"Casey Jones" by The Grateful Dead
Thursday, October 15, 2009 at 10:45 AM In the song “Casey Jones,” performed by the Grateful Dead, the rhythm is more upbeat than in it is in the other versions. The chorus of the song is sung the same way every time it is repeated. The verse that starts off with “trouble ahead, lady in red” is the first verse in which the singer sings differently. He slowly lets out the word “lady” which makes the tempo of that verse different than the others.
The artist sings the song differently again when it comes to the last verse. He sings the lines “trouble with you is the trouble with me” and “come round the bend, you know it’s the end” in the same tone. It seems as tough the expression changes towards the end of the song because the artist is getting ready for the song to be over. The song begins to speed up before it finishes.
Reader Comments (1)
Hi Jamie,
What do you think might be an appropriate structural analysis of this song, i.e A A' B B', etc?
Past the formal analysis, however, how do you think the Grateful Dead's cultural background and time period make their interpretations of the lyrics different from that of Mississippi John Hurt or BIlly Murray?
Please read Ashley Bissaillon's post about the Grateful Dead's version of this song and post a comment about how you think lifestyle and cultural difference might shape differing interpretations of the same song.
http://benleedscarson.com/casey-jones-and-john-henry/contrast-between-mississippi-john-hurt-and-the-grateful-dead.html