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Grateful Dead — Eyes of the World
Album: Wake of the Flood
Avg rating:
6.7

Your rating:
Total ratings: 856









Released: 1973
Length: 5:05
Plays (last 30 days): 1
Right outside this lazy summer home
You ain't got time to call your soul a critic, no
Right outside the lazy gate
Of winter's summer home
Wondering where the nuthatch winter's
Wings a mile long
Just carried the bird away

Wake up to find out that you are the eyes of the world
But the heart has its beaches, its homeland and thoughts of its own
Wake now discover that you are the song that the morning brings
But the heart has its seasons, its evenings and songs of its own

There comes a redeemer and he slowly, too, fades away
And there follows his wagon behind him that's loaded with clay
And the seeds that were silent all burst into bloom and decay
And night comes so quiet, its close on the heels of the day

Sometimes we live no particular way but our own
And sometimes we visit your country and live in your home
Sometimes we ride on your horses, sometimes we walk alone
Sometimes the songs that we hear are just songs of our own
Comments (128)add comment
They had to take that much drugs…to sound this incredibly boring? I was never a drug guy, and sometimes I wonder what all I missed. Listening to the Dead I can’t help but conclude: not much.
I remember when this came out, how great that was to get a new Grateful Dead record and spin it for the first time.

Really, there's no other band that does/did this. Stupendous.
If you liked this, you'll love the March 29, 1990 show w/ Branford Marsalis on sax for this tune. Eyes of the World at about 55:00...
Would love to hear Stella Blue from this album added to the playlist.
One of my favorite dead tunes to listen to and play on guitar. Love the hoppy cord progressions... right there with Sugar Mag. The flow of the music and lyrics never fails to deliver a smile on my face while rocking out. The lyrics, I am guessing are from Robert Hunter, take me to Lady With A Fan >  Terrapin Station.  Such thought provoking lyrics.  Man... alway a pleasure...brings such joy to my heart. From which I thank you both Bill and Rebecca  To Johnjconn... WOW... only once, due to an accident, was I on unemployment and that didn't last 2 months. I have a bachelors degree from a major university and my favorite job is still remodeling. I may not have a big bankroll, but I have fantastic friends and that is how I measure my wealth.  Still sport a freak flag, as best I can at 61 anyhow.  And Buddy...you rocked it with your comment to his post... rock on brother man! Have a grateful day     
 buddy wrote:

Wow, hi dad, it's been a long time!  Especially since you died 25 years ago. I thought you were the last of a breed, but clearly I was wrong.  I'll make sure you get your Pat Boone records back from the attic.  btw...having a job, shower, and haircut didn't make you any less of a major asshole. Way to stick to your guns!


Brilliant comeback, dear Buddy. Well done!   BTW, of course we know that this song is a 10, and you don't have to be "dirty hippy" to appreciate it! ;) 
So much hate for a great song. Think everybody needs to chill out a bit. Hey Bill, play this again!
this is the name of my optometrist's shop.
Jesus H Jerry......could a guitar sound any more ice picky?
Pass. 
 kurtster wrote:
Funny, I'm not a Dead Head by any means, but for their middle period, this was my favorite album.  Have the vinyl.  

Great to hear this old nugget.



 
Well it's clearly their worst album art.
Funny, I'm not a Dead Head by any means, but for their middle period, this was my favorite album.  Have the vinyl.  

Great to hear this old nugget.


Awful...
 joelbb wrote:
Too bad the rest of the album sucked. 
 
I'm struggling with the physics of this.
hooray for hippies!
 bitbanger wrote:
I have a phone call. Goody, I get to miss this.

 
Can you call me so I can miss it too? I am NOT a Dead fan. I'm guessing they're better live. When you're stoned. And can't remember how boring they were.

PSD! AWAY!!! 
Ouch!
I have a phone call. Goody, I get to miss this.
 joelbb wrote:
Too bad the rest of the album sucked. This was during the "Mars Hotel" period when they thought they could self-produce their own studio albums.
 
Actually, this was from the Wake of the Flood period. Mars Hotel came later.

But you are right, this was Grateful Dead Records 001, their first of three records that were on their own label. Personally, this is my favorite studio album from the band. Certainly Workingman's and American Reality are fine, and both released the same year (!), but this album has always held my fancy, with tunes like Row Jimmy, Weather Report Suite, Mississippi Half-step, among the others.

