Grateful Dead Music Forum

It starts out A -D intro

A Bm C G A
fare the well my only true one

A Bm C D
all the birds

G C G C G C G A C G
Im gona leave...

B C G A C G
sing a lulabye....

and so on :shock: :shock: :shock:

yeah ive heard them play it in a diff key several times, juss gotta transpose, i do not prefer the version here,.


----------------------------------LazyLightnin

i perfer the version here for a change. the key really fits the overall emotion of the song. sad song, hence the Dm chord

It's more than a transposition / key change. The rukind version would transpose the Dm into an Em, but in domsr's version, instead of an Em there is an A (major). Big difference in emotional quality!

I'm pretty sure I've heard the Dead play it both ways. Could it be that the minor chord was used on the studio version, but they later switched it for concerts, as they have done on many songs?

Yes, it is a sad song, and a minor chord would be appropriate in that spot, but changing it to a major chord gives it a more regal, transcendent feel.

After all, the Dead played live with regal transcendence, no?

At least for me, domsr's version is easier to sing than the rukind one. Thanks! If I have time, I'll post a full edition of this version.

#Grateful Dev#

As Far As I Know the Verion Listes Here is The Corect version.
It Changes over the years because Jerry could no longer sing in that key. The Solo is tricky as the songchanges key several times but that is what makes it cool.

So I just saw DSO perform 05/01/77 closing with Brokedown Palace. I was up front Dead center and my eyeballs were about 10-15 feet away from John's guitar.

Even though it was the encore and I was tired, he did play Brokedown in the key of F!

As I tried to follow and transpose in my head, failingly, I was left baffelled as to why one would do this. I have been playing Brokedown in G for over 10 years now and can't really see the reasoning to change the key. I just checked with the orginal recording of this show and it is definately in the Key of G.

Anyone know anything about this phenomenon?

Why John would play it in F even though for that day they did it in G?

That 5-1-77 version of Brokedown is the best I've ever heard and it just figures the last few seconds on the sounboard version are clipped off. What a shame.

I saw the Dead play this many times and the oddest one was in Telluride at the Harmonic convergence. Jerry started the song, only to realize he was in the wrong key! He actually stops the song, says something sarcastic like "sounded pretty good, didn't it!" and then they start it over! So, it seems to me that even the boys had trouble knowing what key they played this in!

I was there when Jerry sang the broke brokedown in Pittsburgh ...didn't start in the wrong key but started in the verse..

I never thought this version was correct, especially the "(F) Roll, Roll (Bb) Roll"

Lol you guys...This version IS correct. No doubt about it. I dunno if you guys arent reading it but the version here is a whole step lower than it is on, for example, Dead Set. And if thats not what you find wrong with it then think again because its correct.

TheGodfather wrote:I never thought this version was correct, especially the "(F) Roll, Roll (Bb) Roll"

and that would be wrong. in the tab, it is (and has always been)

"(Bb) Roll, Roll (F) Roll"

I always said the key of Dm was the sadest keys of them all, it's enough to make a man cry just by hearing it

NAME THAT MOVIE

BlobWeird wrote:Lol you guys...This version IS correct. No doubt about it. I dunno if you guys arent reading it but the version here is a whole step lower than it is on, for example, Dead Set. And if thats not what you find wrong with it then think again because its correct.

"Correct" is relative given that the Dead reharmonized tunes and changed arrangements all the time- sometimes from one performance to the next. You have to pick what you think is the definitive version.

In "Brokedown Palace" the version on rukind.org is transposed down a whole step- as you note- but also has a variation in the harmony compared to the version on "Dead Set," the line:

On my hands and my knees, I will roll, roll, roll.

is transcribed:

F Dm Bb F

To my ears after many listens over many years, it's:

F G Bb F (keeping the transposition the same)

And yet I have heard versions of "Brokedown Palace" that sound like the harmony structure published by rukind.org. Either works and it depends on the emotional tone you are looking for. There are a number of songs here that are transcribed differently from what I hear. Sometimes I think the ears of whomever wrote the transcriptions here are more accurate, sometimes I think my ears are more accurate.

Maybe it's coming from years of studying jazz guitar while listening to the Dead, but reharmonizing a tune is fine by me. It gives your performance a touch of uniqueness... unless of course you totally FIU.

cunamara wrote:"Correct" is relative given that the Dead reharmonized tunes and changed arrangements all the time- sometimes from one performance to the next. You have to pick what you think is the definitive version.

In "Brokedown Palace" the version on rukind.org is transposed down a whole step- as you note- but also has a variation in the harmony compared to the version on "Dead Set," the line:

All the tabs list the album that the version represents. In this case, American Beauty, not Dead Set. For American Beauty, the key is correct.