Seth Avett, co-frontman of The Avett Brothers, shared a video of him performing Grateful Dead classic “It Must Have Been the Roses” to his Instagram on Wednesday.
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The video sees Avett playing the song by a tree near his driveway, with just an acoustic guitar and his vocal cords. He gently starts into the Robert Hunter-penned lyrics, “Annie laid her head down in the roses/She had ribbons, ribbons, ribbons in her long brown hair/I don’t know, maybe it was the roses/All I know, I could not leave her there,” as he strums along to the song’s melody. Hitting the vocal runs with ease, Avett both stays true to the tune and subtly makes it his own.
“It Must Have Been the Roses” and “Easy Wind” are the only two songs the Grateful Dead performed for which the music and lyrics were written by Robert Hunter, who mainly served as Jerry Garcia‘s lyricist. The song debuted live on February 22, 1974, and saw regular play throughout the ’70s before becoming a bit rarer in later decades.
Watch Seth Avett cover the Grateful Dead’s “It Must Have Been The Roses” below:
Seth Avett – “It Must Have Been The Roses”
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Learned from the Grateful Dead record ‘Reckoning’. Written by Robert Hunter
The Avett Brothers joined virtually all other musicians in canceling spring and summer tour dates when the ongoing coronavirus pandemic led to the virtual shutdown of all large gatherings. While the band has yet to announce rescheduled dates, Seth has kept busy during quarantine, uploading videos like this one to his Instagram page. Head to the band’s website for the latest tour information and check out Live For Live Music‘s concert cancellation tracker for daily updates on shows around the world.
[H/TÂ JamBase]