# Favorite song off of Grateful Dead's "American Beauty" **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [September 22, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646 "2010-09-22T15:07:41Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 17\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Don\_Draper](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b2d939/32.png) [@Don\_Draper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Don_Draper)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/1 "2010-09-22T15:07:41Z")
You know the drill. Personal fav - “Ripple.” What’s yours? ---
**Author:** ![silenus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/silenus/32/166_2.png) [@silenus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/silenus)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/2 "2010-09-22T15:13:41Z")
Lots of choices, but “Box of Rain” stands out as my favorite. ---
**Author:** ![Peremensoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/p/ce7236/32.png) [@Peremensoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Peremensoe)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/3 "2010-09-22T15:17:13Z")
“Operator” is the hardest to come by, I’ll go with that. Excepting that and maybe “Till the Morning Comes,” I could hear all these songs often enough without ever putting _this_ record on. ---
**Author:** ![whole\_bean](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/w/96bed5/32.png) [@whole\_bean](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/whole_bean)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/4 "2010-09-22T15:36:45Z")
hartdest of these polls yet. I chose Brokedown Palace, but could have just as easily chosen Friend of the Devil, Sugar Magnolia, Box of Rain, Till the Morning Comes, or Ripple. Hell, Operator is the only song on this album I’m not wild about about and it’s still ok. What a hell of an outing. ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/5 "2010-09-22T15:41:56Z")
“Truckin’” ---
**Author:** ![Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/e47c2d/32.png) [@Biffy\_the\_Elephant\_Shrew](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Biffy_the_Elephant_Shrew)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 3:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/6 "2010-09-22T15:50:56Z")
Love “Box of Rain” and “Friend of the Devil,” but “Candyman” has always been my favorite from this disc, which is also the first Dead album I ever bought. I was just listening to disc one of the new _Formerly the Warlocks_ set this morning (ultra-cool wooden box!) and Jerry really makes a hash out of “Candyman.” ☹ Somebody get that man a lyric sheet! ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_jeffrey_lebowski/32/215_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Jeffrey\_Lebowski](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Jeffrey_Lebowski)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 4:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/7 "2010-09-22T16:11:43Z")
Went with “Box of Rain”, with “Brokedown Palace” a very close second. ---
**Author:** ![Caprese](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/a9a28c/32.png) [@Caprese](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Caprese)\ **Post date:** [September 22, 2010, 8:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/8 "2010-09-22T20:05:38Z")
“Box of Rain” has been my very favorite song period, ever since I first bought the album back in 10th grade. But I love the entire disc–still have it on vinyl, and still have a turntable. Special affection for “Attics of My Life,” too. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 12:50am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/9 "2010-09-23T00:50:54Z")
all the tunes on this album are good (maybe Operator doesn’t do as well, sorry Pig). there are some really beautiful tunes and some rockers done in low gear (live long versions done later are more danceable and well you just had to be there). Box is a pretty song. Ripple is pretty and philosophical. Attics is pretty and poetic. since you are forcing a single best then i vote Attic. ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 2:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/10 "2010-09-23T02:18:10Z")
I’m not a big Dead fan, but have the first two tunes on my everyday playlist. I’ll go with _Box of Rain._ /I flip the channel if \*Truckin’ \*comes on. Most overplayed Dead song short of _Touch of Gray_ (which also gets switched) ---
**Author:** ![MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c0e974/32.png) [@MPB\_in\_Salt\_Lake](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/MPB_in_Salt_Lake)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 2:39am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/11 "2010-09-23T02:39:33Z")
I never listen to Grateful Dead studio stuff, but the harmonies on the live versions of “Attics Of My Life” after it was dusted off in Oct. 1989 (Jerry, Bob, Phil & Brent) were as sublime and haunting as anything in all the Dead’s entire catalog. Garcia could also dig down deep on live versions of “Candyman” when he was feeling the music. (“Hand me my old guitar, pass the whiskey 'round”) “Box Of Rain” and “Brokedown Palace” are also beautiful, heartfelt pieces, true poetry of the soul… ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 7:25am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/12 "2010-09-23T07:25:04Z")
I picked Box of Rain but this might be one of the greatest albums ever. It’ll change your life, _man._ ---
**Author:** ![outlierrn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/outlierrn/32/3005_2.png) [@outlierrn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/outlierrn)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 5:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/13 "2010-09-23T17:48:28Z")
I went with Sugar Mag, but it’s a close call, yeah. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 6:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/14 "2010-09-23T18:00:31Z")
Ripple Box of Rain Brokedown Palace Sugar Magnolia in that order. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 6:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/15 "2010-09-23T18:18:50Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > Ripple > Box of Rain > Brokedown Palace > Sugar Magnolia > > in that order. The only order I’d ever listen to it in is from beginning to end. The transitions from song to song are great. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 6:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/16 "2010-09-23T18:37:25Z")
> [@tr0psn4j](#): > > > [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > > > Ripple > > Box of Rain > > Brokedown Palace > > Sugar Magnolia > > > > in that order. > > The only order I’d ever listen to it in is from beginning to end. The transitions from song to song are great. It’s the order from 1 to 4 of how much I like the best 4 songs on the album. ---
**Author:** ![tr0psn4j](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/958977/32.png) [@tr0psn4j](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tr0psn4j)\ **Post date:** [September 23, 2010, 6:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/favorite-song-off-of-grateful-deads-american-beauty/554646/17 "2010-09-23T18:41:37Z")
> [@The\_Second\_Stone](#): > > > [@tr0psn4j](#): > > > > The only order I’d ever listen to it in is from beginning to end. The transitions from song to song are great. > > It’s the order from 1 to 4 of how much I like the best 4 songs on the album. I was just quoting you because the phrase, “in that order,” made me post. 🙂