The lyrics, unsigned, are started by Garcia, who writes the song’s first three verses on the front side, and finished by Hunter on the reverse with the fourth and final verse, with Garcia adding two words to the final verse, “All” and “Down,” and circling the song’s last line. Penned in blue and black ballpoint, the lyrics read, in full:
[Garcia] “1. Sittin in Mangrove valley chasing light beams / Everything wanders from Baby to Z / Baby, baby, pretty young on Tuesday / Old like a Rum drinkin demon at tea / Baby baby tell me what's the matter / Why? Why tell me what's your why now / Tell me why will you never come home / Tell me what's your reason, if you got a good one / Everywhere I go the people [Garcia switches to black ballpoint] all know / everyone’s doin that rag.
2. Take my line & go fishin for a Tuesday, Maybe take my supper eat it out by the sea / gave my baby 20 – 40 good reasons / couldn't find any better ones in the mornin at 3 / Rain gonna come, but the rain gonna go ya know / Steppin off smartly from the rank & file / Awful damp & dark like a dungeon / Maybe get a little bit darker for the day.
3. You needn't gild the Lily, offer jewels to the sunset / No one is watching or standing in your shoes / Wash your lonely feet in the river in the morning / Everything promised is delivered to you / Dont neglect to pick up what your share is / All the winter birds are winging home now / Hey lover go and look around you / nothin out there you haven't seen before now / wade in the water & never get wet / if you keep on doin' that rag Over.”
[Hunter] “One eyed jacks / and the deuces are wild / And all the aces are crawlin up & down your sleeve / come back here, baby Louise / and tell me the name of your game / is it all fall down / is it all go under / is it anyone can win in the end?” Upon closer examination, the ‘Doin’ That Rag’ lyric manuscript is nearly identical to the recorded version, with only a few minor variations. In fine condition, with some light soiling, and a drinking glass stain.
Accompanied by full letters of authenticity from REAL, JSA, and Beckett Authentication Services, as well as by a detailed letter of authenticity from Jeff Gold, the owner of Recordmecca and a former executive vice president/general manager of Warner Bros. Records, and a signed letter of provenance from Susan Klein, former publicist for the Grateful Dead, which reads: “During 1979 and 1980 I worked for Ren Grevatt Associates, a NYC-based boutique music-industry PR firm that had been subcontracted by Arista Records to promote the recently signed Grateful Dead and Jerry Garcia Band. In July 1979 I visited San Rafael, CA where the Grateful Dead had their studio, offices, and where Jerry Garcia was residing at the time. On a visit to Jerry’s home, atop a stack of papers piled in his living room I noticed these song lyrics, which I picked up. Recognizing the song, I remarked that it was interesting to see the words written out rather than sung, and that they really read like poetry…In his characteristically nonchalant way, Jerry said, ‘you can have that, we don’t do that tune anymore,’ and I happily took the piece of paper as a special souvenir of my trip.”
The letter from Gold, who obtained the lyrics directly from Klein, reads, in part: “Original handwritten Grateful Dead lyric manuscripts are extremely rare. In nearly 50 years of buying and selling collectible records and music memorabilia, I have had only one full and one partial set of Jerry Garcia handwritten lyrics, both for cover songs. This is the first example I have encountered of a Garcia written lyric manuscript for an important original Grateful Dead song (I’ve never seen a Grateful Dead lyric manuscript in the hands of both Garcia and Hunter.) While a few Grateful Dead manuscripts have surfaced over the years, in my opinion none have been remotely this important.”
'Doin’ That Rag' was likely composed in 1968, with Aoxomoxoa recording sessions taking place at Pacific Recording in San Mateo and Pacific High Recording in San Francisco between September 1968 and March 1969. Still a young band, the Grateful Dead invested extraordinary time and money into shaping the song in the studio, effectively paying for an education in recording and production as they learned the intricacies of multi-track recording. The intricate, layered tracks on Aoxomoxoa—including 'Doin’ That Rag'—were among the first rock recordings made using 16-track technology. More than 50 years after its release, the song stands as a singularly enduring example of the band’s late-1960s studio experimentation, and a cult favorite among dedicated fans and historians. It sits at the center of Aoxomoxoa, an album cherished for its strange, playful, and darkly psychedelic feel.
Aoxomoxoa was the first Grateful Dead album to feature Robert Hunter as a full-time contributor, solidifying the song-writing partnership between Garcia and Hunter that would last for the rest of the band’s career. Garcia worked closely with his longtime friend and lyricist, who was widely regarded as an essential member of the Grateful Dead despite never performing onstage. Hunter’s role was later formally recognized when he became the only non-performing band member to be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
The song captures the band at a creative high point, with Garcia and Hunter pushing into new territory, especially Hunter, whose lyrics represent one of his furthest steps into abstract, dreamlike writing before he moved toward the more grounded storytelling of Workingman’s Dead and American Beauty in 1970. Musically and lyrically, 'Doin’ That Rag' doesn’t fit neatly into blues, folk, or rock; instead, it blends Americana touches like ragtime and old slang with psychedelic rock, reflecting the boundary-testing spirit that defined the Grateful Dead in 1969.
'Doin’ That Rag' didn’t last long in the Grateful Dead’s live repertoire, largely due to how difficult it was to pull off onstage. That challenge is evident in the version found on Fillmore West 1969: The Complete Recordings, with its abrupt tempo changes and unusual chord progressions. According to the Deadlists Project, the song was performed just 38 times in concert, all between January and September 1969, including appearances at venues such as the Avalon Ballroom, Fillmore East, and Fillmore West.
The original Garcia-Hunter handwritten manuscript for ‘Doin’ That Rag’ stands as an extraordinary artifact dating to the Grateful Dead’s formative early years. Notably, it is the only documented lyric manuscript by the legendary Garcia-Hunter partnership to appear on a Grateful Dead studio album.
