Scarlet Begonias

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

As I was walking round Grosvenor Square
Not a chill to the winter but a nip to the air
From the other direction she was calling my eye (note 1)
It could be an illusion, but I might as well try
Might as well try

She had rings on her fingers and bells on her shoes
And I knew without asking she was into the blues
She wore scarlet begonias, tucked into her curls
I knew right away she was not like other girls
Other girls

In the thick of the evening when the dealing got rough (note 2)
She was too pat to open and too cool to bluff
As I picked up my matches and was closing the door
I had one of those flashes I had been there before
Been there before

Well I ain't often right but I've never been wrong
It seldom turns out the way it does in the song
Once in a while you get shown the light (note 6)
In the strangest of places if you look at it right

Well there ain't nothing wrong with the way she moves
Scarlet begonias or a touch of the blues
And there's nothing wrong with the look that's in her eyes (note 3) (note 4) (note 7)
I had to learn the hard way to let her pass by
Let her pass by

The wind in the willows playing Tea for Two (note 5)
The sky was yellow and the sun was blue
Strangers stopping strangers just to shake their hand
Everybody is playing in the heart of gold band
Heart of gold band

"[Scarlet Begonias] was originally pages and pages long. There was a very, very involved story there. It was like quite a plot. And it finally got honed down to just the basic moves. Which is best. Although there is a ... it was originally called "Bristol Girls" and there's one line in it that I'm using [in my solo shows]. I am adding or changing lines and using old verses that the Dead don't use in some of these songs. ... 'Look all around this whole wide world, never find nothing stranger than a Bristol girl.'"

"[Scarlet Begonias is] about my wife [Maureen]. It was called "Bristol Girls" at the time - "Look all around this whole wide world/ You'll find nothing stranger than a Bristol girl." In the song the character flees - "As I was closing the door ..." But it didn't end [in real life] the way the song ended; I'm still with her. I have to say, that's her special song. [It was written in England] for that girl, really. I was pretty much commuting to England, going over three or four times a year."

It was the summer of love, and I thank the stars above
Because the woman took a-lovin' over me
And just to gain her trust, I bought a microbus
Because I sold up all my personal property
A tight tie-dyed dress, she was a psychedelic mess
We toured to the north, south, east and west
We sold some mushroom tea, we sold some ecstacy
We sold nitrous, opium, acid, heroin and PCP
And now I hear the police coming after me
Yes now I hear the police coming after me
The one scarlet with the flowers in her hair
She's got the police coming after me

Well there ain't nothing wrong with the way she moves ...