song "Dark Star"

E567304

"Dark Star" is an iconic, improvisation-heavy Grateful Dead song closely associated with Jerry Garcia and renowned for its expansive live performances.

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Surface form Occurrences
Dark Star 0

Statements (59)

Predicate Object
instanceOf Grateful Dead song
song
artist Grateful Dead NERFINISHED
associatedAct Grateful Dead NERFINISHED
associatedAlbum Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses) bonus material
Live/Dead NERFINISHED
What a Long Strange Trip It's Been NERFINISHED
associatedPerformer Bill Kreutzmann NERFINISHED
Bob Weir NERFINISHED
Brent Mydland NERFINISHED
Jerry Garcia NERFINISHED
Keith Godchaux NERFINISHED
Mickey Hart NERFINISHED
Phil Lesh NERFINISHED
Ron McKernan NERFINISHED
associatedScene San Francisco psychedelic scene
composer Bill Kreutzmann NERFINISHED
Bob Weir NERFINISHED
Jerry Garcia NERFINISHED
Mickey Hart NERFINISHED
Phil Lesh NERFINISHED
Ron McKernan NERFINISHED
culturalStatus iconic jam-band improvisational piece
firstReleaseCountry United States NERFINISHED
firstReleaseType single
firstReleaseYear 1968
genre acid rock
jam band
psychedelic rock
hasBSide Born Cross-Eyed NERFINISHED
hasFanCulture extensive tape-trading and comparative listening of live versions
hasKey A major
lengthLiveVersion often between 15 and 30 minutes
lengthStudioVersion approximately 2 minutes 44 seconds
liveDebutYear 1967
lyricist Robert Hunter NERFINISHED
lyricLine Dark star crashes, pouring its light into ashes
Reason tatters, the forces tear loose from the axis
Searchlight casting for faults in the clouds of delusion
Shall we go, you and I while we can
lyricTheme cosmic imagery
impermanence
mysticism
notableLiveVersion August 27, 1972 Veneta, Oregon performance
Europe '72 tour performances
February 13, 1970 Fillmore East performance
February 27, 1969 Fillmore West performance
Live/Dead version recorded at Fillmore West 1969
October 18, 1974 Winterland performance
notableRecognition considered one of the Grateful Dead's signature songs
performanceCharacteristic central vehicle for live jams
extended improvisation
features group improvisation
frequent key and modal shifts
often exceeds 20 minutes live
recordLabel Warner Bros. Records
structure open-ended improvisational framework
tempo slow to medium
typicalSetPlacement first set or second set improvisational centerpiece

Referenced by (1)

Full triples — surface form annotated when it differs from this entity's canonical label.

Jerry Garcia notableWork song "Dark Star"