99 Years

Song composer(s)

Unknown

Grateful Dead Recordings

Not recorded by the Dead

Dead Related Recordings

No Dead related recordings entered

Other Recordings

No other recordings entered

Performance History

Occurs on the "Unident Thing" tape that features Garcia and Pigpen. Date and venue are unknown.

Not performed by the Grateful Dead. Occurs only on pre-Dead tapes featuring future members of the dead.

Notes

Title/author unknown. The song is similar in some ways to Traditional/Leroy Carr Prison Bound Blues. Also has some similarities with some of the 99 Year Blues on record. The traditional song Twenty One Years also has some resemblance.

Here are Pigpen's lyrics;

I was born Mississippi,
Down on little cotton farm,
I was born Mississippi,
Down on little cotton farm,
Working on a little cotton farm now,
Down there in (Fulton?) town.

Well I said I woke up early in the morning,
And the blues come falling down,
Well I said I woke up early in the morning,
And the blues come falling down,
Well I was all locked up in jail now,
And I'm (but?) prison bound.

I said when I had my trial, baby,
I said now you could not be found,
When I had my trial, child,
I said now you could not be found,
When I said (?) (?) (?) now, child,
Yeh, (that reason is?) I'm prison bound.

I said Judge look at me,
He said son, you got 99 year,
Yeh, look at me now,
Son, you got 99 year,
I said gonna want to stay behind the concrete wall, man,
You know, man, even though the rest of my life.

I said now I tell all you boy,
What you mustn't do,
Don't let the woman, boy,
Lead you astray,
Or you'll wind up, child,
99 year, mmmm.., I said 99 year

You got to stay behind the concrete walls,
The rest of your life...
(The song is cut at this point)