Scarlet Begonias

"Scarlet Begonias"
Song by the Grateful Dead
Album	Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel
Released	June 27, 1974
Recorded	1974
Genre	Jam Band
Length	4:19
Label	Grateful Dead Records
Writer	Robert Hunter
Composer	Jerry Garcia
Producer	Grateful Dead
Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel track listing
"Loose Lucy" (4) "Scarlet Begonias" (5) "Pride of Cucamonga" (6)

"Scarlet Begonias" is a song by the Grateful Dead. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter, and the music was written by guitarist Jerry Garcia.^[1] The song first appears on the 1974 release, Grateful Dead from the Mars Hotel. Its live debut came on March 23, 1974 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California.^[1] When performed live, "Scarlet Begonias" would often be paired with "Fire on the Mountain", resulting in what would be nicknamed "Scarlet>Fire".^[2] The "Scarlet-Fire" that was played by the Grateful Dead at the Long Beach Arena on December 13, 1980 has been acclaimed by many listeners on the internet archive site http://www.archive.org as being one of the best live recorded versions to date, but others prefer the harder, faster versions the band performed in the late 1980s and early 1990s, e.g., at Hamilton, Ontario on March 22, 1990. On at least a few memorable occasions, the Grateful Dead were accompanied by Donna Godchaux during the performance of this song, lending an earthier feel to the more usually smooth quality of vocal work typical to most of their performances and recordings.

Covers

The song has been covered many times by a variety of artists. Its most famous covers are by Sublime on their album 40 Oz. to Freedom^[3] and Phish. The song has also been covered by Jimmy Buffett on his album License to Chill^[4] and by Bruce Hornsby in concert. It was also covered by the Jamaican reggae group, The Melodians.

Notes

^[1]

External links

• Dead.net, the official homepage of the Grateful Dead.