Lyrical Analysis of US Blues
Okay we’re gonna be doing some thoughts about lyrics if thats not your thing, skoot!
This is not my favorite Dead song if fact I usually skip it but….. the lyrics fascinate me endlessly.
The very start of it red and white. Nobody says that when referring the United States of America. We always say red,white and blue. This is the first clue that we are not going to be talking about the USA. Red and white for the astute reader is a counter culture allusion (imo) to the ever present boogeymen of the Grateful Dead during this period the Hell’s Angels. That is actually a moniker used to refer to this group subtly. The presence of the Hell’s Angels was not appreciated by everyone in the wider Grateful Dead family. That is what we’re going to looking at in this song, the inner circle.
Gimme five, I’m still alive. An allusion to the remaining original members of GD Jerry, Bobby, Phil, Billy and Mickey. Ain’t no luck learn to duck and back to back chicken shack. The Grateful Dead had just barely recovered from financial disaster with the Lenny Hart fiasco. Now during the period when US blues was written they were spending like drunken sailors (ship of fools) to build the wall of sound. Hunter is saying you know this isn’t going to end well fellas you’ll be back to the chicken shack shortly.
Im Uncle Sam that’s who I am. This is one of those double references at first glance it appears to be the army recruitment character, but I think it’s referring to Sam Cutler the Grateful Dead’s road manager at the time. I don’t think Hunter thought very highly of him shake the hand that shook the hand of PT Barnum and Charlie Chan. PT Barnum was the original ringmaster for circuses he coined the phrase “there’s a sucker born every minute” he was a conman and grifter and the first to exploit people with rare medical conditions at freak shows. Charlie Chan is an interesting reference he was a Chinese character who was a detective in Hawaii always played by a white person. There are themes of cultural appropriation, pretending to be something your not and all sorts of other unpleasantness with this reference.
Drink your health, the Grateful Dead definitely drank Garcia’s health. Share your wealth most frontmen get the lions share of the proceeds, Jerry believed in sharing with the rest of the group. Run your life, it was an all encompassing sort of affair being a part of the GD, hell even being a tourhead required tremendous commitment. Steal your wife, shots over the bow at Bobby possibly not sure if the dates line up.
In the end the United States is the united state of consciousness that people who take psychedelics together experience. It ain’t all sunshine and roses and I think this is perhaps Hunter’s most cynical take albeit in a veiled, sardonic sort of way. What do you think?