• https://www.dead.net/features/greatest-stories-ever-told/greatest-stories-ever-told-cassidy
    Greatest Stories Ever Told - "Cassidy"

    By David Dodd

    Here’s the plan—each week, I will blog about a different song, focusing, usually, on the lyrics, but also on some other aspects of the song, including its overall impact—a truly subjective thing. Therefore, the best part, I would hope, would not be anything in particular that I might have to say, but rather, the conversation that may happen via the comments over the course of time—and since all the posts will stay up, you can feel free to weigh in any time on any of the songs! With Grateful Dead lyrics, there’s always a new and different take on what they bring up for each listener, it seems.

    “Cassidy”

    Former United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins had this to say about poetry itself:

    And how will it ever end?
    unless the day finally arrives
    when we have compared everything in the world
    to everything else in the world,…


    - From “The Trouble With Poetry.”

    In the Bob Weir / John Perry Barlow composition “Cassidy,” Barlow sets himself the task of comparing a newborn baby girl, named Cassidy, with the legendary “Cowboy Neal” who previously appeared in “That’s It For the Other One.” In this case, the comparison is a study in contrasts, even as the two Cassidys intersect in the life of the band. “There he goes, and now here she starts — hear her cry.”

    I think each of us, listening and singing along, can hear our entire lives in this song. We arrive and we are lost to the world, eventually. I love the contrasting images of the colt drawing the coffin cart, of the scorched ground being grown green again, of the night-time washed clean.

    Barlow wrote this song for the newborn Cassidy Law, daughter to the band’s beloved office manager and early archivist and caretaker of the Deadheads, Eileen Law. Neal Cassady died in February, 1968, near San Miguel de Allende, apparently from the effects of exposure to the elements. Cassidy (note the different spelling) Law was born in 1970. In the song, the two are linked in the way we always link those who have passed away and those who bear their names into the future.

    The Dead have quite a few songs about the arc of birth to death. “Black Peter,” “Ripple,” “Crazy Fingers,” and others all mention these salient facts of our existence. I believe that the knowledge we will die is what defines us as humans, though of course it seems that other animals must know this. (I’ve always said that I want these words on my gravestone: “I knew this would happen.”) I think maybe the band’s name has something to do with this.

    I know several people for whom this song is particularly evocative of a sense of comfort in the passing of loved ones. And maybe it’s the sense of things going on despite the deaths of friends and family—or the wonderful way that the flight of the seabirds in the song, scattering like lost words, convey the beauty we can find in the midst of things falling apart. I don’t know.

    Kesey and Cassady

    “Cassidy” first appeared on Weir’s solo album, Ace (1972), and it has appeared on many live releases. It’s been in the Ratdog and Furthur repertoire steadily.

    The Grateful Dead played this song a lot (334 times), and continuously, although they did not debut it until 1974, when they played it once, on March 23, at the Cow Palace. (This was the show where the Wall of Sound first appeared ((“The Sound Test”)) and the other first-time-played in the show was “Scarlet Begonias.”) From 1976 on, it remained in steady rotation. The song’s final performance by the Dead took place on July 6, 1995, at Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Missouri—the band’s third-to-last concert. It was almost always a first-set tune.

    “Cassidy” contains a nice wide-open jam spot, and the band ventured quite a distance in those jams, reaching into space before coalescing back, as if by magic, into the “Flight of the seabirds” reprise.

    Here’s a talking point for everyone, if poetry, Neal, and life and death don’t get you going: how many children, dogs, cats, etc. have been named Cassidy since this song was written? I have known quite a number myself. And it’s not just “Cassidy.” I have met many others with Dead-inspired names. I myself have had cats named China and Cosmic Charley. There must be Stellas, Altheas, Shannons, Delias, Ann-Maries, and so on. Maybe you ARE one of these! I would love to hear some good stories about names. I think there must be a number of Jeromes out there.

    Barlow seems fascinated by names and naming: “What shall we say, shall we call it by a name?” he asks in “Let It Grow.” “I will sing you love songs written in the letters of your name,” he writes in “Looks Like Rain,” as well as this song’s “Speaks his name, though you were born to me, Cassidy.”

    In Oliver Trager’s The American Book of the Dead, he quotes Eileen as saying she had picked out the name before the birth, because “I thought it sounded good for either a boy or a girl.” And Weir, who was strumming the incipient tune in the room next door to the birth, says “I named in ‘Cassidy’ because it was born the same day as Cassidy Law.”

