Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia/Phil Lesh
Saint Stephen with a roseNotes
In and out of the garden he goes
Country garland in the wind and the rain (note 1)
Wherever he goes the people all complain
Stephen prosper in his time
Well he may, and he may decline
Did it matter, does it now?
Stephen would answer if he only knew how
Wishing well with a golden bell
Bucket hanging clear to hell
Hell half way twixt now and then
Stephen fill it up and lower down, and lower down again
Lady finger, dipped in moonlight
Writing "What for?" across the morning sky
Sunlight splatters dawn with answers
Darkness shrugs and bids the day goodbye
Speeding arrow, sharp and narrow
What a lot of fleeting matters you have spurned
Several seasons with their treasons
Wrap the babe in scarlet colors, call it your own
Did he doubt or did he try?
Answers a-plenty in the by and by
Talk about your plenty, talk about your ills
One man gathers what another man spills (note 2)
Saint Stephen will remain
All he's lost he shall regain
Seashore washed by the suds and the foam
Been here so long he's got to calling it home
Fortune comes a-crawling, Calliope woman
Spinning that curious sense of your own
Can you answer? Yes I can
But what would be the answer to the answer man?
-----(William Tell Bridge)-----
High green chilly winds and windy vines in loops (note 3)
Around the twining shafts of lavender (Note 4)
They're crawling to the sun
Underfoot the ground is patched
With climbing arms of ivy wrapped
Around the manzanita stark and shiny in the breeze
Wonder who will water all the children of the garden
When they sigh about the barren lack
Of rain and droop so hungry 'neath the sky
William Tell has stretched his bow
Till it won't stretch no furthermore
And/or it will require a change that hasn't come before (Note 5)
Grateful Dead Recordings | |||||
Date | Album | ||||
21 Aug 1968 | Grateful Dead Origins | ||||
24 Aug 1968 | Two From The Vault | (note a) | |||
12 Oct 1968 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2015) | ||||
13 Oct 1968 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2018) | ||||
20 Oct 1968 | 30 Trips Around The Sun | ||||
7 Dec 1968 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2023) | ||||
studio 1969 | Aoxomoxoa | (note b) | |||
Jan 1969 | Playboy After Dark Vol 2 (DVD) | ||||
11 Feb 1969 | Fillmore East 2-11-69 | (note a) | |||
22 Feb 1969 | 30 Trips Around The Sun | ||||
27 Feb 1969 | Live Dead | (note a)(note c)(note f)(note g) | |||
28 Feb 1969 | Fillmore West 1969 - The Complete Recordings | (note a) | |||
1 Mar 1969 | Fillmore West 1969 - The Complete Recordings | (note a) | |||
2 Mar 1969 | Fillmore West 1969 - The Complete Recordings | (note a) | |||
17 Apr 1969 | Download Series Vol 12 | ||||
27 Apr 1969 | Dick's Picks Vol 26 | (note a) | |||
23 May 1969 | Road Trips Volume 4, Number 1 | ||||
24 May 1969 | Road Trips Volume 4, Number 1 | ||||
16 Aug 1969 | Woodstock - Back To The Garden | ||||
30 Aug 1969 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2024) | ||||
2 Nov 1969 | Dave's Picks Volume 43 | ||||
8 Nov 1969 | Dick's Picks Vol 16 | (note a) | |||
11 Dec 1969 | Dave's Picks Volume 10 (bonus disc) | ||||
