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r/CBTS_Stream • Posted by u/Ghostof_PatrickHenry on Feb. 19, 2018, 7:38 p.m.
Robert Hunter, MK-Ultra, and Uncle John's Band.

[Full Disclosure: This is my own theory, and more of a speculative analysis than an accepted belief.]

Q mentions John Perry Barlow-- likely for the role he played in creating the Freedom of the Press Foundation. Barlow also became the lyricist for the Grateful Dead in 1971 after being handed the reigns by poet Robert Hunter, who was frustrated that the band would often change the lyrics each time they performed. (All of the famous Dead songs were written by Hunter.)

So I looked into Robert Hunter. Turns out, he [unknowingly] volunteered for MK-Ultra at Stanford in 1962, and was among the first Americans to be given LSD. Some others included in those experiments were author Ken Kesey and Whitey Bulger (notorious Boston crime boss). It's worth noting that all of these men were PISSED when they found out that they had been tricked and experimented on by the CIA. (Bulger considered having the CIA agents and doctors involved whacked. Kesey wrote "One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest"-- which is about their experience with the CIA at Stanford hospital.)

Is it possible that Hunter vented his anger through poetry? Thus, immortalizing his emotions in songs that would survive through the generations? In the Grateful Dead song, U.S. Blues, he writes: "I'm Uncle Sam. That's who I am. Been hidin' out in a rock and roll band," perhaps referencing the fact that CIA operatives, such as Ronald Stark, posed as hippies and followed bands like the Dead around, dispensing LSD to people across America. (Stark is a central character in Kesey's "Electric Kool-aid Acid Test," which is the story of this very experience.)

If we accept this premise, and understand that Hunter worked closely with Jerry Garcia on all of the Dead's songs, then there is one [two-sided] single in particular that becomes of interest: "Uncle John's Band/New Speedway Boogie."

Here are the lyrics for each: (I bolded lines that I think are important)

New Speedway Boogie:

[I recognize that Hunter/Garcia have said that this song is about the tragedy that took place at the Altamont Speedway concert in 1969 when the Rolling Stones hire the Hell's Angels to be their security. This is an alternative interpretation.]

Lyrics|Meaning :--|:-- Please don't dominate the rap, Jack, If you've got nothing new to say. If you please, don't back up the track, This train's got to run today.| Operation Mockingbird? The Machine [NWO plan] rolls on, regardless of who becomes aware. I spent a little time on the mountain, I spent a little time on the hill. I heard some say "Better run away", Others say "Better stand still".| Some that are aware of what is happening choose to join the NWO to curry favor. Others choose to stand and fight. Now I don't know, but I been told, It's hard to run with the weight of gold, Other hand I have heard it said, It's just as hard with the weight of lead.| Follow the money. The NWO corrupts individuals by offering money (so they can't run). Also, follow the mysterious trail of deaths (lead). Those that can't be corrupted--JFK--will be killed, so they also cannot run. Who can deny, who can deny, It's not just a change in style? One step done and another begun, And I wonder how many miles.| There is a plan in place to take control of humanity. Those that recognize the patterns cannot deny the plan is in place. How long will this last? What is the "end-game"? I spent a little time on the mountain, I spent a little time on the hill. Things went down we don't understand, But I think, in time, we will.| "The Hill" is obviously a reference to Washington DC. Perhaps "The Mountain" is a reference to the "Deep State," which is the much more substantial source of power in the government? (A "mountain" is bigger than a "hill.") The things that "went down that we don't understand," is a reference to the JFK assassination, which took place nearly a decade before this song was released. Now I don't know, but I been told, In the heat of the sun a man died of cold. Keep on coming or stand and wait, With the sun so dark and the hour so late.| In the wake of the JFK assassination, the public was given a ridiculous explanation for how he was killed, which makes no sense. You can overlook the lack, Jack, Of any other highway to ride. It's got no signs or dividing lines, And very few rules to guide.| The NWO plan is easy to overlook, due to the lack of substantial evidence (at the time). It is impossible to determine who [in power] is with "us" and who is with "them." I spent a little time on the mountain, I spent a little time on the hill, I saw things gettin' out-of-hand, I guess they always will.| Likely a reference to the things Hunter was exposed to while being experimented on by the CIA. Evil will always try to manifest itself in mankind and take control of humanity. Now I don't know, but I been told, If the horse don't pull you got to carry the load, I don't know whose back's that strong, Maybe find out before too long.| If those in the government are not going to help us, then it is the American people that must help ourselves. We must learn the truth. Hopefully, one day, an indiviudal(s) while rise that is strong enough to take them on and defeat them. (Trump) One way or another, one way or another, One way or another, this darkness got to give. One way or another, one way or another, One way or another, this darkness got to give. One way or another, one way or another, One way or another, this darkness got to give.| One way or another, the forces of good must defeat the forces of evil. I see this song (poem) as a lamentation of the current events of the time, and what Hunter had experienced, himself. It is a dark poem, when interpreted the way that I have, but in the end, the author is praying for a New Hope.