    One thing writing these weekly blogs posts is teaching me, is that no matter how long I have lived with these songs, they have more to give, and I have more to learn about the songs. I’ve been corrected on at least one point every week by the most excellent folks who take the time to comment on the posts. I take time to re-read the material I can lay my hands on (having given away most of my Grateful Dead library a few years back to the Marin History Museum…). And I stumble across some gems in the essays and entries I do find. Richard Gehr, in the liner notes to “So Many Roads,” writes beautifully about the lyrics, and has enlightening things to say about “Cassidy.” He describes the song as “[tuning] in to the lively, lonely frequency of “Cowboy Neal” Cassady.”

    Well, that’s enough. Let the words be yours, I’m done with mine….

    360741
38 comments
sort by
Recent
Reset
Items displayed
  • garciafan
    5 years 3 months ago
    Stella Blue

    So, one day I came home from work to my wife who had big news for me. She saw a parrot sitting on a branch in our backyard...in Oakland, California! She spent over an hour sitting there quietly with the bird before she was eventually able to hold the bird. Needless to say, we have a new pet parrot. The green parrot had this beautiful blue streak under its neck and under its wings. There was only one name for this stunning creature - Stella Blue! My wife loved the name (and the song). We also had a beautiful, full-bodied, grey-haired rabbit which we named Jerry.

  • Default Avatar
    Jimmymack_49
    6 years 1 month ago
    Names
    Thank you for the wonderful tribute to John Perry Barlow and Cassidy. I named my dog Jubilee, after Sugaree and another sweet little dog that was a good friend some years ago. Keep the Faith! Jim
  • Default Avatar
    The Grateful Brian
    1 year 10 months ago
    These are great names, i…

    These are great names, i agree. In this last year i was thinking (and i still) that "Sugaree" is a very nice name for a child, and i want to name my daughter Sugaree or Scarlet.
    I'm 20yo and i haven't even a girlfriend, but i can dream with take care of a lovely family.

user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

14 years 11 months

By David Dodd

Here’s the plan—each week, I will blog about a different song, focusing, usually, on the lyrics, but also on some other aspects of the song, including its overall impact—a truly subjective thing. Therefore, the best part, I would hope, would not be anything in particular that I might have to say, but rather, the conversation that may happen via the comments over the course of time—and since all the posts will stay up, you can feel free to weigh in any time on any of the songs! With Grateful Dead lyrics, there’s always a new and different take on what they bring up for each listener, it seems.

“Cassidy”

Former United States Poet Laureate Billy Collins had this to say about poetry itself:

And how will it ever end?
unless the day finally arrives
when we have compared everything in the world
to everything else in the world,…


- From “The Trouble With Poetry.”

In the Bob Weir / John Perry Barlow composition “Cassidy,” Barlow sets himself the task of comparing a newborn baby girl, named Cassidy, with the legendary “Cowboy Neal” who previously appeared in “That’s It For the Other One.” In this case, the comparison is a study in contrasts, even as the two Cassidys intersect in the life of the band. “There he goes, and now here she starts — hear her cry.”

I think each of us, listening and singing along, can hear our entire lives in this song. We arrive and we are lost to the world, eventually. I love the contrasting images of the colt drawing the coffin cart, of the scorched ground being grown green again, of the night-time washed clean.

Barlow wrote this song for the newborn Cassidy Law, daughter to the band’s beloved office manager and early archivist and caretaker of the Deadheads, Eileen Law. Neal Cassady died in February, 1968, near San Miguel de Allende, apparently from the effects of exposure to the elements. Cassidy (note the different spelling) Law was born in 1970. In the song, the two are linked in the way we always link those who have passed away and those who bear their names into the future.

The Dead have quite a few songs about the arc of birth to death. “Black Peter,” “Ripple,” “Crazy Fingers,” and others all mention these salient facts of our existence. I believe that the knowledge we will die is what defines us as humans, though of course it seems that other animals must know this. (I’ve always said that I want these words on my gravestone: “I knew this would happen.”) I think maybe the band’s name has something to do with this.

