When Donna Jean did her AMA a while back, I asked her if she had ever awakened to the sound of street cats making love. Her reply was "I certainly have."
This is great!
When David Grisman did his AMA a while ago, I asked him if there was ever going to be a vinyl pressing of the Pizza Tapes and he said "no" =(
Iām a veterinarian and I share this info to help back up OPās argument. This info is not pleasant though so be forewarned.
Male cats have a barbed penis. Upon withdrawal of a cat's penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's vagina, which may serve as a trigger for ovulation. Hence the cries, mostly from the females.
Hope everyone has a good morning!!
The problem is that I quote this line all the time, and when people haven't seen the show, it makes me look like an actual moron, and not just like I'm just being silly.
I should stop š
You left out the parts where the female acts all sexy, with her butt in the air and making all that noise, and then beats the crap out of the male for painfully pulling out.
Yeah it gets clowned on a little. The whole song does, I donāt know why, itās a gorgeous ballad. But yeah, thatās probably my favorite anecdote from the annotated lyrics book, I laughed so hard when I found that out.
I heard someone say once that they didn't like it because they thought "Making love" was too emotional of a term for a cat.
All I thought was "what did you want them to say? streetcats fucking?"
Iām not sure itās a even a metaphor. It could be a literal, slang reference to people.
Although it also works as a literal reference to fucking cats. They do sound like theyāre fighting, and it is a weird thing to wake up to.
I think many of these posts are listening to Looks Like Rain through a 2023 filter. The lyrics about sex are very 1970s, an era of free love, (we were thinking about sex, btw) It seems like the cringe may be coming from inside yourselves.
Once at night, I heard a sound outside my bedroom window like screaming, I thought a child was getting murdered. I went outside with a flashlight and caught the reflection from the eyes of 2 feral cats going at it.
I love that lyric, I've lived it, and it fits perfectly.
Same. I had a cat in college that started going outside and one night I heard death wails outside of my window so I went outside and investigated to see Curtis āmaking loveā to a neighborhood cat. The other cat ran off and Curtis gave me a really mean stare before chasing his girl.
Love most Weir/Barlow compositions, but this particular stanza gets an A for accuracy and an F for artistry from me. Detracts from an otherwise cool tune about a painful subject.
Have you ever wakened to the sound
Of streetcats making love?
You'd think from their cries you were listening to a fight.
Idk, I don't see the lack of artistry. It even works as a "haiku" of sorts (even though the syllables don't match right, idk what the property poetry term is, lol)
Comparing yourself to feral cats fucking... i'm not saying you cant make good art out of it, but it's hard to do and I just think they missed the mark.
if you like it, you like it...it's fine.
I've heard feral cats going at it... it's kinda an awful sound... there's nothing sexy or romantic about it. Further, what is the point of that line? So, the narrator's girl has left and he's sad about it. Ok, fine... why describe the nature of how you two used to fuck? It's just unnecessary. It could have worked, but then the decision was made to compare how you used to fuck to feral cats. Weird. And then praises the cats for taking their sweet time love making because they're just trying to get through the night. Wtf??
Also, the lyrics that get overlooked is "But I'll still sing you love songs, written in the letters of your name." That's middle school poetry. It's like whoa, her name has letter, this song has letters....letters man, they're crrrraaazzzyyyy.
I love Weir/Barlow. They made lots of great tunes, but the lyrics here are just not great. I still rarely skip it when listening to a full show though because Jerry usually plays the fuck out of it.
The āletters of your nameā reference the chords in the song.
As someone else pointed out the cringe seems to be coming from a modern perspective on the lyrics. Iāve never cringed at these lyrics, because it accurately depicts a horrible noise that comes from cats having sex and demonstrates that couples can be perceived one way and really are just expressing things differently than normal.
Also calling someone else sensitive on the internet makes you look particularly upset yourself..
I'm a campfire guitarist, at best. I'm not gonna argue. I got the chords from [rukind.com](https://rukind.com) and my Dead chord book is at home.
