Grateful Dead Title Characters Part II Quiz

Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

1. Wherever this Grateful Dead title character goes, "the people all complain". What is his name?

Answer: St. Stephen

From the 1969 song, "St. Stephen":

"Saint Stephen with a rose
In and out of the garden he goes
Country garden in the wind and the rain
Wherever he goes the people all complain"

The song first appeared on the studio album "Aoxomoxoa" and then on the live album "Live/Dead" released in the same year. Stephen is referenced in the New Testament of the Bible and considered to be the first Christian martyr.

2. The narrator of which Grateful Dead song tells the title character to "settle down easy"?

Answer: Ramble on Rose

Althea actually told the narrator to "settle down easy, Jim". Ramblin' Rose is told by the narrator to "settle down easy" as the chorus shows:

"Did you say your name was
Ramblin' Rose?
Ramble on, baby
Settle down easy
Ramble on, Rose"

There are many allusions made in "Ramble on Rose", from Billy Sunday to Mary Shelly. It appeared on the Grateful Dead live album, "Europe '72".

3. The narrator repeatedly asks which title character not to "come round here anymore"?

Answer: Bertha

The chorus of the song provides the basis of the question:

"I had to move
Really had to move
That's why if you please
I am on my bended knees
Bertha, don't you come around here anymore"

"Bertha" appeared as the first song on the 1971 album "Grateful Dead", often referred to as "Skull and Roses" (based on the cover art) to distinguish it from the Dead's first eponymous album. The band wanted to name the album something quite different, but the record company refused because of the obscene nature of the proposed title.

4. To which Grateful Dead title character does the narrator urge, "Go on home, your mama's calling you"?

Answer: Cosmic Charlie

From the lyrics:

"Cosmic Charlie how do you do
Truckin' in style along the avenue
Dum de dum de do da lee do
Go on home your mama's calling you"

The lyrics of "Cosmic Charlie", which was the final song on 1969's "Aoxomoxoa", is a tongue-in-cheek admonishment to the many runaways and other people flocking to San Francisco in the late 1960s to become part of the hippie scene.

5. The narrator of this Grateful Dead song is going to "scare you up and shoot you" because which title character told him to?

Answer: Mr. Charlie

A sampling of the lyrics appears below:

"I won't even take your life, won't even take a limb
Just unload my shotgun, take a little skin
Jubba jubba, wolly bully, looking high, looking low
Gonna scare you up and shoot ya, Mister Charlie told me so"

"Mr. Charlie" appears on "Europe '72", and it was rarely played afterwards.

6. All around which title character did a garden grow, "scarlet and purple and crimson and blue"?

Answer: Rosemary

This song appeared on the 1969 psychedelic studio album "Aoxomoxoa" and on the compilation "Skeletons from the Closet".

7. What is the real name of the Wharf Rat referenced in the song of the same name on 1971's "Grateful Dead (Skull and Roses)" album?

Answer: August West

According to the song:

"My name is August West, and I love my Pearly Baker best more than my wine.
More than my wine - more than my maker, though he's no friend of mine."

"Wharf Rat" appears on the 1971 live album "Grateful Dead", often called "Skull and Roses" by fans because of its cover art and to differentiate it from the other eponymous album, 1967's "The Grateful Dead". The song is about a man who finds old August West "down by the docks of the city". The narrator can't afford to give him the money he begs but says he is willing to hear his story.

8. Which title character says: "You can shave my head, clean as my hand, and my strength will become as natural as any old man"?

Answer: Samson

"Samson and Delilah" is a traditional song arranged by Bob Weir and is based on the Biblical story of Delilah's betrayal of Samson. The song first appears on the 1977 studio album "Terrapin Station" and later on the live album "Dead Set" (1981).

9. Okay, you've been waiting for it. What Grateful Dead title character is "driving that train, high on cocaine"?

Answer: Casey Jones

Taken from the chorus:

"Driving that train, high on cocaine
Casey Jones, you better watch your speed
Trouble ahead, trouble behind
And you know that notion just crossed my mind"

This Hunter/Garcia composition appears first on the 1970 studio album "Workingman's Dead" and again later on the live album "Steal Your Face".

10. The narrator repeatedly asks this Grateful Dead title character to "row". What is his name?

Answer: Jimmy

This is from the song "Row Jimmy" which appeared on the 1973 studio album "Wake of the Flood".

"And I say row, Jimmy row
Gonna get there?
I don't know
Seems a common way to go
Get down, row, row, row
Row, row"

Source: Author OofahLandian

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor agony before going online.
Any errors found in FunTrivia content are routinely corrected through our feedback system.

There are a great many songs by the Grateful Dead that tell stories with many rich characters. This quiz is another about those characters which appear in the song titles. Enjoy!

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