Dire Wolf

Lyrics: Robert Hunter
Music: Jerry Garcia

Sung by Jerry Garcia on Workingman's Dead and in almost all Grateful Dead live shows. But in at least a couple of the early performances of the song (21 June and 4 July 1969) it was sung by Bob Weir (thanks to Mike Scheier for pointing this out).

In the timbers of Fennario the wolves are running round (note 1)
The winter was so hard and cold, froze ten feet 'neath the ground

Chorus
Don't murder me, I beg of you don't murder me
Please don't murder me

I sat down to supper, 'twas a bottle of red whiskey
I said my prayers and went to bed, that's the last they saw of me
[chorus]

When I awoke, the dire wolf, six hundred pounds of sin
Was grinning at my window, all I said was "Come on in"
[chorus]

The wolf came in, I got my cards, we sat down for a game
I cut my deck to the queen of spades but the cards were all the same (note 2)
[chorus]

In the back-wash of Fennario, the black and bloody mire
The dire wolf collects his due while the boys sing round the fire
[chorus]