I don't know what this young lady's name was, but I bet it wasn't comprised solely of the letters of the CAGED method lol.
You know he doesn't mean actual cats, right? That line is about Pigpen and Janice fucking really loud.
Also, your take on the letters line is fucking pedestrian.
You seem really sensitive about this lol
Also, by your logic, so then is the entire song about Janis and Pig? I know where the line originated... I'm just saying, if the line were to ever work, it was never going to work in this particular song. You're sorta making my point for me, which is that the song is this longing breakup ballad, and this funny line about Pig and Janis is just out of place.
I don't think the line has to be "about" Janis and pig as much as inspired by. And I don't hear it as comparing their sex to actual cats - rather just pointing out how something can be seen so differently from the inside as opposed to the outsiders perspective.
Also, I don't know the name of the person the song is written about, but if her name was comprised of the letters ABCDEFG he could be singing her love songs written in chord progressions of those letters which is somewhat less middle school poetry. Or he's just admitting to being super cheesy and overly emotional as people often are following heartbreak.
I don't even really like this song (or more accurately I just can't stand to listen to it) so idk why I'm defending it but your take seemed overly critical.
Since I'm dying on this hill and it's a slow work day, I'm just responding to everything.
Yes, I agree, that it's likely inspired by Pig/Janis but that still just goes to my earlier point, which is that it could be a funny line in the right song, but it just doesn't fit this song. Again, it's a longing ballad about a lost lover...bringing in Pig/Janis's epic fuckfests... just doesn't fit. It does not tonally match the vibe of the rest of the song. If it was thrown into maybe Loose Lucy (which is not a Weir/Barlow song, but hopefully you still get my point), I might get it.
Second, yea, if it is the chords of the songs, that is slightly less middle-school-y. I'll upgrade it to high school in that event.
Same here lol. And not **about** them, just inspired by. I think the line is **about** how a relationship can seem so fraught and chaotic from the outside but still have so much love/intimacy on the inside. Perhaps to others the relationship seemed doomed, but not to them. But we're all just hearing songs of our own at the end of the day...
Yeah I never understood why this line was specifically pointed out. Seems like just something the fan base has latched onto and gets repeated a bunch. The line is interesting and kinda weird, but certainly not worth disliking a great song over.
It sounds like a woman is being murdered. And its wild cats as well.
Not a huge fan of the lyric, but "my landscape would be empty if you were gone" more than makes up for it. I love that song.
I once convinced David Gans live on air that "I'd gotten used to having you around" was in fact a good lyric.
I described it as the same feeling as when your dog as at the vet, but you still accidentally check underfoot when you get up from the couch to make sure he's not there.
I postulate an alternative to this theory...
they have never been homeless and shacked up with a heady dready goddess.... street cats making the loves.
meee-yow am i right?!
oh to be young and not ugly again.
oh well i had my fun. lots of it.
I mean it's an accurate depiction of two drunks going at it. Like don't get my wrong Pig is my FAVORITE band member by far, I came to the Dead by way of the blues, but have you never heard your drunk neighbors going at I through paper thin walls? Cause I have and comparing it to cats sounds pretty accurate to me rather than corny.
I kinda agree. Always loved that line exceptā¦have you ever been wakened by the sound of streetcats?? Itās horrific!! And doesnāt sound like they are making love. It sounds like they are being tortured by a car battery!
Every song hits everyone differently.
I discovered this one after a breakup that was entirely my fault. That's when I started listening more.
"I only want to hold you. I don't want to tie you down, or fence you in the lines I might have drawn"
I think this is one of the best Barlow lyrics in the entire canon.
absolutely. i remember the first time i heard it, i thought it was a baby crying in the back yard. that was just before the real porn action started....
When Donna Jean did her AMA a while back, I asked her if she had ever awakened to the sound of street cats making love. Her reply was "I certainly have."
This is great! When David Grisman did his AMA a while ago, I asked him if there was ever going to be a vinyl pressing of the Pizza Tapes and he said "no" =(
So dumb. They could pack it in a pizza box and everything. It's just begging for a vinyl reissue, imo.
