Released June 20, 1969 Label Warner Bros. | Length 4:15 Writer(s) Robert Hunter | |
Recorded Pacific Recording Studios
San Mateo, California Genre Psychedelic rock, acid rock | ||
"China Cat Sunflower" is a song performed by the Grateful Dead which was first recorded for their third studio album Aoxomoxoa. The lyrics were written by Robert Hunter and the music composed by Jerry Garcia. The song was typically sung by Jerry Garcia. The first live recording of this song appeared on Europe '72, paired (as was typical) with "I Know You Rider". Lyrically, this song has many literary references, including Lewis Carroll's Alice in Wonderland, George Herriman's Krazy Kat, and Dame Edith Sitwell's "Polka".
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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 Deadheads) filled by "St. Stephen". 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.
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.
In popular culture
The song is featured in the Rock Band video game series as downloadable content, along with 17 other Grateful Dead songs.
In the 2009 Ang Lee film "Taking Woodstock," the version of the song from Europe '72 is used in the part of the film showing everyone arriving to Woodstock, 1969.