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As I was walkin' down rub-a-dub square
Not a chill to the window but a little to the air
From another direction she was calling my eye
It could be an illusion but I might as well try
Might as well try
She had rings on her fingers and bells on her shoes
And I knew without asking she was into the blues
She wore scarlet begonias tucked into her curls
I knew right away she was not like other girls, like other girls
Well I ain't never been right as I ain't never been wrong
As everything works out the way it does in this song
Cause once in a while you get shown in the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right
It was the summer of love and I thank the stars above
Because the women took a lovin' over me
And just to gain her trust, I bought a microbus
Because I sold off all my personal property
A tie-tie-dyed dress, she was a psychedelic mess
We toured to the north, south, east and west
We sold some mushroom tea,
We sold some ecstasy,
We sold nitrous, opium, acid, heroin and PCP
And now I hear the police coming after me
Yes now I hear the police coming after me
The one scarlet with the flowers in her hair,
She's got the police coming after me
Well there ain't nothing wrong with the way she moves
All scarlet begonias and a touch of the blues
And there ain't nothin' wrong with the love that's in her eyes
I had to learn the hard way just to let her pass by, let her pass by.
Oh just let her pass by
Not a chill to the window but a little to the air
From another direction she was calling my eye
It could be an illusion but I might as well try
Might as well try
She had rings on her fingers and bells on her shoes
And I knew without asking she was into the blues
She wore scarlet begonias tucked into her curls
I knew right away she was not like other girls, like other girls
Well I ain't never been right as I ain't never been wrong
As everything works out the way it does in this song
Cause once in a while you get shown in the light
In the strangest of places if you look at it right
It was the summer of love and I thank the stars above
Because the women took a lovin' over me
And just to gain her trust, I bought a microbus
Because I sold off all my personal property
A tie-tie-dyed dress, she was a psychedelic mess
We toured to the north, south, east and west
We sold some mushroom tea,
We sold some ecstasy,
We sold nitrous, opium, acid, heroin and PCP
And now I hear the police coming after me
Yes now I hear the police coming after me
The one scarlet with the flowers in her hair,
She's got the police coming after me
Well there ain't nothing wrong with the way she moves
All scarlet begonias and a touch of the blues
And there ain't nothin' wrong with the love that's in her eyes
I had to learn the hard way just to let her pass by, let her pass by.
Oh just let her pass by
Lyrics submitted by The Big Andowski
Track duration: 03:32
"Scarlet Begonias" as written by Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter
Lyrics © Warner/Chappell Music, Inc.
Lyrics powered by LyricFind
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I think the girl is actually a metaphor for the lifestyle that accompanies everything he is talking about.
he starts out clean and sober, then ends up caught up in illegal shit. He has to learn the hard way to let it all pass by. Cause he isn't getting anywhere but in trouble
I've been a Dead fan my whole life though, and this song makes me cringe every time I hear it. I liked the original so much more. The lyrics are much better, "Once in a while you get shown the light, in the strangest of places if you look at it right." I wish they hadn't changed that around :[
I'm impressed that they even tried to take on a Dead song, though. That's pretty cool. Maybe Sublime will end up being a grateful dead for the neo-hippie generation? :]
and I knew without asking- she was into the blues
I think "the blues" may be being used as a term for drugs (perhaps only downers, but in the end all drugs are just away to escape from and achieve more "blue" feelings)
In fact it's been sampled by a million hip hop influenced acts.