One More Saturday Night

Lyrics: Bob Weir
Music: Bob Weir

Played by Bob Weir with the Grateful Dead and with most of his other bands.

I went down to the mountain, I was drinking some wine (note 1)
I looked up into heaven, lord I saw a mighty sign
Writ in fire across the heaven, plain as black and white
Get prepared, there's gonna be a party tonight

Chorus
Uh huh, hey, Saturday night
One more Saturday night (note 2)
Hey, Saturday night

Everybody's dancing down at the local armory (note 3)
With a basement full of dynamite and live artillery
Temperature keeps rising, everybody getting high
Come the rocking stroke of midnight, the whole place is gonna fly

[chorus]

I turn on Channel Six, the President comes on the news (note 4)
Says I got no satisfaction, that's why I sing the blues
His wife says don't get crazy, Lord you know what to do (note 5)
Just crank that old Victrola, put on your rocking shoes

[chorus]

Then God way up in heaven, for whatever it was worth
Thought he'd have a big old party, thought he'd call it planet earth
Don't worry about tomorrow, Lord, you'll know it when it comes (note 6)
When the rocking, rolling music meets the rising, shining sun

[chorus]

Notes
(1) in early (rehearsal) versions, Bob Weir sang "..., like I do from time to time"
(2) in Salt Lake City in 1983, Bob Weir sang "One more Labor Day night"
(3) variations Bob Weir has sung include "Everybody's dancing at the local skating rink" (thanks to Dan Franzen for spotting this)
(4) variations include "I turn on my TV ..." (thanks to Dan Franzen for pointing this out)
(5) on 17 April 1982 (and perhaps on other occasions during Ronald Reagan's presidency), Bob Weir sang "Nancy says don't get crazy Ron, you know just what to do." Similarly, in the late 80's during George Bush Senior's Presidency, he sang "His wife says don't get crazy George, you know just what to do." He also sang this version with The Dead in reference to George Bush Junior (eg on 9 August 2003) (thanks to Jay Tenewitz, Brian Schnapps and Michael for the info)
(6) in an early version of the song, on 26 October 1971, Bob Weir sang these two lines as:

I may be young and crazy, but I can't see Reason One
For fightin' or complainin' when we should be havin' fun

Grateful Dead Recordings
	Date	Album
	22 Oct 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 3
	26 Oct 1971	Download Series Vol 3
	15 Nov 1971	Road Trips Number 3, Volume 2
	17 Nov 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 26
	20 Nov 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 48
	6 Dec 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 22
	7 Dec 1971	Dave's Picks Volume 22
	9 Dec 1971	Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
	10 Dec 1971	Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
	28 Mar 1972	Dick's Picks Vol 30
	7 Apr 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	8 Apr 1972	Steppin' Out with the Grateful Dead: England '72 (note a)
	14 Apr 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	17 Apr 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	21 Apr 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings (note e)
	24 Apr 1972	Rockin' The Rhein (note a)
	26 Apr 1972	Hundred Year Hall (note a)
	29 Apr 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	3 May 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	4 May 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	7 May 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	11 May 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	13 May 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	16 May 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	18 May 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	24 May 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	25 May 1972	Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
	26 May 1972	Europe '72 (note a) (note b)
	22 Jul 1972	Download Series Vol 10
	25 Aug 1972	Dave's Picks Volume 24
	27 Aug 1972	Sunshine Daydream (CD only)
	9 Sep 1972	Dave's Picks Volume 46
	21 Sep 1972	Dick's Picks Vol 36
	18 Oct 1972	Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
	26 Mar 1973	Dave's Picks Volume 54
	24 Jun 1973	Pacific Northwest '73-'74
	8 Sep 1973	Dave's Picks Volume 38
	30 Oct 1973	Listen To The River: St Louis '71 '72 73
	10 Nov 1973	Winterland 1973 - The Complete Recordings
	14 Nov 1973	30 Trips Around The Sun
	21 Nov 1973	Road Trips Volume 4, Number 3
	23 Feb 1974	Dave's Picks Volume 42
	14 May 1974	Dave's Picks Volume 9
	19 May 1974	Pacific Northwest '73-'74 (note g)
	23 Jun 1974	Dave's Picks Volume 34
	19 Jul 1974	Dave's Picks Volume 17
	31 Jul 1974	Dave's Picks Volume 2
	5 Aug 1974	Dick's Picks Vol 31
	19 Oct 1974	Grateful Dead Movie (video, DVD & CD soundtrack)
	28 Sep 1975	30 Trips Around The Sun
	19 Jun 1976	June 1976 Box Set
	17 Jul 1976	Dave's Picks Volume 18
	9 Oct 1976	Dick's Picks Vol 33
	31 Dec 1976	Live At The Cow Palace
	30 Apr 1977	Download Series Vol 1
	8 May 1977	May 1977: Get Shown The Light Box
	13 May 1977	May 1977 Box Set
	21 May 1977	Dick's Picks Vol 29
	28 May 1977	To Terrapin: Hartford '77
	9 Jun 1977	Winterland June 1977 - The Complete Recordings
	29 Oct 1977	Dave's Picks Vol 33
	5 Nov 1977	Dick's Picks Vol 34
	8 Apr 1978	Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
	11 Apr 1978	Friend Of The Devils: April 1978
	15 Apr 1978	Dave's Picks Volume 37
	22 Apr 1978	Dave's Picks Vol 15
	13 May 1978	Enjoying The Ride
	8 Jul 1978	July 1978: The Complete Recordings
	12 May 1979	30 Days of the Dead (2023)
	27 Oct 1979	30 Trips Around The Sun
	28 Dec 1979	Road Trips Vol 3, No 1
	23 Aug 1980	Enjoying The Ride
	14 Mar 1981	Enjoying The Ride
	16 May 1981	30 Trips Around The Sun
	31 Jul 1982	30 Trips Around The Sun
	7 Aug 1982	Dick's Picks Vol 32
	20 Aug 1983	Enjoying The Ride
	27 Apr 1985	Dave's Picks Vol 49
	24 Mar 1990	Without A Net
	16 Jun 1990	View From The Vault III (video, DVD & CD soundtrack)
	23 Jun 1990	Dave's Picks Volume 44
	27 Oct 1990	30 Trips Around The Sun
	27 Mar 1993	30 Trips Around The Sun
	1 Oct 1994	30 Trips Around The Sun
	18 Mar 1995	30 Days of the Dead (2024)
	4 Jul 2015	Fare Thee Well (CD and DVD)

