Line #40 Music/AmericanBeauty


1	[[quoteright:350:https://static.tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pub/images/b7257ade08f0f4aa6b189e1762df4553.jpg]]
2	[[caption-width-right:350: ''Let there be songs to fill the air.'']]
3
4	->"Look out of any window\
5	Any morning, any evening, any day\
6	Maybe the sun is shining\
7	Birds are winging or rain is falling from a heavy sky"
8
9	''American Beauty'' is a 1970 album by Music/TheGratefulDead, the sixth in their catalogue. Together with ''Workingman's Dead'' (1970) and ''Music/AnthemOfTheSun'' (1968) its often seen as their best. Therefore ''Anthem'' and ''American Beauty'' have been featured together in an episode of the documentary series ''Series/ClassicAlbums''.
10
11	The album generated the hit "Truckin'" and the fan favorites "Box of Rain", "Friend of the Devil" and "Sugar Magnolia". In 1997 "Truckin'" has been recognized by the United States Library of Congress as a "national treasure". The album would also prove highly influential on the country rock, AlternativeCountry, and Americana movements.
12
13	!!'''Tracklist'''
14
15	[[AC:Side one]]
16	# "Box of Rain" (5:18)
17	# "Friend of the Devil" (3:24)
18	# "Sugar Magnolia" (3:19)
19	# "Operator" (2:25)
20	# "Candyman" (6:14)
21
22	[[AC:Side two]]
23	# "Ripple" (4:09)
24	# "Brokedown Palace" (4:09)
25	# "Till the Morning Comes" (3:08)
26	# "Attics of My Life" (5:12)
27	# "Truckin'" (5:03)
28
29	!!Personnel
30	* Jerry Garcia: vocals, lead guitar, pedal steel, piano
31	* Mickey Hart: percussion
32	* Bill Kreutzmann: drums
33	* Phil Lesh: bass guitar, piano, vocals
34	* Ron "Pigpen" [=McKernan=]: vocals, harmonica
35	* Bob Weir: vocals, guitar
36	* Robert Hunter: songwriter
37	* Dave Torbert: bass
38	* David Nelson: electric guitar
39	* David Grisman: mandolin
40	* Howard Wales: organ
41	* Ned Lagin: piano
42
43	!!''Tropin', I'm goin' home''
44	* AmericanTitle: "American Beauty".
45	* BreakupSong: "Brokedown Palace".
46	* TheCasanova: "Candyman"
47	--> ''Come all you pretty women with your hair hanging down''
48	--> ''Open up your windows' cause the Candyman's in town''
49	--> ''(...) Pretty lady ain't got no friend till the Candyman come round again''
50	* CrapsackWorld: "Truckin'" is about the band's misfortunes on the road, used as a metaphor for getting through the constant changes in life.
51	* CountryMusic and FolkRock: The album is close to folk rock and country, much like their previous effort ''Workingman's Dead'' (1970)
52	* DealWithTheDevil: "Friend of the Devil", where a man escapes from jail with help from the Devil, but ends up chasing him in the end.
53	* DeclarationOfProtection: "Till The Morning Comes"
54	-->''Tell you what I'll do''
55	-->''I'll watch out for you''
56	-->''You're my woman now''
57	-->''Make yourself easy''
58	* DrugsAreBad: "Truckin'"
59	--> ''What in the world ever became of sweet Jane?''
60	--> ''She lost her sparkle, you know she isn't the same''
61	--> ''Livin' on reds, vitamin C, and cocaine,''
62	--> ''All a friend can say is "Ain't it a shame?"''
63	* EpicRocking: The 6:14 "Candyman".
64	* InHarmonyWithNature: "Brokedown Palace"
65	--> ''Goin' home, goin' home by the waterside I will rest my bones''
66	--> ''Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul''
67	--> ''Goin' to plant a weeping willow''
68	--> ''On the banks green edge it will grow grow grow''
69	--> ''Sing a lullaby beside the water''
70	--> ''Lovers come and go - the river roll roll roll''
71	* IWantMyBelovedToBeHappy: Although the narrator of "Operator" seeks info about his ex, it seems more to be out of concern for her wellbeing than out of any sort of jealousy. He imagines a number of situations she could be involved in, including "[[HookerWithAHeartOfGold working in a house of delight]]", but then adds, "I don't know where she's going, I don't care where she's been, long as she's been doing it right."
72	* MundaneMadeAwesome: The title was inspired by a type of rose, which is depicted on the cover.
73	* NonAppearingTitle: "American Beauty" does not appear in any of the lyrics.
74	* OneManSong: "Candyman".
75	* OneWordTitle: "Operator", "Ripple", "Truckin'"
76	* {{Outlaw}}: "Friend of the Devil" is about a man on the run from the police who is helped to escape by the Devil, but winds up chasing him instead.
77	* ParentalLoveSong: "Box of Rain", dedicated to Phil Lesh's dying father.
78	* {{Polyamory}}: "Friend Of The Devil"
79	--> ''Got a wife in Chino, babe, and one in Cherokee''
80	--> ''[[MamasBabyPapasMaybe The first one says she's got my child, but it don't look like me.]]''
81	* ThePowerOfLove:
82	** "Sugar Magnolia"
83	--> ''She's got everything delightful, she's got everything I need,''
84	--> ''Takes the wheel when I'm seeing double, pays my ticket when I speed''
85	** "Till the Morning Comes"
86	--> ''You're my woman now, make yourself easy''.
87	* ThePowerOfRock:
88	** "Brokedown Palace"
89	--> ''Listen to the river sing sweet songs to rock my soul''
90	** "Ripple"
91	--> ''If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine''
92	--> ''And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung,''
93	--> ''Would you hear my voice come through the music?''
94	--> ''Would you hold it near as it were your own?''
95	--> ''It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken,''
96	--> ''Perhaps they're better left unsung.''
97	--> ''I don't know, don't really care''
98	--> ''Let there be songs to fill the air.''
99	* TheProblemWithPenIsland: The word "American Beauty" on the cover can be also read as "American Reality". This seems to have been intentional.
100	* RealLifeWritesThePlot: "Box of Rain" was written by Phil Lesh for his father, who had terminal cancer. The events in "Truckin'" are all situations that actually happened to the band on the road.
101	* RoadTripPlot: "Truckin'"
102	--> ''Truckin', I'm a goin' home, whoa whoa baby, back where I belong''
103	--> ''Back home, sit down and patch my bones, and get back truckin' on''
104	* ShoutOut: The album title was referenced in the title of ''Film/AmericanBeauty'' (1999).
105	** ''Literature/TheSecretHistory'': Hippies only allow admission to the bunker to those who can recite the second verse of "Sugar Magnolia".
106	* SiameseTwinSongs: "Ripple" -> "Brokedown Palace".
107	* TimeMarchesOn: "Operator", where the protagonist asks for the operator to help him to the right area code and number. In today's era of cell phones the lyrics tend to be dated.
108	* TitleOnlyChorus: "Truckin'"
109	* WanderlustSong: "Friend of the Devil", where the protagonist is on the run from the law.
110	----
111	''What a long, strange trip it's been....''

Context Music / AmericanBeauty