I know several people for whom this song is particularly evocative of a sense of comfort in the passing of loved ones. And maybe it’s the sense of things going on despite the deaths of friends and family—or the wonderful way that the flight of the seabirds in the song, scattering like lost words, convey the beauty we can find in the midst of things falling apart. I don’t know.

Kesey and Cassady

“Cassidy” first appeared on Weir’s solo album, Ace (1972), and it has appeared on many live releases. It’s been in the Ratdog and Furthur repertoire steadily.

The Grateful Dead played this song a lot (334 times), and continuously, although they did not debut it until 1974, when they played it once, on March 23, at the Cow Palace. (This was the show where the Wall of Sound first appeared ((“The Sound Test”)) and the other first-time-played in the show was “Scarlet Begonias.”) From 1976 on, it remained in steady rotation. The song’s final performance by the Dead took place on July 6, 1995, at Riverport Amphitheatre in Maryland Heights, Missouri—the band’s third-to-last concert. It was almost always a first-set tune.

“Cassidy” contains a nice wide-open jam spot, and the band ventured quite a distance in those jams, reaching into space before coalescing back, as if by magic, into the “Flight of the seabirds” reprise.

Here’s a talking point for everyone, if poetry, Neal, and life and death don’t get you going: how many children, dogs, cats, etc. have been named Cassidy since this song was written? I have known quite a number myself. And it’s not just “Cassidy.” I have met many others with Dead-inspired names. I myself have had cats named China and Cosmic Charley. There must be Stellas, Altheas, Shannons, Delias, Ann-Maries, and so on. Maybe you ARE one of these! I would love to hear some good stories about names. I think there must be a number of Jeromes out there.

Barlow seems fascinated by names and naming: “What shall we say, shall we call it by a name?” he asks in “Let It Grow.” “I will sing you love songs written in the letters of your name,” he writes in “Looks Like Rain,” as well as this song’s “Speaks his name, though you were born to me, Cassidy.”

In Oliver Trager’s The American Book of the Dead, he quotes Eileen as saying she had picked out the name before the birth, because “I thought it sounded good for either a boy or a girl.” And Weir, who was strumming the incipient tune in the room next door to the birth, says “I named in ‘Cassidy’ because it was born the same day as Cassidy Law.”

One thing writing these weekly blogs posts is teaching me, is that no matter how long I have lived with these songs, they have more to give, and I have more to learn about the songs. I’ve been corrected on at least one point every week by the most excellent folks who take the time to comment on the posts. I take time to re-read the material I can lay my hands on (having given away most of my Grateful Dead library a few years back to the Marin History Museum…). And I stumble across some gems in the essays and entries I do find. Richard Gehr, in the liner notes to “So Many Roads,” writes beautifully about the lyrics, and has enlightening things to say about “Cassidy.” He describes the song as “[tuning] in to the lively, lonely frequency of “Cowboy Neal” Cassady.”

Well, that’s enough. Let the words be yours, I’m done with mine….

Custom Sidebar

Listen on Spotify

Display on homepage featured list
Off
Custom Teaser

In the Bob Weir / John Perry Barlow composition “Cassidy,” Barlow sets himself the task of comparing a newborn baby girl, named Cassidy, with the legendary “Cowboy Neal” who previously appeared in “That’s It For the Other One.” In this case, the comparison is a study in contrasts, even as the two Cassidys intersect in the life of the band. “There he goes, and now here she starts — hear her cry.”

dead comment

user picture

Member for

12 years 7 months
Permalink

First off, I love Barlow's essay about this song in the Annotated lyric book. This is one of those songs that just never gets old. The music and the words are just mind bending...to me, at least. The jams, pretty short compared to other Dead tunes but still jump right into some very interesting places. I think Jerry started doing this more in the later years, but right at the beginning of the jam, I love it when he hits those dissonant notes and they take right off. I've seen some bands play this song and it usually seems like they are trying too hard to get "out there" but of course, it was all completely natural to the Dead...and beautiful.
user picture

Member for

14 years 2 months
Permalink

This was a great ode to hipster Neal, a really cranked up speed maniac that was totally into the soup. It could be a song to elevate the late first set though they did play around with it a few times in the 2nd, last notably the Cassidy>Uncle John's>Cassidy in 93 at Cal Expo (Was this the RT release?).
user picture

