I need a woman ’bout twice my age
A lady of nobility, gentility, and rage
A splendor in the dark, lightning on the draw
Who’ll go right through the book and break each and every law
I got a feelin’
And it won’t go away, oh no
Just one thing and I’ll be okay
I need a miracle every day
I need a woman ’bout twice my height
Statuesque, raven-tressed, a goddess of the night
A secret incantation, candle burning blue
We’ll consult the spirits, maybe they’ll know what to do
And it’s real
And it won’t go away, oh no
Can’t get around and I can’t run away
I need a miracle every day
I need a woman ’bout twice my weight
A ton of fun who packs a gun with all that other freight
Find her in a sideshow, leave her in L.A.
Ride her like a surfer riding on a tidal wave
And it’s real
Believe what I say
Just one thing that I gotta say
I need a miracle very day
It takes dynamite to get me up
Too much of everything is just enough
One more thing that I gotta say
I need a miracle every day
Words by John Barlow
Music by Bob Weir
Written in Mill Valley, California, July 1978.
Studio recording: Shakedown Street (November 15, 1978).
First performance: August 30, 1978, at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado.
Source of the iconic “miracle” ticket of Deadhead lore, whereby if you stood around long enough outside of a sold-out show and repeated, “I need a miracle,” eventually someone would give you a ticket. It happened often enough for miracles to become, if not commonplace, at least accepted.