Ripple: Robert Hunter's Spirituality

Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter took the last train out of town last week. I'm not an expert on his lyrics, but I do know that Ripple is maybe the best evocation of spirituality in song lyrics I know of -- that is, spirituality that doesn't talk about God. The word Zen is widely misapplied these days, but here it would be correct, insofar as the lyrics embrace paradox. How can there be ripples in the pond where no pebble has been tossed or wind has blown? But the devotional nature of the piece brings it closer to the world of Rumi, I think. And the end is pure Krishnamurti, who said that any path you walk that has been blazed by another will never be as true as the path you create for yourself. By going his own way, Hunter found himself as the only guy who could put the spirit of the Dead's music into words. And with Ripple, he wrote his own benediction. Here's Jimmie Dale Gilmore's cover.

If my words did glow with the gold of sunshine
And my tunes were played on the harp unstrung
Would you hear my voice come through the music
Would you hold it near as it were your own?

It's a hand-me-down, the thoughts are broken
Perhaps they're better left unsung
I don't know, don't really care
Let there be songs to fill the air

Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow

Reach out your hand if your cup be empty
If your cup is full may it be again
Let it be known there is a fountain
That was not made by the hands of men

There is a road, no simple highway
Between the dawn and the dark of night
And if you go no one may follow
That path is for your steps alone

Ripple in still water
When there is no pebble tossed
Nor wind to blow

You who choose to lead must follow
But if you fall, you fall alone
If you should stand, then who's to guide you
If I knew the way I would take you home