Cheers,
Thanks buddy, that one worked very well for me...
This song has about the most positive message of any—one of the most fabulous tunes, IMO.

I've heard plenty of versions, but none better than the one from the Great American Music Hall. Garcia's three solos just grow from one to the next—a most amazing warlock, he was. And I always love when Phil takes his solo at the end.

Those that can hear this music, I say we're blessed.
 buddy wrote:

Wow, hi dad, it's been a long time!  Especially since you died 25 years ago. I thought you were the last of a breed, but clearly I was wrong.  I'll make sure you get your Pat Boone records back from the attic.  btw...having a job, shower, and haircut didn't make you any less of a major asshole. Way to stick to your guns!
 
Can I ride with you? Thanks for writing this. Seriously.
This cut is terrific, if somewhat Pop-ie for the GD. Too bad the rest of the album sucked. This was during the "Mars Hotel" period when they thought they could self-produce their own studio albums. Didn't do another studio album as good Working Man's Dead or American Rose until the late 80's "In the Dark". Even hippies have hubris.
I just came over to RP from listening to a '72 dead set on the archive, only to find this... too cool.  You can never have enough dead!
 buddy wrote:

Wow, hi dad, it's been a long time!  Especially since you died 25 years ago. I thought you were the last of a breed, but clearly I was wrong.  I'll make sure you get your Pat Boone records back from the attic.  btw...having a job, shower, and haircut didn't make you any less of a major asshole. Way to stick to your guns!
 
Nice!  Was gonna post but, what more is there to say?
 Krispian wrote:

Just Googled that album cover and... OMG you are right.
 

if you thought that was disgusting try 'the handsome beasts' "beastiality"......you'll never shop for pork chops the same ever again
 rabbi_phil wrote:


nope. worst album cover artwork ever.....Butthole Surfers- Brown Reason To Live.....definitely 
 
Just Googled that album cover and... OMG you are right.
 johnjconn wrote:
Hippies = nothing a job, shower and a haircut can't fix
 
Wow, hi dad, it's been a long time!  Especially since you died 25 years ago. I thought you were the last of a breed, but clearly I was wrong.  I'll make sure you get your Pat Boone records back from the attic.  btw...having a job, shower, and haircut didn't make you any less of a major asshole. Way to stick to your guns!
 tutakea wrote:
awful. crappy song, and probably the most horrible album-cover-art ever made.
 

nope. worst album cover artwork ever.....Butthole Surfers- Brown Reason To Live.....definitely 
 tclodes wrote:
My mama told me, if I don't have anything good to say... I am out of here!
 
Right behind you. This is just...bad. The chorus work sounds like they're rehearsing for the first time. 
Seriously, something's got to be wrong with you if you think that this guy can actually sing.
 johnjconn wrote:
Hippies = nothing a job, shower and a haircut can't fix
 
It worked for me.
 johnjconn wrote:
Hippies = nothing a job, shower and a haircut can't fix
 
How wonderful to read this. It's as if the decades vanished and I'm an outlaw again.
I confess, I've been a fan since before I saw them at Wembley, in London, 1972, and then later here in Toronto, mid-70's (notice how memory fades) and definitely one thing I can attest to is that Dead are better Live! Funny,that...
 Al_Koholic wrote:
Has not been mentioned before I don't think, but turn the album sideways and the cloud is a skull.
 
I tried that 2-3 times but it didn't work until I dropped some blotter. . . 
 

After James wailing on "Sometimes"  The Dead are so dead to me.  I've just never learned to appreciate more than one or two of their songs and not any with the plinky plink out front like this.  Ah well.  {#Rolleyes}
AWESOME!!! Always loved when they played this song. We ARE the eyes of the world!
Any Dead is good Dead!
 tutakea wrote:
awful. crappy song, and probably the most horrible album-cover-art ever made.
 
The cover art is pretty well-executed, though that artist (Rick Griffin) has done much better work.  There are certainly thousands of album covers with much worse artwork than that.  I will refrain from commenting on the tune, however.
awful. crappy song, and probably the most horrible album-cover-art ever made.
strongly dislike the wimpy, twangy grateful dead guitar sound.
Nice Rick Griffin cover art. In his Christian enthusiast period, I seem to recall.

Thank You!
Gawd! Please no!!!
Crazyfingers!  {#Dance}
Mugro wrote:
This has to be one of my favorite songs from my favorite band.

mine too.

