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[Verse 1]
Cold iron shackles and a ball and chain
Listen to the whistle of the evening train
You know you bound to wind up dead
If you don't head back to Tennessee, Jed
Rich man step on my poor head
When you get back you better butter my bread
Well, you know it's like I said
You better head back to Tennessee, Jed
[Chorus]
Tennessee, Tennessee
There ain't no place I'd rather be
Baby, won't you carry me
Back to Tennessee
[Verse 2]
Drink all day and rock all night
Law come to get you if you don't walk right
Got a letter this morning, people, and all it read:
You better head back to Tennessee, Jed
I dropped four flights and cracked my spine
Honey, come quick with the iodine
Catch a few winks, baby, down under the bed
Then head back to Tennessee, Jed
[Chorus]
Tennessee, Tennessee
There ain't no place I'd rather be
Baby, won't you carry me
Back to Tennessee
[Verse 3]
I run into Charlie Phogg
He blacked my eye and he kicked my dog
My dog, he, he turned to me and he said:
You better head back to Tennessee, Jed
I woke up a-feeling mean
Went down to play the slot machine
The wheels turned around and the letters read:
You better head back to Tennessee, Jed
[Chorus]
Tennessee, Tennessee
There ain't no place I'd rather be
Baby, won't you carry me
Back to Tennessee
[Instrumental break]
[Chorus]
Tennessee, Tennessee
There ain't no place I'd rather be
Baby, won't you carry me
Back to Tennessee
Tennessee Jed (Live in Hartford, CT, May 28, 1977) was written by Jerry Garcia & Robert Hunter.
Tennessee Jed (Live in Hartford, CT, May 28, 1977) was produced by The Grateful Dead.
The Grateful Dead released Tennessee Jed (Live in Hartford, CT, May 28, 1977) on Sat May 28 1977.
Hunter, in A Box of Rain, says:
“Tennessee Jed” originated in Barcelona, Spain. Topped up on vino tinto, I composed it aloud to the sound of a jaw harp twanged between echoing building faces by someone strolling half a block ahead of me in the late summer twilight.