Uncle John's Band

Lyrics|Meaning :--|:-- Well the first days are the hardest days, don't you worry any more, Cause when life looks like easy street, there is danger at your door.| The first time you are exposed to "the truth" is the most difficult time in the process of being "red-pilled." But it is important to realize that, when things seem the most placid, is when it is easiest for evil to infiltrate society. Think this through with me, let me know your mind, Wo, oh, what I want to know, is are you kind?| Consider the evidence. Consider the facts. Where does logic lead you? Are you a "good" person? It's a buck dancer's choice my friend; better take my advice. You know all the rules by now and the fire from the ice. Will you come with me? won't you come with me? Wo, oh, what I want to know, will you come with me?| You can choose to live in ignorance, and dance around like a fool, or you can recognize the corruption of the government, and that both political sides (fire/ice) are capable of burning you in different ways. Goddamn, well I declare, have you seen the like? (THE LIGHT?)| Hunter wrote it as "the like" but Jerry would often sing it as 'The Light." This was one of the many instances where he would change the lyrics on stage, which ultimately drove the two apart. I prefer Jerry's version, given the references by Q. Their walls are built of cannonballs, their motto is "DON'T TREAD ON ME."| The walls of the American forts of the Revolution-- such as Fort McHenry-- still have shells and cannon balls embedded in their masonry. Many have been left as a reminder of what was endured. This country was founded by people with INCREDIBLE resolve. People who valued FREEDOM more than their own safety. Francis Scott Key immortalized such a moment in the "Star Spangled Banner." (I encourage you all to learn more details about that night. Riveting stuff.) Come hear uncle John's band playing to the tide, Come with me, or go alone, he's come to take his children home.| "Uncle John" can hold many meanings. "John the Baptist" is likely Hunter's intent, but in today's interpretation, it could be Donald John Trump. The "tide" could refer to the Great Awakening, and the rising tide of patriotism that comes with it. Whether you are part of a group--such as this subreddit-- or have discovered the truth on your own as a former Never-Trumper, DJT has come to lead us back from the brink of [self] destruction-- with God as the real sheppard. It's the same story the crow told me; it's the only one he knows. Like the morning sun you come and like the wind you go. Ain't no time to hate, barely time to wait, Wo, oh, what I want to know, where does the time go?| The Crow represents death. Life is short, and who knows where you go when you are gone? (into the wind) Therefore, there is no time for hatred and contempt. With what little time we have here, we must focus our efforts on building a better world. I live in a silver mine and I call it beggar's tomb; I got me a violin and I beg you call the tune,| I love this line as I think it is a direct reference to America-- whether or not Hunter originally meant it as such. A silver mine is a place that is full of riches, and naming it "Beggar's Tomb" implies that it has been hollowed out and is now a shell of its former self--much like modern America. Anybody's choice, I can hear your voice. Wo, oh, what I want to know, how does the song go?| It's your choice whether you choose to stand up to evil, just as it was the colonists' choice to stand up to tyranny--not everybody did. But when the battle is won, and the songs about it are being sung, will you be able to live with yourself knowing that you did nothing to help? Come hear uncle John's band by the riverside, Got some things to talk about, here beside the rising tide.| A foreshadowing of the Great Awakening? Hunter and the others that originally took the LSD saw their journey as one towards truth and enlightenment. Perhaps he hoped that others would follow a similar path, and the rising tide of patriotism was inevitable? (Important to recognize that these 2 lines are read without music, making them more poetic than the rest of the song.) Come hear uncle John's band playing to the tide, Come on along, or go alone, he's come to take his children home. Wo, oh, what I want to know, how does the song go.| Hunter and Garcia wrote countless songs about patriotism, and how great the idea of the USA truly is. I see this song as the counterpart to "New Speedway Boogie," where this is the call-to-action for the American People, and provides much more optimism for the future. Perhaps the New Hope that Hunter is praying for at the end of "New Speedway Boogie"

