"China Cat Sunflower" is a song performed by the

Grateful Dead The Grateful Dead was an American rock music, rock band formed in 1965 in Palo Alto, California. The band is known for its eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, Folk music, folk, country music, country, jazz, bluegrass music, bluegrass, ...

which was first recorded for their third studio album ''

Aoxomoxoa ''Aoxomoxoa'' is the third studio album by the Grateful Dead. One of the first rock albums to be recorded using 16-track technology, fans and critics alike consider this era to be the band's experimental apex. The title is a meaningless palindro ...

''. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music composed by

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

. The song was typically sung by Jerry Garcia. The first live recording of this song appeared on ''

Europe '72 ''Europe '72'' is a live triple album by the Grateful Dead, released in November 1972. It covers the band's tour of Western Europe in April and May that year, and showcases live favourites, extended improvisations and several new songs including ...

'', paired (as was typical) with "

I Know You Rider "I Know You Rider" (also "Woman Blues" and "I Know My Rider") is a traditional blues song that has been adapted by numerous artists. Modern versions can be traced back to Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Deceitful Brownskin Blues", which was released as ...

". Lyrically, this song has many literary references, including

Lewis Carroll Charles Lutwidge Dodgson (; 27 January 1832 – 14 January 1898), better known by his pen name Lewis Carroll, was an English author, poet and mathematician. His most notable works are ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (1865) and its sequel ...

's ''

Alice in Wonderland ''Alice's Adventures in Wonderland'' (commonly ''Alice in Wonderland'') is an 1865 English novel by Lewis Carroll. It details the story of a young girl named Alice who falls through a rabbit hole into a fantasy world of anthropomorphic creatur ...

'',

George Herriman George Joseph Herriman III (August 22, 1880 – April 25, 1944) was an American cartoonist best known for the comic strip '' Krazy Kat'' (1913–1944). More influential than popular, ''Krazy Kat'' had an appreciative audience ...

's ''

Krazy Kat ''Krazy Kat'' (also known as ''Krazy & Ignatz'' in some reprints and compilations) is an US, American newspaper comic strip, by cartoonist George Herriman, which ran from 1913 to 1944. It first appeared in the ''New York Journal-American, New Yor ...

'', and Dame Edith Sitwell's "

Polka Polka is a dance and genre of dance music originating in nineteenth-century Bohemia, now part of the Czech Republic. Though associated with Czech culture, polka is popular throughout Europe and the Americas. History Etymology The term ...

Live performances

The Grateful Dead first performed "China Cat Sunflower" on January 17, 1968, at the Carousel Ballroom in San Francisco, CA, and played the song well over 500 times in concert. During the first year after its introduction into the band's set list, the song was played by itself or often in the middle of an extended jam between the songs " Dark Star" and "The Eleven"—a position more familiarly (to

Deadhead A Deadhead or Dead Head is a fan of the American rock band the Grateful Dead. In the 1970s, a number of fans began travelling to see the band in as many shows or festival venues as they could. With large numbers of people thus attending strings o ...

s) filled by "

St. Stephen Stephen ( grc-gre, Στέφανος ''Stéphanos'', meaning "wreath, crown" and by extension "reward, honor, renown, fame", often given as a title rather than as a name; c. 5 – c. 34 AD) is traditionally venerated as the protomartyr or first ...

". Four instances of this arrangement have been released on official recordings, the first on the compilation album '' So Many Roads (1965–1995)'', the second on ''Dick's Picks Volume 22'', and the other two on ''Road Trips Volume 2 Number 2''.

China Cat Sunflower → I Know You Rider

In late 1969 the Grateful Dead began segueing "China Cat Sunflower" into "I Know You Rider" during live performances. Over the next 26 years they would pair these songs together over 500 times, most often as a second set opener. Only twice during this extended period was "China Cat Sunflower" played without this pairing.

Music and lyrical composition

The song begins with distinct guitar riffs. The first is played by Jerry Garcia and then a second one played by

Bob Weir Robert Hall Weir ( ; né Parber, born October 16, 1947) is an American musician and songwriter best known as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the group disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead ...

is interwoven on top of it. This second riff has been described by author Eric F. Wybenga as "that dodgy little Bobby intro that scratches your brain just behind the ears." Wybenga described the lyrics as "acid-drenched", and said, further: "China Cat Sunflower's lyric—composed, Robert Hunter has said, in a state where contemplation of a cat served as touchstone for an interplanetary journey—is a real masterwork. It's one of the very few rock-and-roll lyrics (including Dylan's) that has as much impact on the page as it does sung, if not more. ... 'It's about acid' does it less justice than the observation that it's about seeing, sensing, and making connections in a sensuous world. Anyone out there remember what it was like to be three years old?"

In popular culture

The song is featured in the ''

Rock Band A rock band or pop band is a small musical ensemble that performs rock music, pop music, or a related genre. A four-piece band is the most common configuration in rock and pop music. In the early years, the configuration was typically two guita ...

video game Video games, also known as computer games, are electronic games that involves interaction with a user interface or input device such as a joystick, controller, keyboard, or motion sensing device to generate visual feedback. This fee ...

series as downloadable content, along with 17 other Grateful Dead songs. In the 2009

Ang Lee Ang Lee (; born October 23, 1954) is a Taiwanese filmmaker. Born in Pingtung County of southern Taiwan, Lee was educated in Taiwan and later in the United States. During his filmmaking career, he has received international critical and popula ...

film ''

Taking Woodstock ''Taking Woodstock'' is a 2009 American comedy-drama film about the Woodstock Festival of 1969, directed by Ang Lee. The screenplay by James Schamus is based on the memoir '' Taking Woodstock: A True Story of a Riot, a Concert, and a Life'' by Ell ...

'', the version of the song from ''Europe '72'' is used in the part of the film showing everyone arriving at

Woodstock Woodstock Music and Art Fair, commonly referred to as Woodstock, was a music festival held during August 15–18, 1969, on Max Yasgur's dairy farm in Bethel, New York, United States, southwest of the town of Woodstock, New York, Woodstock. ...

in 1969. In 2020 entomologist J.H. Epler named a new species of diving beetle (family Dytiscidae) for the song; it is called ''Uvarus sinofelihelianthus''. The specific epithet can be interpreted as (''sino'') China (''feli'') cat (''helianthus'') sunflower.

References

{{authority control Grateful Dead songs 1969 songs Songs written by Jerry Garcia Songs with lyrics by Robert Hunter (lyricist)