Sniff...this is the first Grateful Dead song I remember hearing and it remains their biggest contribution to the classic rock radio format. After the opening nasal inhalation, the first lyrics are the memorable 'Drivin that train, high on cocaine, Casey Jones you better watch your speed.'
The real Casey Jones was a famous railroad engineer who died saving others in a train crash. He was certainly not 'high on cocaine.' Blasphemy! And from such a sweet simple jugband and their twinkling young cousin of Santa Claus leader, Jerry Garcia. Tsk tsk. Supposedly, Robert Hunter just felt 'cocaine' was the best fit for 'train'. Works for me.
I was scared of this band before I was even old enough to know what a rock band was. The primary reason was that a kid at school told me the Grateful Dead could beat up the Allman Brothers. That really meant nothing to me, but with a name like the Grateful Dead, how could it not be true? Man, it was years before I learned that these guys were not scary. They just had a morbid sense of humor. And I believe that the real Casey Jones would have appreciated this tribute. Fun singalong melody, great guitar solo, Phil's bass, how could he not?
Here's a link to their performance on Saturday Night Live. Very cool.
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