Old, Old House

Lyrics: George Jones, Hal Bynam
Music: George Jones, Hal Bynum

This is only known to have been played a very few times by the Dead, including 31 January 1970 and either 20 or 21 June 1969 (the recording circulates under both dates). It is often given the (wrong) title in setlists - "Bowed In Memories" or "Bound In Memories".

It was also played by Bob Weir with the New Riders of the Purple Sage in 1969.

There's an old house that was once a mansion
On a hill overlooking the town
And time has left her wreckage where once there was beauty
And soon the old house will tumble down

Chorus
But when the leaves start to fall in autumn
And the rain starts to drip through the trees
There's an old, old man who walks through the garden
And his head is bowed in memories (note 1)

They say he built the house because of a woman
They planned to be married in the fall
But her love withered with the last leaves of the summer
And the house was left empty after all

[chorus]
And his head is bowed in memories
Notes
(1) in the version on 20/21 June 1969, Bob Weir sings "And his head is filled with memories" here - though he sings "bowed in memories" the second time through the chorus.

New Riders Recordings
     Date Album
     28 Aug 1969 Dawn Of The New Riders Of The Purple Sage

The song was released as a single in 1965 by George Jones (as the B side of "Wrong Number). The lyrics differ only very slightly from the version sung by the Dead:
There's an old, old house that once was a mansion
On a hill overlooking the town
But time has left her her wreckage where once there was beauty
And soon the old house will tumble down

Chorus
But when the leaves start to fall in autumn
And the rain starts to drip from the trees
There's an old, old man who walks through the garden
And his head is bowed in memories

They say he built a mansion because of a woman
And they planned to be married in the fall
But her love withered in the last rays of summer
And the house stood empty after all

[chorus]
There's an old, old man who walks through the garden
And his head is bowed in memories


Further Information
For more information on recordings see Matt Schofield's Grateful Dead Family Discography

 


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