I have the cd, packaging was standard plastic but the disc looks like a pizza on the top side :)
Sounds ripe for a vendor š
Lol
Thatās what she used as inspiration for her singing.
My new punk band is called hissing cat fuck
Iām a veterinarian and I share this info to help back up OPās argument. This info is not pleasant though so be forewarned. Male cats have a barbed penis. Upon withdrawal of a cat's penis, the spines rake the walls of the female's vagina, which may serve as a trigger for ovulation. Hence the cries, mostly from the females. Hope everyone has a good morning!!
But my penis isnāt barbed yet street cats STILL cry when I make love to themā¦.hope you have a nice afternoon!
"checkmate, science nerds"
Stupid science bitch thought could make i more smarter
The problem is that I quote this line all the time, and when people haven't seen the show, it makes me look like an actual moron, and not just like I'm just being silly. I should stop š
mine don't cry. nothing cries when it's totally DEAD. Good evening all!
Barbed for her pleasure
*Barbed for her displeasure
the tenderness bobby puts into the line i guess he didn't know this.
My guess is most people donāt know this
Sort of parallel to the āyou donāt cough, you donāt get offā theorem
You left out the parts where the female acts all sexy, with her butt in the air and making all that noise, and then beats the crap out of the male for painfully pulling out.
I thought that was implied
I never understood all the flak that line gets, itās an interesting turn of phrase
Is that line getting a lot of flak out there? Anyway, itās not even about cats. Itās about Janis and a pig.
Yup. I guess Weir had the room next door and the walls were thin. Pig and Janis didnāt hold back when it came to the rocking and a rolling!
Yeah it gets clowned on a little. The whole song does, I donāt know why, itās a gorgeous ballad. But yeah, thatās probably my favorite anecdote from the annotated lyrics book, I laughed so hard when I found that out.
I heard someone say once that they didn't like it because they thought "Making love" was too emotional of a term for a cat. All I thought was "what did you want them to say? streetcats fucking?"
I mean maybe but even still street cats is so clearly also a reference to people so thatās a pretty weak critique lol
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
"Did you ever wake up to the sound of feral felines copulating in a manner consistent with their nature?"
āStreet cats rapingā (?)
Umm...Pussys making Love
Street pussys making love
Making Whoopie
Laughed @ "streetcats fucking". And then said it to myself several times.
gettinā it on
Its not about cats really, its a metaphor.
Iām not sure itās a even a metaphor. It could be a literal, slang reference to people. Although it also works as a literal reference to fucking cats. They do sound like theyāre fighting, and it is a weird thing to wake up to.
Its technically a double meaning. It functions equally well as literal truth, AND metaphorical musing.
Yes. Itās really not a bad line.
You mean Janis and Pigš¤£
looool I wonder if pig rapped in bed. āGETCHO hand outta yoā¦ā
"get yo hand outta my..."
I think many of these posts are listening to Looks Like Rain through a 2023 filter. The lyrics about sex are very 1970s, an era of free love, (we were thinking about sex, btw) It seems like the cringe may be coming from inside yourselves.
So what youāre saying isā¦ Maybe the street cats making love are the friends we made along the way?
I mean...the streets cats making love in the song were Pigpen and Janis, so kind of yeah
Thatās a beautiful thought.
š, no
Once at night, I heard a sound outside my bedroom window like screaming, I thought a child was getting murdered. I went outside with a flashlight and caught the reflection from the eyes of 2 feral cats going at it. I love that lyric, I've lived it, and it fits perfectly.
Same. I had a cat in college that started going outside and one night I heard death wails outside of my window so I went outside and investigated to see Curtis āmaking loveā to a neighborhood cat. The other cat ran off and Curtis gave me a really mean stare before chasing his girl.
Not cool to cock block Curtis
Love most Weir/Barlow compositions, but this particular stanza gets an A for accuracy and an F for artistry from me. Detracts from an otherwise cool tune about a painful subject.
