Don't Ease Me In - Grateful Dead Song Review

She brings me coffee
You know she brings me tea
She brings 'bout every damn thing
But the jailhouse key

Ahh man this song is putting a song on my face as I listen to it and prepare to write this entry.

To me, this is the sound of the first set coming to an end (on a good note).  I don't know why this one is such a favorite - it's such a simple song but I really like it 

In the songbook it states that Don't Ease Me In was composed by traditional - which means it's such an old standard the original composer is unknown. That might partially explain my affinity for the song - it's a historical classic so there must be something to it.

I have heard it referred to in the Dead scene as "Don't Cheese Me In" but I cannot disagree more with that sentiment.

According to Alex Allan's awesome resource "whitegum.com", the song was released as a B Side for the first single (Golden Road?) in 1966 and played throughout the band's entire career. Of course, they recorded a version as the last track on the Go To Heaven album as well. 

What else to write? The lyrics are light hearted and humorous as you can see from the snippet I put at the top of this entry.  You can kind of imagine Jerry with a big smile when he sings that one.  It's a simple rock tune but definitely a personal favorite.  It also is short and sweet - clocking in at about 3:20 or so- how many Dead songs can you say that about? I've heard versions of Finniculi, Finnicula longer than that!

  

Don't Ease Me In is a tune I never skip past on a bootleg, and in fact, I always turn it up.

Don't Ease Me In Song Rating on a Scale of 1-10: 8.1

Disclaimer: This is part of my blog that reviews all things Grateful Dead for fun. Music is a beautiful thing because it is so personal and subjective, so keep in mind that this is one man's opinion (and be sure to read my blog manifesto to understand a little more about where I'm coming from).