20 Dec 1969 | Dave's Picks Volume 6 | ||||
2 Jan 1970 | Dave's Picks Volume 30 | ||||
3 Jan 1970 | Dave's Picks Volume 30 | ||||
23 Jan 1970 | Dave's Picks Volume 19 | ||||
2 Feb 1970 | Dave's Picks Volume 6 | ||||
4 Feb 1970 | Download Series: A Night At The Family Dog | ||||
2 May 1970 | Dick's Picks Vol 8 | ||||
14 May 1970 | Road Trips Vol 3 No 3 | ||||
15 May 1970 | Road Trips Vol 3 No 3 (early show) | ||||
15 May 1970 | Road Trips Vol 3 No 3 (late show) | ||||
24 Oct 1970 | Dave's Picks Volume 48 | ||||
18 Feb 1971 | American Beauty (50th Anniversary Edition) | ||||
28 Apr 1971 | Ladies And Gentlemen ... The Grateful Dead | ||||
24 Aug 1971 | Dick's Picks Vol 35 | ||||
21 Oct 1971 | Dave's Picks Volume 3 | ||||
31 Oct 1971 | Dick's Picks Vol 2 | ||||
9 Jun 1976 | Road Trips Volume 4, Number 5 | ||||
11 Jun 1976 | June 1976 Box Set | ||||
15 Jun 1976 | June 1976 Box Set | ||||
18 Jun 1976 | Download Series Vol 4 | ||||
25 Sep 1976 | Dick's Picks Vol 20 | ||||
9 Oct 1976 | Dick's Picks Vol 33 | ||||
30 Apr 1977 | Download Series Vol 1 | ||||
5 May 1977 | May 1977: Get Shown The Light Box | ||||
8 May 1977 | May 1977: Get Shown The Light Box | ||||
15 May 1977 | May 1977 Box Set | ||||
21 May 1977 | Dick's Picks Vol 29 | ||||
9 Jun 1977 | Winterland June 1977 - The Complete Recordings | ||||
29 Oct 1977 | Dave's Picks Vol 33 | ||||
2 Nov 1977 | Dick's Picks Vol 34 | ||||
6 Nov 1977 | Dave's Picks Volume 25 | ||||
30 Dec 1977 | Dick's Picks Vol 10 | ||||
22 Jan 1978 | Dave's Picks Volume 23 | ||||
31 Dec 1978 | The Closing Of Winterland (DVD & CD) | ||||
11 Oct 1983 | In And Out Of The Garden | ||||
15 Oct 1983 | 30 Days Of The Dead (2010) | ||||
17 Jul 1998 | The Strange Remain | (The Other Ones) | |||
Phil Lesh and Friends Recordings | |||||
5 Jun 1999 | Love Will See You Through | ||||
4 Apr 2002 | There And Back Again (note d) | ||||
19 May 2006 | Live At The Warfield | ||||
(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 | |||
1989 | Juggling Suns | Solar Circus | |||
1996 | Live At The Roseland Ballroom | Gov't Mule (note h) | |||
2001 | Great Sky River | Jazz Is Dead | |||
2001 | Gifts From The Dead | Gifts From The Dead | |||
2003 | Thunder And Lightnin' | Dark Star Orchestra | |||
2004 | Jeb Holmes Band | Jeb Holmes Band (jam) | |||
2005 | The 1000th Show | Dark Star Orchestra | |||
8 Feb 2006 | Live At The Fillmore | Grateful Grass | |||
2007 | Blue Light Cheap Hotel | Wake The Dead | |||
2007 | Dead Symphony | Lee Johnson | |||
2008 | Ithica 30 Years Later | Dark Star Orchestra | |||
9 May 2011 | Jerry Jams for Rex II | Dark Star Orchestra | |||
2012 | Live At The 2012 Peach Music Festival | Dark Star Orchestra | |||
2013 | Yoga Tribute To Grateful Dead Vol 2 | Yoga Pop Ups | |||
2015 | Twangin' The Dead | Matt Rae | |||
14 May 2015 | Dear Jerry: Celebrating The Music Of Jerry Garcia | O.A.R. | |||
2016 | Songs To Fill The Air (WFMU Pledge Drive) | Jon Collin | |||
2016 | Day Of The Dead | Wilco and Bob Weir | |||
2018 | Fudge Sandwich | Ty Segal | |||
2019 | One Afternoon Long Ago | Fragile Thunder | |||
2019 | Sabertooth Plays Dead | Sabertooth | |||
2019 | Phantom Ships With Phantom Sails | Live Dead '69 | |||
2020 | Seeking All That's Still Unsung | Holly Bowling |