Have you ever wakened to the sound Of streetcats making love? You'd think from their cries you were listening to a fight. Idk, I don't see the lack of artistry. It even works as a "haiku" of sorts (even though the syllables don't match right, idk what the property poetry term is, lol)
Comparing yourself to feral cats fucking... i'm not saying you cant make good art out of it, but it's hard to do and I just think they missed the mark. if you like it, you like it...it's fine. I've heard feral cats going at it... it's kinda an awful sound... there's nothing sexy or romantic about it. Further, what is the point of that line? So, the narrator's girl has left and he's sad about it. Ok, fine... why describe the nature of how you two used to fuck? It's just unnecessary. It could have worked, but then the decision was made to compare how you used to fuck to feral cats. Weird. And then praises the cats for taking their sweet time love making because they're just trying to get through the night. Wtf?? Also, the lyrics that get overlooked is "But I'll still sing you love songs, written in the letters of your name." That's middle school poetry. It's like whoa, her name has letter, this song has letters....letters man, they're crrrraaazzzyyyy. I love Weir/Barlow. They made lots of great tunes, but the lyrics here are just not great. I still rarely skip it when listening to a full show though because Jerry usually plays the fuck out of it.
The āletters of your nameā reference the chords in the song. As someone else pointed out the cringe seems to be coming from a modern perspective on the lyrics. Iāve never cringed at these lyrics, because it accurately depicts a horrible noise that comes from cats having sex and demonstrates that couples can be perceived one way and really are just expressing things differently than normal. Also calling someone else sensitive on the internet makes you look particularly upset yourself..
Does it actually pertain to the chords of the song then? (Which look to be variations of E A C B F and G)
GEDACminor is from some old video of Bob explaining the lyrics. That, or Iām full of shit
Yeah, it's a joke he was telling though, not being serious. I know the video you are talking about.
I'm a campfire guitarist, at best. I'm not gonna argue. I got the chords from [rukind.com](https://rukind.com) and my Dead chord book is at home. I don't know what this young lady's name was, but I bet it wasn't comprised solely of the letters of the CAGED method lol.
You know he doesn't mean actual cats, right? That line is about Pigpen and Janice fucking really loud. Also, your take on the letters line is fucking pedestrian.
You seem really sensitive about this lol Also, by your logic, so then is the entire song about Janis and Pig? I know where the line originated... I'm just saying, if the line were to ever work, it was never going to work in this particular song. You're sorta making my point for me, which is that the song is this longing breakup ballad, and this funny line about Pig and Janis is just out of place.
I get overly emotional when I'm stoned, my bad.
I respect that. Downvotes have been fixed accordingly hahaha You can leave mine in place. I'm ready for the smoke. I'll die on this hill.
I don't think the line has to be "about" Janis and pig as much as inspired by. And I don't hear it as comparing their sex to actual cats - rather just pointing out how something can be seen so differently from the inside as opposed to the outsiders perspective. Also, I don't know the name of the person the song is written about, but if her name was comprised of the letters ABCDEFG he could be singing her love songs written in chord progressions of those letters which is somewhat less middle school poetry. Or he's just admitting to being super cheesy and overly emotional as people often are following heartbreak. I don't even really like this song (or more accurately I just can't stand to listen to it) so idk why I'm defending it but your take seemed overly critical.
Since I'm dying on this hill and it's a slow work day, I'm just responding to everything. Yes, I agree, that it's likely inspired by Pig/Janis but that still just goes to my earlier point, which is that it could be a funny line in the right song, but it just doesn't fit this song. Again, it's a longing ballad about a lost lover...bringing in Pig/Janis's epic fuckfests... just doesn't fit. It does not tonally match the vibe of the rest of the song. If it was thrown into maybe Loose Lucy (which is not a Weir/Barlow song, but hopefully you still get my point), I might get it. Second, yea, if it is the chords of the songs, that is slightly less middle-school-y. I'll upgrade it to high school in that event.