Bob Weir Recordings
	Date	Album	Recorded By
	studio 1972	Ace	Bob Weir (note c)
	3 Apr 1976	In Concert (King Biscuit Flour Hour)	Kingfish

(Plus live recordings by The Dead, Furthur, Dead & Company, Ratdog, Phil Lesh & Friends etc not listed here. See Grateful Dead Family Discography for a full list.)

Other Recordings
	Date	Album	Recorded By
	1982	Block S	Leland Stanford Junior University Marching Band
	1996	Dark Star	David Murray Octet
	2000	Might As Well	The Persuasions (note d)
	2003	The Tussler (re-issue)	Motorpsycho
	2003	Back On Track	Bees Make Honey
	8 Feb 2006	Live At The Fillmore	Grateful Grass
	2008	Ithica 30 Years Later	Dark Star Orchestra
	2015	Songs Of Their Own	FiKus
	21 Feb 2015	Live: Philadelphia, PA	Disco Biscuits (note f)
	2015	Grateful Jazz	Jazz Is Dead
	2024	Grateful: The Music Plays The Band	Grateful Drag

Notes
(a) also on the box set Europe '72 - The Complete Recordings
(b) also on the compilation The Very Best Of The Grateful Dead
(c) also on the compilation Weir Here: The Best Of Bob Weir
(d) re-released in 2011 on "Persuasions of the Dead"
(e) also released on DVD in The Best Of Beat Club 65 to 73
(f) The list above includes only one illustrative example of the series of live recordings by these bands. For a full list see the Grateful Dead Family Discography.
(g) also on the Best Of The Grateful Dead Hour Vol 2

Background
Dennis McNally's book, "A Long Strange Trip" has an account of how this song was written:

"[Weir and Hunter] clashed again over "One More Saturday Night." Having gotten Hunter's lyrics, Weir rewrote them--badly in Hunter's opinion--and then asked to call the resulting song "U.S.Blues," which Hunter refused to permit. In the end, he declined any association with the song and it was credited to Weir alone." [p393]

Robert Hunter confirmed this in a 1978 interview:

"The song that Weir did, "One More Satuday Night", was originally "U.S.Blues", but he got it into his mind to re-write the lyrics. And he still wanted to call it "U.S.Blues". But I said no way, I'll write another "U.S.Blues", which I did."

[This also adds irony to the line "You can call this song the United States Blues"].

Mike Scheier has an early vinyl copy of "Ace" and says the song is credited to "Weir/Hunter" there--this was changed on later pressings.

David Gans asked Bob Weir about this in an interview on 2 March 2004

Gans: A story that ... I wanted to check out with you is, I've heard rumors over the years that "One More Saturday Night" actually began as a Hunter lyric and he took his name off it. Is that true?
Weir: Yeah, it began as a Hunter lyric. "One more Saturday night" was his line. I wrote the rest. [laughs]
Gans: How did that happen?
Weir: I don't remember. I think he had a verse or something, a sketch he gave me. I got started working on it and, it all happened in one night. I got up a head of steam and cranked the song out, and I used that one line. And as I was writing, the rest of that verse wasn't ringing my lofty bells, and I kept intending to work it back in to the tune, and then take everything I'd written and submit to Hunter and let him correct it, but he... as far as he was concerned, the song was done, so he took his name off it.

Robert Hunter posted the following lyrics on DeadNet Central - I don't know if it's the verse Weir refers to

Dynamitin' depot, bricks are pourin down
Cost your reputation if they catch you hangin round
Ev'ry choice you look at serves but to confuse
Reckon you could call it the United States Blues
Oh baby, One more Saturday night
Unhuh, One more Saturday night

Further Information
For an online discussion of the lyrics to this song see the deadsongs.vue conference on The Well.
For more information on recordings see Matt Schofield's Grateful Dead Family Discography
For information on references in the lyrics see David Dodd's Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics
For David Dodd's discussion of this song on dead.net see Greatest Stories Ever Told
For online chords and TAB see www.rukind.com
For details of every time played, see Chris Edwards Grateful Sets site
For sheet music, see:
          Grateful Dead Anthology Volume 1 (piano arrangement)
          Grateful Dead Authentic Guitar Classics Volume 2 (guitar TAB)
          Without A Net Songbook (piano arrangement)
          Hundred Year Hall songbook (guitar TAB)
          Very Best Of The Grateful Dead (guitar TAB)