"Confusion's prince is at my door..."

The Annotated "Mindbender"

An installment in The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics.
By David Dodd
Library, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs (The opinions expressed are those of the author, not of the University of Colorado.) Copyright notice; © 1995,1996, David Dodd
"Mindbender"
Words and music by Jerry Garcia and/or Phil Lesh
Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission.

If I could only (be less fine)
[or possibly: If only I could be less blind] (coutesy David Gansz, [sic])
If only I knew what to find,
Everywhere and all of the time--
It's bending my mind.

Confusion's prince is at my door.
The crown I wear's the one he wore
He's here to bring me down some more
And bend my mind.

The friendly stranger called my name
He only wants me for his game
But it don't matter, just the same
I'll bend his mind.

I've waved my flags into the sun
I've fought my wars, and now they're won
And I don't need nobody's gun
I bent their mind.

[Repeat first verse]


"Mindbender"

Also known as "Confusion's Prince."

Recorded on

First verified performance: January 7, 1966, at The Matrix, in San Francisco. "Mindbender" followed "Sick and Tired," and preceded "On the Road Again." The only other known performance was on February 23, 1966, at an unknown location.


It's bending my mind

See the line "his mind remained unbended" in "That's It For the Other One."
Keywords:
DeadBase code: [BEND]
First posted: August 16, 1996
Last revised: