Scarlet Begonias is one of the essential pieces of the Grateful Dead discography. The band first played the song in 1974 at the Daly City Cow Palace, just south of San Francisco. The song is one of the many Grateful Dead tunes to feature the brilliant lyricism of the recently passed Robert Hunter.
Since Dead & Company began touring in 2015, Scarlet has been a fixture of the band’s live show. Every member of the band gets a chance to shine throughout the song, possibly why the band often uses it as a set opener. It’s a great introduction to the show, after a 10-minute Scarlet jam, you know exactly what to expect from a Dead & Co. performance. There’s a reason you’ll hear Bob Weir exclaim “Just like a swiss watch” after the band opens their second set in Atlanta with the song.
There are over 150 versions of Scarlet Begonias streaming on nugs.net from Dead & Company, Bob Weir and Wolf Bros, JRAD, and tons more. You can also watch three different versions of the song from this year’s Dead & Co. summer tour below.
For more Dead & Company, pre-order webcasts of their six upcoming Fall Fun Run shows right now on nugs.tv.