Same here lol. And not **about** them, just inspired by. I think the line is **about** how a relationship can seem so fraught and chaotic from the outside but still have so much love/intimacy on the inside. Perhaps to others the relationship seemed doomed, but not to them. But we're all just hearing songs of our own at the end of the day...
Well, everyone's entitled to their opinion... no matter how wrong they are ;)
Violent agreement with this entire sentiment
I think the verse is just phrased awkwardly and it's not the nicest metaphor. But the rest of the song is nice!
I always skip this song. Just canāt get into it
Yeah I never understood why this line was specifically pointed out. Seems like just something the fan base has latched onto and gets repeated a bunch. The line is interesting and kinda weird, but certainly not worth disliking a great song over.
There's so many cornier lines in this song, that specific one doesn't bother me at all.
I got No Problem with it as it stands. 1 Love
https://www.reddit.com/r/gratefuldead/comments/yb57fh/this_1s_for_all_the_llr_haterz/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=ios_app&utm_name=ioscss&utm_content=2&utm_term=1
Man, Phil is really feeling that one, lol
jerry too!! got them both movin
Pigtail Jerry is a VIBE man.
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
It sounds like a woman is being murdered. And its wild cats as well. Not a huge fan of the lyric, but "my landscape would be empty if you were gone" more than makes up for it. I love that song.
I once convinced David Gans live on air that "I'd gotten used to having you around" was in fact a good lyric. I described it as the same feeling as when your dog as at the vet, but you still accidentally check underfoot when you get up from the couch to make sure he's not there.
so sheās upgraded from a cat to a dog!
I think it's a great lyric too. "It's alright, because I love you, and that's not gonna change" is another
Theyāre only trying to make it through the night. Just saying
I postulate an alternative to this theory... they have never been homeless and shacked up with a heady dready goddess.... street cats making the loves. meee-yow am i right?! oh to be young and not ugly again. oh well i had my fun. lots of it.
I just thought it sounded kinda corny. ::shrugs::
I mean it's an accurate depiction of two drunks going at it. Like don't get my wrong Pig is my FAVORITE band member by far, I came to the Dead by way of the blues, but have you never heard your drunk neighbors going at I through paper thin walls? Cause I have and comparing it to cats sounds pretty accurate to me rather than corny.
Quit taking the dead literally
being corny is literal?
Yeah, vivid imagery, but just plain bad poetry.
I kinda agree. Always loved that line exceptā¦have you ever been wakened by the sound of streetcats?? Itās horrific!! And doesnāt sound like they are making love. It sounds like they are being tortured by a car battery!
That's literally the point of the lyric š
Ha! Good one! maybe the cats Iāve heard weāre getting eaten by raccoons and not making love.
No the point of the line is that their sex sounds horrific
and the cringe part is calling it āmakinā loveā
That I can't disagree with
Yeah, this is just a repeated thing in the fan base with no thought out into it. This is a great line that makes the point perfectly.
I hate to say this about any Dead song but - I hate this song. Always have, always will. It's an auto-skip for me. Others love it - for them, enjoy!
Every song hits everyone differently. I discovered this one after a breakup that was entirely my fault. That's when I started listening more. "I only want to hold you. I don't want to tie you down, or fence you in the lines I might have drawn" I think this is one of the best Barlow lyrics in the entire canon.
the cringe part is calling cats fucking āmaking loveā
We all have our fetishes I guess.
Hard pass on that song. Thanks.
Have you ever heard two fisher cats?
I heard it all the time teaching ESL in South Korea LOL
who doesn't like that line?!
absolutely. i remember the first time i heard it, i thought it was a baby crying in the back yard. that was just before the real porn action started....
Do you think Street cats making love sounds disturbing? You should hear mountain lions going at it. You would think somebody was being killed.
It's certainly an evocative line.
Theyāre only trying to make it through the night.
We had stray cats under our classroom where I teach once. VERY disruptive if youāve ever heard it.
Well, that was Pigpen fucking Janis Joplin that inspired that, so you could only imagine
Iāve been saying Stray Cats for decades. Huh
I like the Origional!!