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

I am reading this essay and listening to a Greensky Bluegrass CD - Live At Bells and their version of Cassidy comes out the speakers. Synchronicity, the kind that gives you chills up and down the spine. My friend Bob and I went and saw Greensky Bluegrass here in Spokane last night. We spoke of death, how over the past few years we have seen the death of my father, his tather and his father in law and have supported each other. We started smiling at the same time as we said "We met through the Grateful Dead", actuallly through this site.
user picture

Member for

11 years
Permalink

we had a lovely old hound dog named cassidy. my husband picked her up in the smoky mountains of north carolina. she's long gone now.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

11 years
Permalink

I rescued an abused boxer after an emergency pull. She was freshly beaten and very scared. I was just getting over a very traumatic experience and wasn't sleeping for more than an hour at a time for a few months. The first afternoon, she hid in the corner for several hours. She summoned the courage to come see me, and jumped up on the couch. She fell asleep with her head on my lap. She brought me such peace, I slept seven hours that night. The next morning I woke with this sweet dog lying by my feet. I looked at her, feeling so relaxed, and said, "You were born to me." How could I name her anything else but Cassidy. We found each other at the right time, and never looked back. Cassidy changed my life forever. I have subsequently become a dog trainer and have helped hundreds of dogs overcome anxieties, phobias, and aggression. "Fare thee well now, let your life proceed by it's own design."
user picture

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

Beautiful story--wow! Thanks, Larry! And thank you, Luna and Hal, for your stories as well. And Anna and mustin321, for the comments about this song. Amazingly, I forgot to re-read Barlow's essay before writing this little blog post. And it's probably a good thing I did forget, because otherwise I would have thought how pointless it would be for me to try to say anything!
user picture

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

Beautiful story--wow! Thanks, Larry! And thank you, Luna and Hal, for your stories as well. And Anna and mustin321, for the comments about this song. Amazingly, I forgot to re-read Barlow's essay before writing this little blog post. And it's probably a good thing I did forget, because otherwise I would have thought how pointless it would be for me to try to say anything!
user picture

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

Right--that's the essay that Barlow let me include in the book. Excellent piece of writing! Thank you for the kind words.
user picture

Member for

15 years 2 months
Permalink

A little story for you ~ I was fortunate enough to perform in a production of HAIR during my sophomore year of college. We all got to choose our own stage names it was then that a part of me became Cassidy forever. Flight of the sea birds ~ scattered like lost words .... she became me, Cassidy
user picture

Member for

12 years 7 months
Permalink

Mr Dodd's writing too. I completely agree with hearing an entire life in the song. And it seems that I learn something new every week on songs I've been listening to for a long time. Its really great reading these blogs and see how differently people feel about each song.
user picture

Member for

13 years 4 months
Permalink

I believe some of us have this wonderful connection through this music and our stories may be similar. I don't have any children. I have cats. Indulge me in the 2 before Cassidy. Going back 20 years ago I rescued a cat and named her China Cat Sunflower. China or Chinacat for short. The vet had a deadhead working there and knew the connection. The vet would say -- is she some kind of show cat with a name like that? Oh well -- he missed out on something. There were several connections with her -- we loved watching her jingle.....like a crazy-quilt star gown for she was the beautiful calico with Egyptian eyes. She was a deadhead -- oh yes she was. No lie -- she came to the music every time we played it. It was amazing. No matter where she was -- she came to hang with us when the Dead were playing. We had such a connection to her with that. She was some reincarnate of someone. She was with us through thick and thin for 20 years. She has left us and gone on to her next journey. XOXO Next -- StellaBlue. She, also a rescue, had a shimmer of blue with her coloring. Fit the name. Then she seemed to take on the persona of Stella in a Streetcar named desire. Another fit. She was crazy and mixed up yet so lovable and sad. She needed to be close. She is a wonderful soul to have around. I love her with all my heart. She is mine and I am hers and she knows that but when the next one came she was a little upset. Now Cassidy -- So many things about the "other one" as we called her (Cowboy Neal at the wheel). She has seen where the "wolf has slept by the silver stream." A beautiful Siamese, she was abandoned by someone. A beautiful cat like that isn't a stray. With her 4 kittens she ended up in my basement window well. I had just gotten home from GOTV - Jerry's celebration which in itself is cosmic. Anyway, we watched her care and nurture these babies and were mesmerized by how insightful. She let me help her with them. She showed me how she would take care of them but welcomed me to keep them safe as well. They were but only a few weeks old when I found them. This tells me she had traveled with them through "countless trees". Long story short there but "what you are, what you're meant to be...born to me Cassidy." She and I have a very special bond as though we WERE meant to be. All is well with her here. Her babes, which we have found wonderful homes for -- "faring thee well now - let your life proceed by its own design - nothing to tell now - let the words be yours I'm done with mine." Life goes on. She is happy and so are we. Next?? Who knows. Certainly we will continue to have the Dead in our lives.
user picture

