1
Dead to the world my body was sleeping
On my mind was nothing at all
Come a mist an aire so appealing
I'm here a whispering you summoned I called
I formed me a presence whose aspect was changing
Oh he would shift he would not shift at all
We sat for a while he was very engaging
And when he was gone I was gone on a smile
With a strange way of walking
And a strange way of breathing
More lives than a cat
That led me astray
All in all he captured my heart
Dead to the world and just
Slipped away
I heard me a music that drew me to dancing
Lo I turned under his spell
I opened my coat but he never came closer
I bolted the door and whispered oh well
With a strange way of walking
And a strange way of breathing
More lives than a cat
That let me astray
All in all he captured my heart
Dead to the world and just
Slipped away
I laid in the rushes the air was upon me
Wondering well I just couldn't discern
Will he come back come back to me
Oh I whispered will you ever return
I was feeling sensations in no dictionary
He was less than a breath of shimmer and smoke
The life in his fingers unwound my existence
Dead to the world alive I awoke
With a strange way of walking
And a strange way of breathing
Less than a breath of shimmer and smoke
The life in his fingers unwound my existence
Dead to the world alive I awoke
Alive I awoke
Alive alive I awoke
Alive I awoke
Alive I awoke
Alive
I awoke
I awoke
Alive I awoke
Alive alive-o
Alive alive-o
On my mind was nothing at all
Come a mist an aire so appealing
I'm here a whispering you summoned I called
I formed me a presence whose aspect was changing
Oh he would shift he would not shift at all
We sat for a while he was very engaging
And when he was gone I was gone on a smile
With a strange way of walking
And a strange way of breathing
More lives than a cat
That led me astray
All in all he captured my heart
Dead to the world and just
Slipped away
I heard me a music that drew me to dancing
Lo I turned under his spell
I opened my coat but he never came closer
I bolted the door and whispered oh well
With a strange way of walking
And a strange way of breathing
More lives than a cat
That let me astray
All in all he captured my heart
Dead to the world and just
Slipped away
I laid in the rushes the air was upon me
Wondering well I just couldn't discern
Will he come back come back to me
Oh I whispered will you ever return
I was feeling sensations in no dictionary
He was less than a breath of shimmer and smoke
The life in his fingers unwound my existence
Dead to the world alive I awoke
With a strange way of walking
And a strange way of breathing
Less than a breath of shimmer and smoke
The life in his fingers unwound my existence
Dead to the world alive I awoke
Alive I awoke
Alive alive I awoke
Alive I awoke
Alive I awoke
Alive
I awoke
I awoke
Alive I awoke
Alive alive-o
Alive alive-o
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I said at the time this song was Patti's posthumous tribute to Jerry Garcia, which in online conversation offended her punkish fans and others who revile the Grateful Dead.
Nonetheless, the interpretation fits the song: "DEAD to the World," the magical musician with "life in his fingers," and the delicate, spiraling, Garcia guitar licks which embroider the edges of the lyrics in this Smith song and no other.
In a subsequent tour Patti would place an empty chair on the stage for Jerry to sit, showing her special affection for the man and his music.