I was listening, and thought I know this music, but was too busy to check out who it was.  I knew It HAD to be the Dead.  Then I saw the album cover and thought, I dont have that.  I wondered what year it came out.  I was only about 5 months old.  I will be looking for this one for my collection.  I will have to listen to some more of it.  Thanks for playing it.{#Daisy}


This has to be one of my favorite songs from my favorite band.
not really one of my favorite of the Dead's works, but man does this one bring back a lot of memories...
i love this song
Enjoying happy bouncy (stone-y) Dead{#Roflol}
My mama told me, if I don't have anything good to say... I am out of here!
My favorite dead tune. This is where Phil earns his paycheck.
Thank you!
Nice bass part. Phil Lesh steps out!
God damn it! I missed eyes of the world so I could talk to my boring ass douche bag boss. Life isn't fair.
One good reason to play live Dead is that the fairly weak sounds of Phil's bass, as rendered on this recording, were really developed in concert. There is but a hint here of what he did with the bottom part of a song, or jam, that propelled the entire edifice along. Live recording do manage to capture some of that power.
Whoa.. I saw them play a three-hour jam of this at the Illinois State Fair Grounds in nineteen seventy blah blah blah..... patchouli... pot.... volkswagen. What?
This song just seems so springlike to me...probably the overall sunniness and because the Dead always played Atlanta in the Spring in the 90's. I really enjoyed the shows I went to, but Deadheads could get really tiring.
well put! More live dead please Ballzak wrote:
Yes, yes, yes! One of my all-time favorites... but only when live, live, live! God this is a good song live, it makes me SMILE everytime I hear it but that feeling is all but lost on this version. Studio Dead is like warm Bud Light. Why oh why can't we get some LIVE DEAD?? Please?
need to hear weather report. . .
Has not been mentioned before I don't think, but turn the album sideways and the cloud is a skull.
one of my favorites....makes me feel downright sentimental!
There's a good DMB cover of this floating around the net. Worth checking out.
Yes, yes, yes! One of my all-time favorites... but only when live, live, live! God this is a good song live, it makes me SMILE everytime I hear it but that feeling is all but lost on this version. Studio Dead is like warm Bud Light. Why oh why can't we get some LIVE DEAD?? Please?
rmurray248 wrote:
If you don't like this one, you'll never get the Dead.
I disagree. I like The Dead, but wouldn't go out of my way for this. Might even get up to get a drink. The song is fine, and the guitar very Dead like. But the singing is weak and uninspiring at best. There are so many better choices even off the studio albums.
RIP Beth M, died in college, this song was played at her funeral. She was a great friend and loved this song.
Wake of the Flood and Mars Hotel were two of my favorites. Thanks for this blast from the past. Many a night were spent listening to this while we....well, never mind.
Yay! Wake up to find out that you are disguised as a squirrel...
Thanks for making my friday with this song!
Dude wrote:
Love it! The distribution of user ratings and comments on this song is entertaining. RP listeners either get the Dead, or they don't. I wasn't a fan at first... but once you attend a show, you start to get it. It's an attitude... relax, enjoy, jam out.
I don't understand the whole "Dead scene" it's just music after all. It's not something that you "get" like a mathematical concept.
lol I live in the middle of "Dead" land, and well, I never "got them". Alas different strokes for different folks!
This is one of those "feel great to be alive" kind of songs. The version off of "Live Without a Net" got me hooked on the Dead. From there it just took off...
My fav and one of the most underrated albums. I love the sun on a cat's back comment!
... surprisingly lots of dissension about the Dead on RP... all my south Jersey friends loved them, I didn't care much for them then... now they have really grown on me! Love "Blues for Allah"...
No work getting done-music too LOUD and singing along. My fave Dead song. TY Bill.
Thanks for the nod to Jerry and the boys...
cjg wrote:
oh my how can you refuse that?
Agreed. All Grateful Dead is good, but it is definitely meant to be heard in its live form.
Bill, More from Wake of the Flood please!
Love it! The distribution of user ratings and comments on this song is entertaining. RP listeners either get the Dead, or they don't. I wasn't a fan at first... but once you attend a show, you start to get it. It's an attitude... relax, enjoy, jam out.
Wore the grooves out of this album...
Most excellent...
