Fare you well, Mr. Hunter. We love you more than words can tell...
For a man who provided us with so many meaningful words, the soundtrack to our lives, he's left us a bit speechless with his passing. For more than 50 years, since his first lyrical contributions to the Grateful Dead in 1967, Robert Hunter has been just as integral a part of the legacy of the Grateful Dead as those who recorded the music to accompany his words, those who walked out on stage to bring his words to life. More than 2,000 times 1967-1995, these six (or five or seven) proud walkers on the jingle bell rainbow, plus countless thousands of times since then by other performers, the Grateful Dead have brought Hunter's words to life in front of all of us as their witness. Not a single day has gone by since 1984 that Hunter's words haven't been a part of my world; I've heard Jerry, Bob and others sing his words literally every day for the past 35 years.
When the final Fare Thee Well show ended in Chicago in 2015, Mickey Hart famously sent us on our way by asking us to "please, be kind," and that lesson along with its lyrical brethren written by Hunter, "ain't no time to hate," and "are you kind?" are some of the truest words to live by. No matter what meaning, solace, lesson you find in Hunter's lyrics, please go out and do some good with them.
David Lemieux
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Robert Hunter RIP
Sleep in the stars Mr. Hunter and thank you for your wonderful words of wisdom. Those words will last many lifetimes.
Goodbye to one cool dude.
First heard Dark Star>St. Stephen>Eleven>Lovelight and completely didn't get it. I had just turned 12. By the time Working Man's Dead and American Beauty came out, I had become experienced and finally understood. And what I "understood" was the amazing lyrical poetry being sung by the boys, courtesy of Robert Hunter. Since then, I have sung and recited key songs and lines in songs nearly every day for 50 years.
I'll say this: the Grateful Dead might have become a decent rock band without Hunter. But they never would have reached the level of artistic expression without Hunter. Hunter drove the imagery, the thought-provoking trips.
Robert Hunter was the mind of the Grateful Dead.
I saw him perform at the Rainbow Theater in Denver around 1980. The man, with an acoustic guitar. And he mesmerized us with lyric-driven songs for two hours. An unforgettable show.
I hope someone has soundboards of the man and that a release or two (at least) would be in the works.
Rest in peace, Bob. Godspeed on your journey.
R.IP Thank You! Love Ya Man!!!