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"Ripple" is the sixth song on the Grateful Dead album American Beauty. It was released as the B-side to the single "Truckin'".

Background

Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics in 1970 in London on the same afternoon he wrote those to "Brokedown Palace" and "To Lay Me Down" (reputedly drinking half a bottle of retsina in the process). Jerry Garcia wrote the music to accompany Hunter's lyrics, and the song debuted August 18, 1970 at Fillmore West in San Francisco.

"Ripple" has a similar melody to the gospel hymn "Because He Lives," which was published a year later. Both songs are similar to "Any Dream Will Do" from the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which was first performed in 1968, and recorded in 1969.

In popular culture

A number of essays have been written analyzing and annotating this song.

The 1985 drama film Mask, with Cher and Eric Stoltz, features this song.

The song is played during the last scene of the television series Freaks and Geeks.

Reception

In 2024, Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 334 in their updated list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.

References

1. ^ "Image of "Ripple" single". Archived from the original on 28 September 2011. Retrieved 14 February 2010.
2. "Grateful Dead Family Discography: The Grateful Dead Discography". www.deaddisc.com. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
3. ^ "The Annotated "Ripple"". artsites.ucsc.edu. Retrieved November 6, 2019.
4. "Because He Lives".
5. Schneider, Jason (October 17, 2024). "Understanding "Ripple" by The Grateful Dead". Creativity Squared. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
6. "Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat's major production history". Themusicalcompany.com. Archived from the original on 1 November 2018. Retrieved November 4, 2024.
7. "Soundtrack listing for Mask". IMDb. Retrieved 14 February 2010.

• Grateful Dead songs
• 1970 singles
• Songs written by Jerry Garcia
• Songs with lyrics by Robert Hunter (lyricist)
• Jane's Addiction songs
• Warner Records singles