"Ripple" was written by Jerry Garcia for the Grateful Dead and the lyrics by Robert Hunter who wrote many of the lyrics for Grateful Dead songs. The song appeared on side 2 of 1970’s "American Beauty" a change of pace for the group as well as the album that preceded it in the same year "Workingman’s Dead." It was a particularly fertile period for the group.
There are 5 verses with the chorus repeated twice:
"If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung
Would you hear my voice come through the music
Would you hold it near as it were your own?
It’s a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they’re better left unsung
I don’t know, don’t really care
Let there be songs to fill the air
(Chorus)
Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow
"Reach out your hand if your cup be empty
If your cup is full may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men
"There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone
(Chorus)
"Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow
"You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall you fall alone
If you should stand then who’s to guide you?
If I knew the way I would take you home "
The song conveys an easy going summer day. It is a folk song with a mandolin addition that brings a hint of country. The lyrics are more dense that the song and don’t convey the ease of the music. The sources are multi and varied. Garcia said himself it was a very spiritual song.
Several lines in this lyric conjure up the 23rd Psalm. In particular, the lines referring to "still water," the filling of an empty cup, and the walking on a path in the shadow of the dark of night are strong references. Hunter invokes the psalm associations in the first verse, with his mention of the traditional psalmist’s accompaniment, the harp.
There are associations with American poetry, particularly Walt Whitman. Compare " And if you go no one may follow That path is for your steps alone with Walt Whitman’s "Song of Myself"(46) "Not I–not anyone else, can travel that road for you, You must travel it for yourself."
The chorus is a 17 syllable haiku evoking Hunter’s love of Taoist philosophy.
Ripples in water keep on flowing indefinitely both joyful and sad messages. However, in this case the song states that the ripple was created without any action like the wind or a stone being tossed. You could interpret that as outside forces (God) or it can our action or inaction affects all around us. It is really about life, the ripple, a metaphor on life as we are tossed and turned.
The song is about communication and relationships with a variety of sources – other people, other generations and our need for higher sources which finally then the actions we take – our roads. There are contrasts between the ability to hear simple music as well as the need to go further tap higher sources. The song contemplate sources beyond our immediate knowing—whether human or “not made by the hands of men”—as well as the interplay of life and death. Not surprisingly the song has been sung at many funerals.
The first verse is our ability to connect with other’s messages and stories. The second verse speaks of those that are from other generations – some are transmitted, others are not. The third speaks of inspiration from higher sources – "a fountain not made by the hands of men." That could relate to John 4 the woman at the well story, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give him will never thirst. Indeed the water I give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
Ultimately with that inspiration we follow our own road – "that path is for your steps alone. " It is a lonely road – we risk falling alone. You are responsible for your actions. In the last verse we are both leaders and followers. The author seems perplexed on who is to support us. Ultimately we are there to help other people. "If I knew the way I would take your home." It is often our faith that keeps us going. From Hebrews 11:1 – "Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen."
The chorus has provoke as much discussion as the verses . David Dodd, has written a paper on the song where calls the chorus "the central puzzle." "Ripple in still water, when there is no pebble tossed, now wind to blow. What does this fountain, with its mysterious ripples, have to do with us as we travel, alone and together, on our not-so-simple highways."
Rev. Elizabeth Greene in 1988 wrote a sermon on the song and said, "When we reach out to each other, we reach out to the divine. That fountain is the wellspring of God. It is the mysterious presence to which we aspire; it is the shimmering repository of the love we hear in the heart of the music. It is the place of rest for our aching, yearning, journeying selves. Let it be known, there is a fountain that was not made by human hands. However, we do not simply stroll up to it and have a drink, thereby dissolving our existential loneliness. We may have faith that there is a fountain, and be profoundly solaced by that knowing. But we have to do the work."
The last line – "But when we truly say, "If I knew the way, I would take you home," we have so much more than just our separateness. We have the music. (The final part of the song is simple La-de- da-da-da, sung together in harmony.) We have the fountain, a wellspring of grace as we travel. "
Performances
2. 1980 live