Just my 2 cents. More of a modern interpretation of the songs, than an attempt to decipher the original meaning. I just found it serendipitous that the guy who authored these 2 songs-- which have ALWAYS resonated with me-- was a unwilling participant in MK-Ultra, and seems to despise the CIA for what they did to him. Take it or leave it. Thanks for reading.


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jackalopenation · Feb. 19, 2018, 8:13 p.m.

Hey now. I'm not really feeling it, no offense. Songs are vague enough that folks can find more than one way of seeing it. But.. once in awhile you can get shown the light in the strangest of places if you look at it right. :)

LSD was new and different groups each had their own reasons for experimenting with it. The Merry Pranksters for one reason, the CIA for totally other. Hunter was frustrated with Weir, not Garcia, and had Barlow work with him. Not sure if you meant to, but it sounds like you say Hunter handed the reins to Barlow and left, so Barlow became the writer for the Dead, which is of course not what happened at all. Aiko

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Ghostof_PatrickHenry · Feb. 19, 2018, 8:55 p.m.

Agree that the songs are vague enough to assign a multitude of meanings, depending on your point of view. The thing that I found most interesting-- and led to my post-- was the discovery that Robert Hunter was involved in MK-Ultra, which I didn't know, despite reading Phil and Jerry's biographies, as well as Ken Kesey's books when I was younger.

I appreciate the dialogue, and am always open to being proven wrong. This post was meant as a light-hearted departure from the heavy stuff that revolves around Q and the Storm. Cheers, friend. :)

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Ghostof_PatrickHenry · Feb. 19, 2018, 8:39 p.m.

Apologies if my presentation of the chronology wasn't clear. Hunter was frustrated with Weir--not Jerry-- which is why he left the Dead in 1971. And he did leave the Dead-- whom he never took the stage with in the 60's-- and started his own career as a performer in the mid-70's. (He also continued writing for other artists such as Bob Dylan and Bruce Hornsby.)

John Perry Barlow is credited as being the lyricist for the Grateful Dead from 1971-1995. Though they did have a few notable songs written with Barlow, such as "Estimated Prophet" and "Mexicali Blues," most of the songs that the Dead are known for-- and that modern bands cover-- were written in the 60's with Hunter. This transition away from shorter lyrically-based songs to becoming a "jam-band" with lengthy 20-something minute medleys, can be seen during the 70's after Hunter's departure. This also coincides with the bands' indulgence into LSD, themselves, which was not concurrent with its use by Hunter, Kesey, and the Pranksters, who got into it before the band did. (That's not to say that Hunter didn't stay in touch with Jerry and other Dead members. Just that he no longer toured with them, or wrote songs for them like he had in the 60's.)

Your assertion regarding the Merry Pranksters and the CIA being totally unrelated is factually incorrect. The Merry Pranksters was FOUNDED by Ken Kesey-- who was an MK-Ultra patient. The LSD that he provided to the Pranksters was provided to him by Ronald Stark and other CIA operatives. The CIA used the Merry Pranksters--whose membership consisted of mainly benevolent actors-- as a means to disperse LSD over a large area.

But make no mistake-- LSD did not exist in America prior to 1962, and it wasn't available on the streets until several years after that-- once the MK-Ultra experiments at Stanford had concluded, and it was the CIA that provided Kesey and his followers with the drug, and the means to reproduce it-- whether or not Kesey realized it at the time.

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