Who—do you think you are?
What do you mean
when you put us all down
Walking ’round in circles
Your nose to the ground
You think you’re saying something
Because you’re making a sound?
You say you’ve seen it all
You don’t care to see no more
But you don’t get up and go
until they throw you out the door
Chorus:
It’s a long long long long way to go home
It’s a long long long long way to go home
Any which way you are tempted to roam
It’s a long long long long long long way
Way to go home
Who—’s it you remind me of?
What do you do
when you do your own time?
Did you run away
from the scene of your crime?
I feel as though I know you
Could you spare me a dime1
It’s a lot less than prison
but it’s more than a jail
I’d tell you all about it
but that’s another tale
You say you’ve seen it all
You don’t care to see no more
of the hungry, the homeless,
the sick, and the poor
You say you’ve seen enough
to last you all your days
like the moon in high heaven
you’re just going through a phase
(Chorus)
Who—do you want to be?
What do you need
to set your body free?
I don’t mean to pry
this ain’t no third degree
but looking at you baby
you remind myself of me
There’s any way to tell you—
Any way, any way to persuade—
I’d really love to spare you
the mistakes I’ve made
(Chorus)
Words by Robert Hunter
Music by Vince Welnick, Bob Bralove
Compare “Wharf Rat”: “asked me for a dime— / a dime for a cup of coffee.”
No official Grateful Dead recording.
First performance: February 23, 1992, at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in Oakland, California. The song remained in the repertoire thereafter.