Just what the doctor ordered... Thanks Bill
I was on BART last night in the City and saw a guy with a Dead shirt on... we exchanged glances and smiled that "love the Dead" knowing look! God Bless Jerry!
Off to Pandora, until this s#*t is over...
One of my most favorite songs, period. Thank you Bill! P.S. There are some live versions of this song that are just simply sublime. The one on Without a Net is one shining example.
pvcnote wrote:
Boring very Boring
so stupid it had to be posted twice.....
pvcnote wrote:
Boring very Boring
you must be gay...
anniebear wrote:
I LOVE this song, but PLEAE, could you just play more LIVE grateful dead? Please? Pretty please? With a nice hippy girl on top????
oh my how can you refuse that?
I LOVE this song, but PLEAE, could you just play more LIVE grateful dead? Please? Pretty please? With a nice hippy girl on top????
Boring very Boring
rmurray248 wrote:
If you don't like this one, you'll never get the Dead.
Perfectly said. Mellow, laid back, wandering guitar and uplifting lyrics - feels like sun on a cat's back. Sums up what the Dead were about. If you're new to it, try to hear the lyrics and the music, and not pay attention to the quality of the vocals. It's about music as an experience and a tradition, not as a craft or an objet d'art. It's like why a good book is better than a good movie - you must apply your imagination to get it.
neuraljazz wrote:
Only good live. Only good on acid. NOT GOOD HERE.
I often find myself feeling the same, about most Dead tunes. But sometimes the reminder they bring is welcome.
I still fail to see the attraction. The only distinguishing factor I can see is that it is very, very long.
Here's to Jerry! Thanks Bill! A long-time, devout fan... D'Jac I'll tell ya, there was nothing like seeing Jerry in scuba shoes playing on a stage in a high school basketball gym in Hilo Bay, Big Island.. Spring 1990... I think there was a little over 1,000 people there? Anyone else out there was at that show? He also played at the Waikiki Shell in Oahu.. saw that, too.
ah, the first GD song I ever learned to play, the first of many. how 'bout playing the version off "without a net"? "gone are the days we stop to decide where we should go, we just ride"
awesome awesome awesome
We miss you Jerry! Thanks Bill!
fireguy wrote:
Too much time in the sun?
Prolly? Nothing seems to capture GD compared to the 2 live concerts I've been too.
neuraljazz wrote:
Only good live. Only good on acid. NOT GOOD HERE.
Too much time in the sun?
Bland and weak.
One of my favorite Dead songs-just beautiful. Love the skull in the clouds.
"Right now discover that you are the song that the morning brings....." Truly inspired.
Only good live. Only good on acid. NOT GOOD HERE.
It's great to hear the Dead on RP!
Sigh...gotta comment again. Jerry had such a sweet sound. I truly miss him. Saw the Dead this summer and they were great, but they weren't GREAT. Jerry was missed. I'm not a fanatic, just a fan. They were something else entirely...
Originally Posted by Art_Carnage: Vocals sound like they got 5 complete strangers off the street, handed them the lyrics, and recorded the first take. Pretty terrible.
I can go on about how many rock bands cant sing too. Think of the Dead as a loose-playing jazz/rock band and you'll START to understand them.
soooooo niceeeeeeeeeee!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Keep the Dead coming!
Originally Posted by Monkeysdad: There, that makes it a 6.6, is it me or does Jerry's guitar playing seem ultra simple?!
Say what you will about their singing and songwriting; but there is no disputing Jerry Garcia's abilities as a guitarist. The "noodling" and phrasing may not be to your taste, just as many may not be fond of Hendrix's style, but he is a quite an accomplished and charismatic player.
Originally Posted by Monkeysdad: There, that makes it a 6.6, is it me or does Jerry's guitar playing seem ultra simple?!
Too stoned.
There, that makes it a 6.6, is it me or does Jerry\'s guitar playing seem ultra simple?!
How much Dead does one have to be subjected to in one day? Give it a rest!
Vocals sound like they got 5 complete strangers off the street, handed them the lyrics, and recorded the first take. Pretty terrible.
Originally Posted by apd: I brought it down to 6.9. Was hoping for lower...
HERE...let me help!!
sweeeeeet
YES!
I brought it down to 6.9. Was hoping for lower...
Hah, I got this up to a 7 with my rating This is my favorite Dead tune, period. Great chord progression, lots of solo space (some may find that a unfortunate). Having attempted to play this with my band way back when I can say it\'s a real marathon. Dick\'s Picks V.3 has the best ever version of this. Someday when I get my poop together I\'ll upload it.