Way down upon Sycamore Slough1, 2
a white man sings the blues
selling roses of papier-mâché3
with flecks of starlight dew
I swiped a bunch and threw it your way
where hazy moonlight glowed
Way down
down along
Lazy River Road4
Way down upon Shadowfall Ward
End of the avenue
Run, hide, seek in your own backyard
Mama’s backyard won’t do
All night long I sang Love’s Sweet Song
down where the water flowed
Way down
down along
Lazy River Road
Moonlight wails as hound dogs bay
but never quite catch the tune
Stars fall down in buckets like rain
till there ain’t no standin’ room
Bright blue boxcars train by train
clatter while dreams unfold
Way down
down along
Lazy River Road
Way down upon Seminole Square
belly of the river tide
call for me and I will be there
for the price of the taxi ride
Night time double-clutches into today
like a truck downshifting its load
Way down
down along
Lazy River Road
Thread the needle5
right through the eye
The thread that runs so true
All the others I let pass by
I only wanted you
Never cared for careless love6
but how your bright eyes glowed
Way down
down along
Lazy River Road
Words by Robert Hunter
Music by Jerry Garcia
The opening words to one of America’s best-known songs, Stephen Foster’s “Old Folks at Home” (1852):
Way down upon the Swanee River, far, far away
That’s where my heart is turning ever
That’s where the old folks stay
All up and down the whole creation, sadly I roam
Still longing for the old plantation
And for the old folks at home
All the world is sad and dreary everywhere I roam
Oh, darkies, how my heart grows weary
Far from the old folks at home
All ‘round the little farm I wandered, when I was young
Then many happy days I squandered, many the songs I sung
When I was playing with my brother, happy was I
Oh, take me to my kind old mother, there let me live and die
One little hut among the bushes, one that I love
Still sadly to my mem’ry rushes, no matter where I rove
When shall I see the bees a-humming, all ‘round the comb
When shall I hear the banjo strumming, down by my good old home
These three alliterative places appear to be fictitious.
See note under “That’s It for the Other One.”
Compare the lines in “Mississippi Half-Step Uptown Toodleoo”: “Across the Rio Grande-eO / Across the lazy river.”
Compare the party game “The Needle’s Eye,” similar to “London Bridge”:
The needle’s eye that doth supply
The thread that runs so true
Many a lass have I let pass
Because I wanted you
Mama taught me how to sew
And how to thread the needle;
Every time my finger slips,
Pop goes the weasel.
There is also a slightly different version of this, where the speaker is female and “Many a lass / have I let pass” is replaced by “Many a beau / Have I let go.” (Owens)
Echoes of the line from “Scarlet Begonias”: “I had to learn the hard way / to let her pass by.”
The title of a folk song formalized in 1921 by W. C. Handy, Spencer Williams, and Martha Koenig.
Love, oh love, oh careless love,
Love, oh love, oh careless love,
Oh, it’s love, oh love, oh careless love
You see what careless love has done.
Once I wore my apron low
Once I wore my apron low
Oh, it’s once I wore my apron low,
You’d follow me through rain and snow.
Now I wear my apron high
Now I wear my apron high
Oh, it’s now I wear my apron high,
You’ll see my door and pass it by.
I cried last night and the night before,
I cried last night and the night before,
Oh, I cried last night and the night before,
Going to cry tonight and cry no more.
Love, oh love, oh careless love,
Love, oh love, oh careless love,
Oh, it’s love, oh love, oh careless love
You see what careless love has done.
Studio recording: A studio rehearsal dated February 18, 1993, was released on the box set So Many Roads (1965–1995).
First performance: February 21, 1993, at the Oakland Coliseum Arena in Oakland, California.