When the last rose of summer pricks my finger .....

Black Muddy River  Words by Robert Hunter; music by Jerry Garcia
As performed by Bob Dylan in Melbourne, Australia, Apr 6 1992

When the last rose of summer pricks my finger
And the hot sun chills me to the bone
When I can't hear the song for the singer
And I can't tell my pillow from a stone
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And sing me a song of my own
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And dream me a dream of my own

When the last bolt of sunshine hits the mountain
And the stars start to splatter in the sky
When the moon splits the southwest horizon
With the scream of an eagle on the fly
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And listen to the ripples as they moan
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And sing me a song of my own

Black muddy river
Roll on forever
Don't care how deep or wide
If you got another side
Roll muddy river
Roll muddy river
Black muddy river roll

When it seems like the night will last forever
And there's nothing left to do but count the years
When the strings of my heart start to sever
And stones fall from my eyes instead of tears
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And dream me a dream of my own
I will walk alone by the black muddy river
And sing me a song of my own
And sing me a song of my own

MUSICANS

Bob Dylan
Guitar, Harp, Vocals

John Jackson
Guitar, Vocals

Bucky Baxter
Pedal Steel Guitar
Electric- and
Acoustic Guitar,
Slide Guitar,
Dobro ,
electric Mandoline

Tony Garnier
Bass

Ian Watson
Drums

"A truly remarkable example of Dylan's ability to get through a text that he only has a faint recollection of, and still giving the impression that something meaningful is going on. He gets the refrain fairly right, and a line or two from the original lyrics flash by, but apart from that there is no relation at all between what he sings and what Hunter wrote (or, for that matter between what he sings and what makes sense – in any language), but still, it's a very arresting performance of a very charming tune.

For these reasons I will – for once – completely disregard what Dylan sings, and use Hunter's lyrics for the tab. BTW, this was the last song that Jerry Garcia sang." Eyolf Østrem   Dylan Chords

 

 Dylan performed this song three times:
Pantages Theatre, Hollywood, CA, USA on May 17, 1992
Silva Hall (Hult Center), Eugene, OR, USA on April 30, 1992
Palais Theatre, Melbourne, Australia on April 6, 1992