• Mason's Children
    Lyrics By:
    Music By:

    Mason died on Monday
    We bricked him in the wall
    All his children grew and grew
    They never grew so tall before
    May they never grow so tall again

    We dug him up on Tuesday
    He'd hardly aged a day
    Taught us all he ever knew
    We never knew so much before
    We may never know so much again

    Mason was a mighty man
    A mighty man was he
    All he said, when dead and gone
    Don't you weep for me

    The wall collapsed on Wednesday
    We chalked it up to fate
    All his children ran and hid
    We never hid so well before
    Swore we'd never show our face again

    Thursday came, then Friday
    With fires tall and bright
    Mason's children cooked the stew
    And cleaned up when the feast was through
    Swore we'd never had such times before

    Take me to the Reaper Man
    To pay back what was loaned
    If he's in some other land
    Write it off as stoned

    Recorded for Workingman's Dead, but not included on the original release of that album. It was played live less than 20 times in total in 1969 and 1970. It has recently been revived by Phil Lesh & Friends, and by "The Dead".

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Recorded for Workingman's Dead, but not included on the original release of that album. It was played live less than 20 times in total in 1969 and 1970. It has recently been revived by Phil Lesh & Friends, and by "The Dead".

Lyrics By
Robert Hunter
Music By
Jerry Garcia
Lyrics

Mason died on Monday
We bricked him in the wall
All his children grew and grew
They never grew so tall before
May they never grow so tall again

We dug him up on Tuesday
He'd hardly aged a day
Taught us all he ever knew
We never knew so much before
We may never know so much again

Mason was a mighty man
A mighty man was he
All he said, when dead and gone
Don't you weep for me

The wall collapsed on Wednesday
We chalked it up to fate
All his children ran and hid
We never hid so well before
Swore we'd never show our face again

Thursday came, then Friday
With fires tall and bright
Mason's children cooked the stew
And cleaned up when the feast was through
Swore we'd never had such times before

Take me to the Reaper Man
To pay back what was loaned
If he's in some other land
Write it off as stoned