James, and that is a good question, but I can answer it. We live on a crust of earth on the back of a giant turtle.” James replied, “If your theory is correct, Madam, what does the turtle stand on?” “You’re a clever man, Mr. “We don’t live on a ball rotating ‘round the sun. I’ve always loved the story, which I relate in the annotated lyrics, about William James (1842-1910), the great American philosopher, physician, and psychologist-author of The Varieties of Religious Experience - who was approached by an elderly woman after a lecture he gave on the solar system. The symbol is weighty, and in using the word “terrapin,” which (falsely) evokes “terra,” we get a sense of double planetary significance, just from the word itself coupled with its archetypal symbology.
“Turtle Island” is the name given to the continent by native peoples. In Native American mythology, and in a surprising number of other world mythologies, the turtle carries the earth on its back. So, the terrapin is a freshwater turtle known to early inhabitants of the North American continent. However, despite such automatic association, the word “terrapin” has nothing to do with a Latin root word-it comes to us from Algonquian, a native American language, generally spoken in the geographic range stretching from the northeastern coast of North America to the Rocky Mountains. For instance, when I hear the word, I hear that root “terra” right away-the word for our home planet, named for the Roman goddess of earth, corresponding to the Greek goddess Gaia. But it is laden with association and possible internal, neural-level reference points.
I’d like to see that here, too.įirst off, let’s think for a second about the word “Terrapin” itself.
The “deadsongs” conversation about the suite on the WELL has a large number of contributions, with contributors sharing what the song means to them. When you hear the words “spiral light of Venus,” what comes to mind? And, in particular, when you hear the words “Terrapin Station”-what in the world (or what NOT in the world) do you conceive of? I take a moment to appreciate the rare and different tune they sing.Įach of us can bring imagery to mind, certainly, when we close our eyes while listening to this portion of the suite-but I am very curious to know about the experience of others who close their eyes to see. And the same is true when I hear crickets sing, which happens pretty much every night in my own back yard. To this one verse I owe so many moments of sublime appreciation of the natural world. He will not seek power-because the job of the storyteller is not to gain power over things, but simply to reveal things as they are, as stated in the first section.Īnd with that, Hunter is off-into a song that only hints at its subject, the destination we will all arrive at, with a verse that evokes the early night sky and the atmosphere of singing insects so vividly for so many listeners, that I am sure I am not the only one who, every time I see a young moon, sings to myself “brand-new crescent moon…” and looks for Venus in close proximity if the time of day is right. He explicitly then states that he will only ask for those gifts, and no more. The poet promises not to ask for more than this gift, of being allowed to tell a story that will come alive for his readers, and that in doing so he may remain confident, unbowed. And again, the muse is asked to allow staying power to the poet, to hold away despair. This one is addressed directly to Inspiration, perhaps the name of the muse being invoked, and again the poet seeks to be granted the ability to tell a story on fire with elements that will make it alive-evocations of the senses. The Terrapin Station Suite’s second part, “Terrapin Station,” begins, as did the first, with an invocation. (I’ll consider requests for particular songs-just private message me!) Therefore, the best part, I would hope, would not be anything in particular that I might have to say, but rather, the conversation that may happen via the comments over the course of time-and since all the posts will stay up, you can feel free to weigh in any time on any of the songs! With Grateful Dead lyrics, there’s always a new and different take on what they bring up for each listener, it seems. Here’s the plan-each week, I will blog about a different song, focusing, usually, on the lyrics, but also on some other aspects of the song, including its overall impact-a truly subjective thing.