volume 2 (piano arrangement)
          Without A Net Songbook (piano arrangement)
          Garcia/Hunter Songbook (vocal line and chords/TAB)