You tell me this town ain’t got no heart
(Well, well, well—you can never tell)1
The sunny side of the street is dark2
(Well, well, well—you can never tell)
Maybe that’s ’cause it’s midnight
and the dark of the moon besides, or
maybe the dark is in your eyes
maybe the dark is in your eyes
maybe the dark is in your eyes
You know you got such dark eyes
Nothin’ shakin’ on Shakedown Street
used to be the heart of town
Don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart
You just gotta poke around
You say you’ve seen this town clear through
(Well, well, well—you can never tell)
Nothin’ here that could interest you
(Well, well, well—you can never tell)
It’s not because you missed out
on the thing we had to start
Maybe you had too much too fast
Maybe you had too much too fast
Maybe you had too much too fast
and just overplayed your part
Nothin’ shakin’ on Shakedown Street
used to be the heart of town
Don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart
You just gotta poke around
Since I’m passing your way today
(Well, well, well—you can never tell)
I just stopped in cause I want to say
(Well, well, well—you can never tell)
I recall your darkness
when it crackled like a thunder cloud
don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart
don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart
don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart
when I can hear it beat out loud
Nothin’ shakin’ on Shakedown Street
used to be the heart of town
Don’t tell me this town ain’t got no heart
You just gotta poke around
Words by Robert Hunter
Music by Jerry Garcia
Reminiscent of the Chuck Berry tune “C’est la Vie (You Never Can Tell)”
“On the Sunny Side of the Street” is a song by Jimmy McHugh (1894–1969) with words by Dorothy Fields. Wilder’s American Popular Song has this to say about the tune:
One of [McHugh’s] earliest and best-known songs is “On the Sunny Side of the Street,” from Lew Leslie’s International Revue (1930). It’s one of the jazz musicians’ favorites, having precisely the springboard from which they love to leap. Singers, as well, love it as much for its extremely fine lyric, by Dorothy Fields, as for its music. 83
Studio recording: Shakedown Street (November 15, 1978).
First performance: August 31, 1978, at Red Rocks Amphitheater, Morrison, Colorado. It remained in the repertoire thereafter.