Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Robert Hunter
This is the final song in Robert Hunter's
Terrapin Station Suite.
It was never played by the Grateful Dead.
It was played by Robert Hunter himself in a solo performance on 2 March 1997, and perhaps on other occasions.
Raise the drinking horn again
Let laughter fill the hall
The storyteller has returned
from other ports of call
He seems to be a younger man
than when he went away-
though you and I, my own true love,
have lived to show our day
Still you seem a stranger
in the flesh of someone dear
While the storyteller speaks
I feel your darkness stir
I see the shadows on the wall
take color, depth and form
I see a lion's den await
three riders in the storm
I see you fall upon the ground
for space of half an hour
Then I see you rise again
cloaked in earthly power
I see myself approach the den
to work your fateful will
Terrapin shines in the west
The anxious wind grows still
Did I make the proper choice?
The storyteller winks
Even though I hear his voice
I can't tell what he thinks
Hand in hand we leave the fire
the storytelling done;
pinch the candle and retire
tonight our dreams are one
Counting stars by candlelight
all are dim but one is bright:
the spiral light of Venus
rising first and shining best
from the northwest corner
of a brand new crescent moon
while crickets and cicadas sing
a rare and different tune
Terrapin Station