Wharf Rat

Grateful Dead

Old man down
Way down, down, down by the docks of the city
Blind and dirty
Asked me for a dime, a dime for a cup of coffee
I got no dime but I got some time to hear his story
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

Everyone said
I'd come to no good, I knew I would Pearly, believe them
Half of my life
I spent doin' time for some other fucker's crime
The other half found me stumbling 'round drunk on Burgundy wine

But I'll get back on my feet again someday
The good Lord willin'
If He says I may
I know that the life I'm livin's no good
I'll get a new start, live the life I should
I'll get up and fly away,
I'll get up and fly away, fly away

Pearly's been true
True to me, true to my dyin' day he said
I said to him
I said to him, "I'm sure she's been"
I said to him, "I'm sure she's been true to you"

I got up and wandered
Wandered downtown, nowhere to go but just hang around
I've got a girl
Named Bonnie Lee, I know that girl's been true to me
I know she's been, I'm sure she's been true to me

Writer/s: JERRY GARCIA, ROBERT HUNTER

Wharf Rat de Grateful Dead

This song appears in 40 albums

Pacific Northwest '73-'74: Believe It If You Need It (Live)

2018

The Best of the Grateful Dead (Live) [Remastered]

2018

Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Morrison, CO 7/8/78 (Live)

2016

Europe '72 Vol 11: 5/3/72 (L'Olympia, Paris, France)

2014

Europe '72 Vol 14: 5/10/72 (Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, Holland)

2014

The Winners (Live)

2014

Complete Road Trips

2014

Live Albums Collection

2013

The Music Never Stopped, Vol 2 - EP

2013

Grateful Dead Live In Concert, Vol. 2 (Live)

2012

Road Trips Vol. 4 No. 5: 6/9/76 & 6/12/76 (Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA)

2011

Europe '72, Vol. 1: 4/7/72 (Live at Wembley Empire Pool, London, England)

2011

Europe '72, Vol. 21: 5/25/72 (Lyceum Theatre, London, England)

2011

New Year's Eve 1987 (Live)

2011

Road Trips, Vol. 4 No. 3: 11/20/73 - 11/21/73 (Denver Coliseum, Denver CO)

2011

Road Trip,s Vol. 4 No. 2: 3/31/88 - 4/1/88 (Brendan Byrne Arena, East Rutherford, NJ)

2011

Road Trips, Vol. 3 No. 4: 5/6/80 (Penn State University, State College, PA) & 5/7/80 (Cornell University, Ithaca, NY)

2010

Crimson, White & Indigo (July 7 1989, JFK Stadium, Philadelphia)

2010

To Terrapin: May 28, 1977 Hartford, CT (Live)

2009

Dick's Picks Vol. 31: 8/4/74 & 8/5/74 (Philadelphia Civic Center, Philadelphia, PA) & 8/6/74 (Roosevelt Stadium, Jersey City, NJ)

2009

Dick's Picks Vol. 13: 5/6/81 (Nassau Coliseum, Uniondale, NY)

2009

Road Trips, Vol. 1 No. 3: 7/31/71 (Yale Bowl, New Haven, CT) & 8/23/71 [Auditorium Theater, Chicago, IL]

2008

Road Trips, Vol. 1 No. 1: 10/25/79 (New Haven Coliseum, New Haven, CT) & 11/6/79 [The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA) & 11/8/70 (Memorial Auditorium, Buffalo, NY] & 11/9/79 - 11/10/79 [Crisler Arena, Ann Arbor, MI]

2007

Download Series Vol. 11: 6/20/91 (Pine Knob Music Theater, Clarkston, MI)

2006

Download Series Vol. 7: 9/30/80 (Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA) & 9/4/80 (Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI)

2005

Dick's Picks Vol. 36: 9/21/72 (The Spectrum, Philadelphia, PA)

2005

Dick's Picks Vol. 33: 10/9/76 & 10/10/76 (Oakland Coliseum Stadium, Oakland, CA)

2004

Rockin' the Rhein With the Grateful Dead (Live At the Rheinhalle, Düsseldorf, West Germany, 4/24/72)

2004

The Closing of Winterland: December 31, 1978 (Live)

2003

Dick's Picks Vol. 25: 5/10/78 (Veterans Memorial Coliseum, New Haven, CT) & 5/11/78 (Springfield Civic Center, Springfield, MA)

2002

Steppin' Out With the Grateful Dead - England '72

2002

Dick's Picks Vol. 24: 3/23/74 (Cow Palace, Daly City, CA)

2002

Ladies and Gentlemen... The Grateful Dead - Fillmore East, New York City, April 1971

2000

Dick's Picks Vol. 18: 2/3/78 (Dane County Coliseum, Madison, WI) & 2/5/78 (UNI-Dome, University of Iowa, Cedar Falls, IA)

2000

Dick's Picks Vol. 14: 11/30/73 & 12/2/73 (Boston Music Hall, Boston, MA)

1999

Dick's Picks Vol. 12: 6/26/74 (Providence Civic Center, Providence, RI) & 6/28/74 (Boston Garden, Boston, MA)

1998

Dick's Picks Vol. 7: 9/9/74 - 9/11/74 (Alexandra Palace, London, England)

1997

Dick's Picks Vol. 3: 5/22/77 (Hollywood Sportatorium, Pembroke Pines, FL)

1995

Europe '72 Vol 8: 4/24/72 (Rheinhalle, Dusseldorf, West Germany)

1972

Grateful Dead (Skull & Roses) [Remastered]

1971

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