Listening to “Box of Rain”, “Unbroken Chain”, and “Eyes of the World” on hearing of the death of Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh (1940-2024)

On hearing that Grateful Dead bassist Phil Lesh died today, I first listened to his "Box of Rain" ("American Beauty", 1970), with Robert Hunter's lyrics: "Such a long long time to be gone and a short time to be there." I followed that with his "Unbroken Chain" ("From the Mars Hotel", 1974), with Bobby Petersen's lyrics: "Listening for the secret, searching for the sound." And finally, I turned to Jerry Garcia and Robert Hunter's "Eyes of the World" from "Dick's Picks, volume 31", live at Roosevelt Stadium in Jersey City, New Jersey, on 6 August 1974, with Lesh taking intro and outro leads in one of The Grateful Dead's finest performances. (Andrew Shields, #111Words, 25 October 2024)