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Standing on the Moon Lyric Analysis

Have you ever wondered what you would see, hear and feel if you were looking down at Earth from the moon? So have The Grateful Dead, and it became obvious in their song, Standing on the Moon. This song is about how The Grateful Dead imagined what it would be like to be standing on the moon. I can relate Standing on the Moon to the society in which we live and when this song was written.

I can relate this Grateful Dead song to the society in which we live because the song says: "Standing on the moon, I see the battle rage below. Standing on the moon, I see the soldiers come and go." This quote pretty much says that we are in several wars and soldiers come often but can get injured or die twice as fast. "I hear the cries of children and the other songs of war. It's like a mighty melody that rings down from the sky." This part of Standing on the Moon means that children all over the globe have awful lives and Jerry Garcia sings that he can hear their cries from the moon. Also, this quote talks about all of the wars going on. Jerry Garcia definately did not like war and was very saddened by everything that involved fatal combat. All of this talk about war relates to the world and our society because even though the Vietnam war was not going when this song was written, other wars were and battle is not good and definately necessary to end.

Secondly, this song is easy to relate to when it was written. Standing on the Moon says, "I can see Southeast Asia, I can see El Salvadore." When this song was written, the Vietnam war was still going on, and millions of people were suffering all over Southeast Asia in countries such as Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia; so they mentioned it. Earlier in the song, Garcia referred to "Old Glory standing stiffly, crimson, white, and indigo." This means that while other parts of the world were all at war with each other, America was the only country focused on putting the first man on the moon. It's interesting when you really think about it, this song could have been written only yesterday and it would be relevant, just changing the battle sites, such as Afghanistan and Iraq instead of Southeast Asia & El Salvadore. Today, if you were standing on the moon, you would probably see a close resemblance to how it looked in the 70's. When they wrote this song, The Grateful Dead viewed a hate-filled world, but since this song was written, the world has only gotten hopelessly worse. Young people still cry and grieve because of starvation, fear, and sickness.

Riding a rocket to the moon is a popular fantasy among young children, although when you get there, you think about how lonely you are. As the song says, "Standing on the moon with nothing left to do. A lovely view of heaven but I'd rather be with you." Even though it is a great view, you just might want to ride that rocket back on home to be with friends and family that love you in your home instead of being very lonely up there on the "crescent in the sky".

Standing On The Moon lyrics

Standing on the Moon

Standing on the moon, I got no cobweb on my shoe
Standing on the moon, I'm feeling so alone and blue
I see the Gulf of Mexico as tiny as a tear
The coast of California must be somewhere over here

Over hereStanding on the moon, I see the battle rage below
Standing on the moon, I see the soldiers come and go
There's a metal flag beside me someone planted long ago
Old glory standing stiffly, crimson, white and indigo
Old glory standing stiffly, crimson, white and indigo
Indigo

I see all of South East Asia; I can see El Salvador
I hear the cries of children and the other songs of war
It's like a mighty melody that rings down from the sky
Standing here upon the moon I watch it all roll by

All roll by
All roll by
All roll by

Standing on the moon, I see a shadow on the sun
Standing on the moon, the stars go fading one by one
I hear a cry of victory, another of defeat
A scrap of age-old lullaby down some forgotten street

Standing on the moon, where talk is cheap and vision true
Standing on the moon, but I would rather be with you
Somewhere in San Francisco on a back porch in July
Just looking up to heaven at this crescent in the sky
In the sky

Standing on the moon with nothing left to do
A lovely view of heaven but I'd rather be with you
A lovely view of heaven but I'd rather be with you
Be with youI'd rather be with you[etc]

Grateful Dead Biography

The History of The Grateful Dead

Some people refer to The Grateful Dead (also known as The Dead) as “influential”. Some think of them as “inspirational”. But almost everybody agrees that The Grateful Dead was one of the the greatest bands of all time.

The Grateful Dead was formed in 1965 in Haight-Ashbury, California. Haight-Ashbury is a place in San Francisco where musicians meet. Originally, they called themselves The Warlocks, but another band has already claimed that name. They looked through the dictionary and Jerry found “The Grateful Dead”. He was instantly hooked. This band was known for its unique style and very long improvisations during their live shows. The main members of The Grateful Dead included Jerry Garcia (lead guitar/vocals); Bob Weir (rhythm guitar/vocals); Phil Lesh (bass guitar); Ron “Pigpen” McKernan (keyboards/harmonica);Bill Kreutzmann (drummer); and Mickey Hart (the other drummer). Another thing that made this popular 70's band unique was the fact that they had two drummers, which gave their music more of a rythmic beat. Garcia was in other bands, including The Jerry Garcia Band; Old and In the Way; the Garcia/Grisman duo; Leigon of Mary; and confounded The New Riders of the Purple Sage. Weir was also in a few other bands: Kingfish; Bobbby and the Midnites; and Ratdog. If you are wondering what genre of music The Dead played, as Bill Grahm said, “The Grateful Dead aren't the best at what they do, they are the only ones that do what they do.” That means you can't box The Dead into just one style of music because they played so many kinds, including rock, folk, reggae, blues, country, bluegrass, gospel and jazz.

The Grateful Dead wrote and preformed around 1,500 songs. The Grateful Dead's most popular albums were American Beauty; Blues for Allah; Europe 72; Reckoning; and Terrapin Station. They wrote so many songs who's lyrics covered a wide range of topics, it is hard to say what a majority of their lyrics were about. The music itself changed over time; from bluesy and hardcore rock 'n' roll to more upbeat and melodic. The Grateful Dead's inspiration for their music was the social movement of the 60's (when young adults rebelled against the establishment). They were influenced by The Beatles, although their music was different. The Dead's concerts could go on for days because there were so many songs for them to choose from. For over four decades, The Grateful Dead preformed hundreds of shows a year. Their loyal followers, known as the Deadheads, would follow the tours and go to every show. The Deadheads would build their lives around going to all of their concerts. They would set up outside of the shows and make a festival-like market, selling shirts, bags, food, videos of shows, hats, and sadly, drugs.

People thought of Jerry Garcia as The Grateful Dead's spokesperson, although he didn't like the title at all. He wanted to be equals with everybody else. All he wanted to do was just be "playin' in the band". Garcia was known for the way he could make a guitar whine like nobody else could. When he picked up his guitar, such a sweet and melodic sound would come out, it was simply enchanting. Once Jerry Garcia died, the remaining members of the band toured under the name "The Other Ones" for a while, but eventually settled with The Dead. Alcohol and drugs were responsible for the deaths of at least three other members. Although The Grateful Dead is not together anymore, their music will continue to inspire millions to "venture a little bit further than they've gone before" and the music will "not fade away".