The Days Between: Jerry Garcia and Frank Zappa
In the 1970s, I was certain (and still am and would extend that notion through the 1980s) that the three greatest touring bands were Frank Zappa, The Grateful Dead, and Parliament-Funkadelic. (Your mileage may vary, of course, but those were mine.) Those bands produces three enigmatic leaders: Frank Zappa, Jerry Garcia, and George Clinton.
Zappa died of prostate cancer in 1993; Garcia succumbed to a heart attack while in a drug rehab center in 1995. I don’t think any of us imagined that, at age 82, George Clinton would still be fronting his Parliafunkadelicment Thang!
Jerry Garcia and his favorite lyricist, Robert Hunter, penned a song first played in 1993 (the first of 41) called “The Days Between.” It was a ballad that usually appeared after “Drums > Space” and before the final rocker. That “days between” notion took on new meaning after Garcia’s passing on August 9, 1995, just eight days after his 53rd birthday. Consider this:
And there were days between
Summer flies and August dies
Since then, there have been many celebrations of his music in those “days between.”
Frank Zappa fans similarly observe “the days between” Zappa’s death on December 4, 1993, and what would have been his 53rd birthday 17 days later. It certainly doesn’t get the attention that Garcia’s does, but be assured that fiercely loyal Zappa fans observe reverently every year since he has been gone — 30 of them now. Here was our remembrance on the 25th anniversary.
Their birthdays and yahrzeits are forever imbedded in our memories. May their memories be a blessing to all who loved them.
The concept has even been used by GMP Live, Purple Hat Productions and others to create a superb midweek festival called Daze Between New Orleans — between the first weekend of the New Orleans Jazz and Heritage Festival and the second weekend. That’s a proper memorial!
There were days
And there were days
And there were days between
Summer flies and August dies
The world grows dark and mean
Comes the shimmer of the moon
On black infested trees
The singing man is at his song
The holy on their knees
The reckless are out wrecking
The timid plead their pleas
No one knows much more of this
Than anyone can see anyone can seeThere were days
And there were days
And there were days besides
When phantom ships with phantom sails
Set to sea on phantom tides
Comes the lightning of the sun
On bright unfocused eyes
The blue of yet another day
A springtime wet with sighs
A hopeful candle lingers
In the land of lullabies
Where headless horsemen vanish
With wild and lonely cries, lonely criesThere were days
And there were days
And there were days I know
When all we ever wanted
Was to learn and love and grow
Once we grew into our shoes
We told them where to go
Walked halfway around the world
On promise of the glow
Walked upon a mountain top
Walked barefoot in the snow
Gave the best we had to give
How much we’ll never know we’ll never knowThere were days
And there were days
And there were days between
Polished like a golden bowl
The finest ever seen
Hearts of Summer held in trust
Still tender, young and green
Left on shelves collecting dust
Not knowing what they mean
Valentines of flesh and blood
As soft as velveteen
Hoping love would not forsake
The days that lie between lie betweenThere were days
And there were days
And there were days between
Polished like a golden bowl
The finest ever seen
Hearts of Summer held in trust
Still tender, young and green
Left on shelves collecting dust
Not knowing what they mean
Valentines of flesh and blood
Still tender, young and green
Hoping love would not forsake
The days that lie between lie between