Box of Rain

Look out of any window
Any morning, any evening, any day
Maybe the sun is shining
Birds are winging, no rain is falling from a heavy sky
What do you want me to do
To do for you to see you through?
For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago

~ Robert Hunter

Yesterday's post began and ended with lyrics by Norah Jones.  Specifically, there was this:  Who knows, maybe it's all a dream.  I'd like to continue with the dream theme today, if for no other reason than to highlight one of my favorite lines ever:  For this is all a dream we dreamed one afternoon long ago.

It's hard to pick a favorite Grateful Dead song, but Box of Rain, which was included on 1970's American Beauty (perhaps my favorite Grateful Dead album) has to be way up there at the top of the list.  Robert Hunter has an innate talent for songwriting.  Phil Lesh had given him some music, wanting to create something in honor of his dad, who was dying.  Hunter delivered.  In regard to the title, Hunter said, "By 'box of rain,' I meant the world we live on, but 'ball' of rain didn't have the right ring to my ear, so 'box' it became, and I don't know who put it there."

But back to the dreaming.  First of all, let me say that I love the words we use to divvy up the day:  dawn, morning, afternoon, twilight, dusk, evening, nightfall.  Whenever I encounter one of these words, my mind illustrates the time of day with sunlight, shadows, moonlight, and moods.  Extremely evocative for me.  So to refer to dreaming in the afternoon (as opposed to night, when we are typically dreaming) not only shakes up my everyday perceptions, but also provides a vision and a mood.  It's kind of lazy, peaceful, and other-worldly.  And to further poke my rational mind, Hunter tells me that it was a dream from long ago.  When?  In another life?  I can employ the willing suspension of disbelief and buy that.

And that provokes much larger questions, ones that involve reincarnation, past lives, and a spiritual sensitivity to possibility.  Are we only living in a dream?  I was always taken by the idea that this human life is not real, but our dreaming life is.  And if that's true, you know we're all in trouble!  Or maybe not.  Maybe our dream worlds are devoid of human stress and angst.  Nice thought.

And it's just a box of rain, I don't know who put it there
Believe it if you need it or leave it if you dare
And it's just a box of rain or a ribbon for your hair
Such a long, long time to be gone and a short time to be there