Attics of My Life

     In the attics of my life
     Full of cloudy dreams unreal
     Full of tastes no tongue can know
     And lights no eye can see
     When there was no ear to hear
     You sang to me

     I have spent my life
     Seeking all that's still unsung
     Bent my ear to hear the tune
     And closed my eyes to see
     When there were no strings to play
     You played to me

     In the book of love's own dream
     Where all the print is blood
     Where all the pages are my days
     And all my lights grow old
     When I had no wings to fly
     You flew to me

     You 
     flew
     to me

     In the secret space of dreams
     Where I dreaming lay amazed
     When the secrets all are told
     And the petals all unfold
     When there was no dream of mine
     You dreamed of me

reprinted with permissions: copyright Ice Nine Publishing - see Grateful Dead Lyrics.

The ninth track of the groundbreaking 1970 Grateful Dead album. The haunting five part harmonies in this song caught my ear the first time I heard it, and when I listened to it again, I was grabbed by the riveting lyrics.

This is one of the deeper cuts on the album, and is usually passed over for hit songs such as "Friend of the Devil", "Truckin", or "Sugar Magnolia". It is also one of the slowest songs on the album, with almost a dirge-like tempo. Despite this, it is written with the emotional power that most Dead songs carry, and its location near the end of this album is a nice counterpoint to the other catchy fast songs on the cd.