Lyrics to
New Speedway Boogie

This version of New Speedway Boogie was released by Grateful Dead in 1970.

Our About Grateful Dead page at Decade Lyrics includes the lyrics for New Speedway Boogie from 1970 as well as all of the other lyrics from Grateful Dead that we have in our lyrics database.

Here's more interesting things in songs and lyrics tied to Grateful Dead or about the 1970s in general.

Please don’t dominate the rap, jack, if you’ve got nothing new to say.
If you please, don’t back up the track this train’s got to run today.
I spent a little time on the mountain, I spent a little time on the hill
I heard someone say “Better run away”, others say “better stand still”.

Now I don’t know, but I been told it’s hard to run with the weight of gold,
Other hand I have heard it said, it’s just as hard with the weight of lead.

Who can deny, who can deny, it’s not just a change in style?
One step down and another begun and I wonder how many miles.
I spent a little time on the mountain, I spent a little time on the hill
Things went down we don’t understand, but I think in time we will.
Now, I don’t know but I was told in the heat of the sun a man died of cold.
Keep on coming or stand and wait, with the sun so dark and the hour so late.
You can’t overlook the lack, jack, of any other highway to ride.
It’s got no signs or dividing lines and very few rule to guide.

I saw things getting out of hand, I guess they always will.
Now I don’t know but I been told
If the horse don’t pull you got to carry the load.
I don’t know whose back’s that strong, maybe find out before too long.

One way or another, one way or another,
One way or another, this darkness got to give.

---

Want more lyrics and songs by Grateful Dead?

Grateful Dead has released many songs over the years besides New Speedway Boogie. Grateful Dead released songs from 1967 to 1989 spanning across albums like The Grateful Dead, Anthem Of The Sun, Live / Dead, Aoxomoxoa, American Beauty, Workingman's Dead, Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses), Europe '72, History Of The Grateful Dead, Vol. 1 (Bear's Choice), Wake Of The Flood, Grateful Dead From The Mars Hotel, Blues For Allah, Steal Your Face, Terrapin Station, Shakedown Street, Go To Heaven, Reckoning, In The Dark, and Built To Last. Decade Lyrics has over lyrics & songs by Grateful Dead.

If you're a fan of 1970s music looking for more songs from 1970 or the 1970s overall, you've come to the right place!

About Lyrics and New Speedway Boogie by Grateful Dead

The lyrics for New Speedway Boogie are defined as the words making up the song released by Grateful Dead in 1970. It also includes the verses and words used by the background chorus in the song. Like many hit songs, the lyrics to New Speedway Boogie have different meanings to different people. While it is clear in some of the lyrics what the artist is trying to really say, only Grateful Dead and those working with them know all of the meanings behind all of the lyrics to their songs.

Some folks are interested in word and phrase etymology. It is easy to understand the lyrics to New Speedway Boogie by Grateful Dead if you think through it. The word "lyric" itself derives from the Latin word lyricus, with the actual English word lyrics applied to the definition "words set to music" listed in Stainer and Barrett's 1876 Dictionary of Musical Terms. Continuing the chain, the Latin word lyricus derives from the Greek word λυρικός or lyrikós. This somewhat means "poetry accompanied by the lyre" or "words set to music." You can easily see that by looking at the background of the word lyric, that the "lyrics to New Speedway Boogie" means the words set to the music of New Speedway Boogie, or poetry accompanied by the lyre played by Grateful Dead. The singular form "lyric" is still used to mean the complete words to a song. However, the singular form lyric is also commonly used to refer to a specific line (or phrase) within a song's lyrics. Hence, by this analysis of word structure, you could say that the lyric to New Speedway Boogie and the lyrics to New Speedway Boogie are both one and the same thing. None of this talk about the word Lyrics is really relevant to fans of Grateful Dead who came here looking just for the lyrics to New Speedway Boogie, but we feel it is still fun to learn what's behind commonly used words and lyrics in songs.

More Songs & Lyrics by Grateful Dead

Visit our Grateful Dead profile for more Grateful Dead songs, lyrics & info!

)