Member for

16 years 1 month
Permalink

these songs take on different meanings at different stages of one's life. I guess that's why we all seem to stay interested.
user picture

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

my favorite moment was somewhere on the 1987 summer tour, when I overheard some Head in the crowd calling his wandering canine: "Barlow! Here Barlow!"
user picture

Member for

15 years 5 months
Permalink

As is Iam Grateful, I too am a cat lover and have had many cats in these last 35 years, and as you know, cats come and they go and to have one that stays with you for 20 years, that is a true bond of love and devotion and you can only get with a cat. I had a cat, his name was Bear, he was the most loving and playful cat ever, he would go door to door in the neighborhood and do tricks for the folks for treats, everyone around knew Bear, he would make his rounds and do his little tricks, sit up, roll over, shake hands, just like a dog, only better. Just like his name sake, he died in an auto accident. Enter Ruby Begonia, a black cat that shone deep red in the sun, she was a beauty. We were going to name her scarlet, but Ruby just fit better. Gone in the wink of an eye, one day she was there, the next, gone and never seen again. Enter Jerry, big badass tabby, ruled the roost, lived for a short time before ran down by dogs and killed. Enter Lil Jerry, sweet and cute, black and white, feline lieukemia took him from us. Enter Phil, PJ for short, best cat ever, lived with us thru three moves, then just vanished in to thin air. I have a real problem with people who just pick up animals from along side the road thinking that they are helping them, they could be someones pet, just lost or out roaming around, some times these pets do not have tags or leashes or any identifying marking or collar. For anyone who has just lost a pet, there one min and gone the next, this is the worst thing that can happen, there is no closure, you don't know what happened to your soulmate and all you can do is hope that they are in a good place and not all the other horrible things that you can imagine one thinks when their pet is stolen. This has happened to me several times and I for one would like to get my hands on these people just for one day so perhaps I could make them understand just how hurtful it is to "pick up a pet" along side of the road and take it home and make it yours. Now, I am petless for this exact reason and my next pet will never go outside, never leave my side unless they are secure in their surroundings. Actually, I have heard that there is a bounty out for stray cats and dogs, and in this economic time, people will do anything for a buck, even kill your best friend. So, to all who have had pets stay with them for life, you are very lucky.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

I guess we had something of an unspoken agreement- I would choose the baby's name if it were a girl, and she if it were a boy. Knowing full well the significance of the song, I picked Cassidy, mainly because I had lost my dear sweet grandmother just 5 months prior and wanted to honor her by incorporating her name as well- Cassidy Elisabeth. It had a nice ring to it. Andrew turned out to be a boy, and that was 22 and a half years ago. Boy or girl, I still could not be happier.But I had to think in the months between her passing and his arrival, that the two might've enjoyed some time together. A couple months ago, Andrew told me that he had dreamed of someone who was his grandmother- it definitely wasn't my mother- but she seemed awfully familiar to him... like he'd met her before. And I have to confess, I am also a cat lover. Got 5 right now, and the inmates are definitely running the asylum...
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

And how will it ever end?unless the day finally arrives when we have compared everything in the world to everything else in the world… Wow. I've been doing exactly that for almost twelve years now - biggest data analysis project I've ever embarked upon, and my old gray cat, Cassady, was right there with me through it all....in spirit now...but it's all the same to me... Peace to all, Clay
user picture

Member for

14 years 2 months
Permalink

well, we knew it had to happen. We're wondering why no one posted video...
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

13 years
Permalink

Met her at the Whole Earth store in Menlo Park. Later she worked at Place Magazine in Palo Alto. Early 70's. Sweet Anne Marie was from San Mateo. Lived at the cinematic Kesey house in La Honda for a bit. Spent some times there and Boots and Saddles. Had a sparkling 55 Buick blue convertible last time I saw her. She headed to the Colorado River with a Rafting Rats bunch in '77 or so. Was she the one in FOTD? Who knows, not me-but she was a special song in her ownself and gorgeously full of life. She had that Long Brown Hair, from Must Have Been the Roses and wore them in her hair often. My heart's delight for as long as she would have me. As I see it now it wasn't long enough for me ,but it was for her. Nice to have been there.bear
user picture

