Octal Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 So someone commits suicide. This affects someone else. Is "Pick up your china doll It's only fractured Just a little broken from the fall" said by the person who commits suicide, the person the suicide affects, or an outsider to one of the two? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Michael Doc Watson Posted April 20, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Some thoughts consider the song as a discussion between God and mankind with the latter doing the suicide. Maybe these last lines are a third party telling God to consider rebuilding this world which mankind has broken. But if we go down this kind of thought, who would be this third person speaking with God ? In our more common beliefs ( i'm meaning the beliefs of many in this part of the world) there are the other actors in this play, namly those like Jesus or lucifer...would it be one of those ? A line from one of Joan Baez's songs comes to mind....something about the "soul of a butterfly". Peace and Love, Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sgrmag2564 Posted April 20, 2012 Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 Funny, I seem to equate Grateful Dead songs with shows. This particular song I have heard a few times live. It seemed to me they played it at shows that I thought were average at best. I always thought they played this song to let us know that the show was about to get smokin hot, it's only fractured...soon it will be whole again. I always thought The Wheel simply described a Dead Show. Thunder=The Music...Lightning=The Scene and Crowd. Cover a little more ground=see something you never saw before, whether it be a song, a version of a song, some kind of new sandwich of songs...etc. That's what is so grate about this music...so many songs are open to individual interpretation. Peace, Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Evangeline Posted April 20, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 To me it always sounded like something said by someone in denial. "Take up your China Doll--it's only fractured, and just a little nervous from the fall." It's really nothing, nothing happened and it's gonna be alright! Very sad song and I love it! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octal Posted April 20, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 20, 2012 To me it always sounded like something said by someone in denial. "Take up your China Doll--it's only shattered, and just a little nervous from the fall." It's really nothing, nothing happened and it's gonna be alright! Very sad song and I love it! The song changes keys right before that part and you can hear it. It goes from a minor key to a major key and it's extremely inspiring. Unless the music is supposed to be in denial too? If the music was still minor and the vocal inflections/melodies were very happy that would definitely have that disturbing feeling of denial. I'm not saying you're right or wrong, I'm just analyzing the song. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest crazy digits Posted April 21, 2012 Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 for me, it makes me think of sadness/happiness, pure joy and most of all garcia...i love this song Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP gr8fulpair Posted April 21, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 This song need not be analyzed, but wholly absorbed in the nectar that was Jerry Garcia. A dubious gift from a virtuoso. Thx Jer, love you and this song you blessed us with. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Teacher Matt Posted April 21, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted April 21, 2012 I think this song does need to be analyzed .... and the beauty of said analysis is .... we all see it our little way .... which makes every little way the right way .... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Advisory Board Herdygerdy Posted April 22, 2012 Advisory Board Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 ... let the hurdy-gurdy play..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
subcooler Posted April 22, 2012 Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 So someone commits suicide. This affects someone else. Is "Pick up your china doll It's only fractured Just a little broken from the fall" said by the person who commits suicide, the person the suicide affects, or an outsider to one of the two? This is a very thought provoking question....Especially to anyone who suicide has touched (invaded thier life)! I'm not going to get into any kind of long winded discussion on the concept of suicide (a permanant solution to a temporary problem ) In my opinion the lines quoted are by a third party (possibly God) to the surviving family/friends to spur them into picking themselves up & carrying on the task of living after the loss of a family member/dear friend/etc. to suicide. The reference to shows, just don't seem to apply to this deep moving song, but everyone has different opinions on all songs/shows/lssues ! To end this post on a lighter note: My favorite DSO China Doll was @ Bottle & Cork summer of 2009 ! Peace, Rob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Octal Posted April 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted April 22, 2012 I think the big question is where to place the quotes for each statement. http://artsites.ucsc.../agdl/doll.html The quotes there seem pretty good with the exception of "I will not condemn you Nor yet would I deny" "I would ask the same of you but failing will not die I think this is all said by one person. Think about the third line. "I would ask the same of you" coming from the person who is receiving the noncondemnation? The person giving the noncondemnation should be asking the receiver for the same noncondemnation in return, yes? I.e. A: Do not condemn me. B: I ask the same of you Makes sense. But A: I will not condemn you. B: I ask the same of you Doesn't make as much sense as A: I will not condemn you, and I ask the same of you. And then this "But failing will not die" statement is kind of enigmatic. If it is said by the human, does it mean that he will end up condemning the god figure anyway? For what it's worth, the human did partially deny the god figure earlier in the song: "Yesterday I begged you/Before I hit the ground/All I leave behind me/Is only what I found" He asked for help and received no answer. Likewise, he believes he has gotten no help: "Only what I found"--and not what the god figure had found. Perhaps that takes the blame off of the god figure, because he had no say in it. Or perhaps it puts the blame on the god figure, because he could of had a say but didn't say anything. And in the Annotated's quotes, it is implied (because the verse does not end in a quote) that "Pick up your china doll" is said by the god figure. Which brings us back to my original question. Edit: Could someone who owns "Box of Rain" post where Robert Hunter put the quotes? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Forum MVP Michael Doc Watson Posted April 23, 2012 Forum MVP Report Share Posted April 23, 2012 ... Could someone who owns "Box of Rain" post where Robert Hunter put the quotes? A pistol shot at five o'clock The bells of heaven ring Tell me what you done it for {this line is in italics} "No I won't tell you a thing "Yesterday I begged you before I hit the ground-- all I leave behind me is only what I found "If you can abide it let the hurdy-gurdy play-- Stranger ones have come by here before they flew away "I will not condemn you nor yet would I deny. ..." I would ask the same of you {this line and all the following are in italitics" but failing will not die. ... Take up your china doll it's only fractured-- and just a little nervous from the fall I beleive I have copied all the details of punciation and capatalization faithfully from the copy which I sometimes carry to shows. The page also contains notes added by Prescott and Herdy. And bleeding in through the paper from the previous page is a small purple Peace emblem left there by Chuck. Like a one Eyed Cheshire... Doc Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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