"...there is no fear that lovers born will ever fail to meet"

The Annotated "Corrina"

An installment in The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics.
By David Dodd
1997-1998 Research Associate, Music Dept., University of California Santa Cruz

Copyright notice; © 1995-2002, David Dodd


"Corrina"
Words by Robert Hunter; music by Mickey Hart and Bob Weir
Copyright Ice Nine Publishing; used by permission

Corrina .............Wake it up baby
Corrina ............. Shake it on down
Corrina .............Corrina .............

Hog of a Sunday
Dog of a Monday
Get it back some day
What'd I say?
Movin' in closer
Cut from a long shot
Fade on a down beat
Ready or not Corrina ............. (as above)

Cruise thru a stop sign
Loggin' up short time
Bird on a phone line
Soakin' up sun
Salt on the crowtail
What can I do?
I'm down by law
But true to you Corrina .............

If, what, where and when
Told at the proper time
Big black wings beat at the wind
But they don't hardly climb
There's a silver ocean
Silver clouds and silver sea
A bird on the horizon
Silver wingin back to me Corrina .............

Wake it up baby
Shake it down easy
Bring it back someday
What'd I say?
Movin' in closer
Cut from a long shot
Fade on a down beat
Ready or not Corrina .............

Corrina / wake it up baby
Corrina / Shake it down easy
Corrina / Shake it on up now
Corrina / Shake it back down Corrina .............

If, who, how and why
don't mean that much to be
long as it don't hurt too much
believe we'll let it be
Outside major darkness
where the circle is complete
there is no fear that lovers born
will ever fail to meet

Corrina .............Wake it up baby
Corrina ............. Shake it on down
Corrina .............Corrina .............


[addendum: ways in which it might be shaken
Corrina / wake it up baby
Corrina / Shake it down easy
Corrina / Shake it on up now
Corrina / Shake it back down

Corrina / Makin' me crazy
Corrina / C'mon baby
Corrina / Shake it all day
Corrina / Tell me what'd I say

Corrina / Shake it up closer
Corrina / Shake it away
Corrina / Shake it in the shadow
Corrina / Shake it in the shade

Corrina / Shake it on the shakedown
Corrina / Shake it uptown
Corrina / Shake it in the short haul
Corrina / Shake it around

Corrina / Shake it at the window
Corrina / Shake it at the door
Corrina / Shake it on the stairwell
Corrina / Shake it on the floor

Corrina / Shake it in the mornin'
Corrina / Shake it in the dawn
Corrina / Shake it all night babe
Corrina / Shake it on down


"Corrina"

Recordings:

Covered by:

First performance: February 23, 1992, at the Oakland Coliseum Arena. "Corrina" closed out the first set, following "Black Throated Wind". The other first in the concert was "Long Way to Go Home." "Corrina" remained in the repertoire thereafter.


Corrina


Bird on a phone line

Compare the line in "Loose Lucy":
"Listen to the bird on the hot wire singin..."

There is no fear that lovers born will ever fail to meet

Hunter notes in A Box of Rain that these two lines were lifted from the portion of the "Terrapin Station" suite which was never set to music, as he despaired of otherwise hearing them sung.
Keywords:@shakedown, @lovers, @silver, @bird, @darkness
DeadBase code: [CORI]
First posted: July 25, 1996
Last revised: May 16, 2002