Member for

16 years 8 months
Permalink

I've known a slew of Cassidys. My first born, now 17, is Jessica Grace for dear JG. I was pregnant w/ her the last time I saw the band in Memphis. My sweet beautiful StellaBlue Bella turned 15 in Dec.,she's a Chow/Shep. mix and the best girl I've ever had ,though gettin' so old now. We call it "The Circle Of Death". We have Samson and Delilah our sibling kitties.I've known a Jed,Aiko and Sugar Magnolia. I want an Esau! and Rubin and Cherise!
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

Was not too long ago picking up a coffee in a McDonald's and was waited on by a very cute young Cassidy. Asked if her parents were Deadheads. She said her mother was a big Partridge Family fan.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

11 years 11 months
Permalink

...but none who credit their name to Barlow/Weir. The Dead has such a rich trove of names to choose from. I named my cat Althea.
user picture

Member for

16 years 8 months
Permalink

I bought the LP version of ACE when it was released in the spring of 72. One of the best studio Dead albums even though it was a solo concept.In late June three friends and I drove cross country from New England to the west coast and had an 8-track copy of ACE. That album along with Aoxomoxoa and the Stones album "Exile on Main Street" became the soundtrack for our own "On the Road "great American adventure. The song "Cassidy" was very much the road song on that trip.Flash forward to June 1975 and I read "On the Road" while hitchhiking from Missoula to Yellowstone. That was my first intro to the life and times of Neal Cassady.Flash forward to 1991 Shoreline- Grateful Dead. I was talking with Zane Kesey and his wife Stephanie when Cassidy Law walked up and said hello. Her smile beamed and I felt honored by her kindness.Up to now I've read most of Jack Kerouac's books.I love the idea of the the song "Cassidy"where where souls depart and new life begins. Welcome spring and today is Jack Kerouac's birthday. Jack's book "Big Sur" is a masterpiece with great images of Neal driving his old Willy's station wagon down the coast highway. I think the song "Cassidy" is one of Barlow's greatest works. And thanks to "Ace" Weir for his skill on this song.
user picture

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

Thanks for all the stories. And yes, there does seem to be a preponderance of cats in the discussion. And we haven't even touched on China Cat Sunflower yet--just wait! I particularly like the story about the Partridge family fan. How perfect! Which reminds me of a terrible joke about Karen Carpenter meeting Jerry Garcia in the afterlife, which I dare not tell in public, really. Keep 'em coming! And remember, I do take requests for what songs to talk about next....
user picture

Member for

12 years 7 months
Permalink

The Beatles...Magical Mystery TourFurther...No left turn unstoned The Who...Magic Bus Partridge Family...be careful Bozo/Bolo Bus...which one was which? and thank god...Kris Kross...missed the bus.
user picture

Member for

13 years 4 months
Permalink

Love, Love, Love Cassidy. Simply brilliant in my opinion and appreciation. That tune, off of Reckoning, is pure magic. I found myself randomly googling 'flight of the sea birds' and 'wheel to the storm and fly'. I came across this ... http://www.litkicks.com/BarlowOnNeal#.U0W7E_RDu3o It is a great, great read. When I read that paragraph about ... "I spent a long day in a cloud of whirling ice crystals, sometime in the afternoon the words to Cassidy arrived, complete and intact. I just found myself singing the song as though I'd known it for years". ... I can imagine the exact moment of pure inspiration and the genesis of the "sea birds" line, creating so many uplifting moments of performance and playback. Thank you Mr. Barlow. Thank you Mr. Weir.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

8 years 4 months
Permalink

When deciding what to name my first child, not knowing the sex, the only name to come to mind was Cassady. When her father and I discussed it, I told him of my love for the dead song and how I always wanted that for the one born to me. We decided to each pick someone who inspired us, being a classical trained piano player convert to psychedelic jam music I picked my inspiration ho gave me the for confidence I could actually put down the music in front of me and play with anyone, I picked Page MCConnel of Phish. My husband, a writer and lover of the Beat Writers chose Neal Cassady....knowing my love of the name and finding reason in himself to agree. Thus, Cassady Page was born in 2000!
user picture

Member for

16 years 3 months
Permalink

...and she was gone. Out little Cassie came in like a wind. She was small at 6 months old, but daring and fun. She would climb the pecan tree outside our bedroom window at night and when I would look for her, she'd come climbing down. She was so funny. In smaller trees, she learned to jump from limb to limb. I figured she was practicing her mad ninja skills to catch squirrels, as she would chase them up trees and they would jump to another tree. We have an older cat named Smokie. He is so mellow but bad at the same time, when you turn your back he's into something. They had fun together for only six months. She chased him, he chased her. She sat under the chair in the kitchen where he would sit, and reach up and swat his tail until his patience wore thin and he would attack back. He'd smack her down and you'd think she's leave him alone, but not Cassie. Well she died a week ago. Neighbor found her in the highway. It was so sad for me. I really loved that wild cat. She never let you rub her unless she was sleepy. She cuddled with Smokie, watched him like a hawk and wanted to be near him most of the time. She really brought a lot of joy to us. Fare thee well, for I loved her like a child. Oh and I love this song and the introduction.
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

13 years
Permalink

sorry for your loss.....pets are family in ways I can not begin to describe....
user picture

Member for

16 years 3 months
Permalink

Thank you and you are so right.Not everybody understands. She was something special, as I've never seen a cat act like her. Then to read this write up about the meaning of the song is even more mysterious to me. I have a friend that is dying from A.L.S. And through some choices I made, we haven't been close as we once were. Just yesterday, there was a gathering of friends that went to see him. I found out my name was on the list of people he'd hoped would visit, but I didn't go because I thought he didn't want me there. I realized I've been so wrapped up in me, that I'm fading away into nowhere. Chasing a mirage. Leaving others behind only to find myself here. Sort of alone an distant. Yesterday,while the gathering was going on and i was home alone, the neighbors son came over needing air from our compressor for his tank. His beautiful cat Oliver followed him over. My cat chased his cat across the yard and Oliver was ran over trying to cross the road. DAMN! He saw him get hit and his little sister was in their yard saw Oliver die. I can't help but think I should have been at my friends house. So this last week has been very strange to me. by the way, I'm going to see my friend this evening. Life can be strange in between the sunshine and the rain. "The context changes and thus, everything in it. What Cassidy meant to an audience, many of whom had actually known Neal personally, is quite different from what it means to an audience which has largely never heard of the guy. Some things don't change. People die. Others get born to take their place. Storms cover the land with trouble. And then, always, the sun breaks through again. http://www.litkicks.com/BarlowOnNeal#.U0W7E_RDu3o "
user picture

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

So sorry for all your losses and hard times. All good things to you and your loved ones.
user picture

Member for

15 years 2 months
Permalink

I Think We're All Bozos On This Bus!
user picture

Member for

16 years 9 months
Permalink

I made this song the lullaby for my youngest son, Jack. (...sprang to the saddle like wind, I allow, with bridle strands of lighting!) He is now seven years old: and hearing him sing it back to me is one of the most beautiful things in this whole world.
user picture

Member for

16 years 8 months
Permalink

very nice
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

12 years
Permalink

Thank you for the wonderful tribute to John Perry Barlow and Cassidy. I named my dog Jubilee, after Sugaree and another sweet little dog that was a good friend some years ago. Keep the Faith! Jim
user picture
Default Avatar

Member for

1 year 10 months

In reply to by Jimmymack_49

Permalink

These are great names, i agree. In this last year i was thinking (and i still) that "Sugaree" is a very nice name for a child, and i want to name my daughter Sugaree or Scarlet.
I'm 20yo and i haven't even a girlfriend, but i can dream with take care of a lovely family.

user picture

Member for

13 years 3 months
Permalink

So, one day I came home from work to my wife who had big news for me. She saw a parrot sitting on a branch in our backyard...in Oakland, California! She spent over an hour sitting there quietly with the bird before she was eventually able to hold the bird. Needless to say, we have a new pet parrot. The green parrot had this beautiful blue streak under its neck and under its wings. There was only one name for this stunning creature - Stella Blue! My wife loved the name (and the song). We also had a beautiful, full-bodied, grey-haired rabbit which we named Jerry.