"Even the purest of romantics compromise"

The Annotated "Victim Or The Crime"

An installment in The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics.
By David Dodd
Copyright notice; © 1995-2004, David Dodd
"Victim Or The Crime"
Words by Gerrit Graham and Bob Weir; music by Bob Weir
Copyright Ice Nine Publishing (1988)

Patience runs out on the junkie
The dark side hires another soul
Did he steal his fate or earn it
Was he force-fed, did he learn it
Whatever happened to his precious self control

Like him I'm tired of trying to heal
This tom-cat heart with which I'm blessed
Is destruction loving's twin
Must I choose to lose or win
Maybe when my turn comes I will have guessed

These are the horns of the dilemma
What truth is proof against all lies
When sacred fails before profane
The wisest man is deemed insane
Even the purest of romantics compromise

What fixation feeds this fever
As the full moon pales and climbs
Am I living truth or rank deceiver
Am I the victim or the crime
Am I the victim or the crime
Am I the victim or the crime
Or the crime

And so I wrestle with the angel
To see who'll reap the seeds I sow
Am I the driver or the driven
Will I be damned to be forgiven
Is there anybody here but me who needs to know

What it is to face this fever
As the full moon pales and climbs
Am I living truth or rank deceiver
Am I the victim or the crime
Am I the victim or the crime
Am I the victim or the crime
Or the crime


"Victim Or The Crime"

Gerrit Graham has kindly sent an essay about the song. Many thanks, Gerrit! Musical details: Recorded on

Songbook availability:

First performance: June 17, 1988, at Metropolitan Sports Center, Bloomington, Minnesota. "Victim" appeared as the last song in the first set, following "Althea". It remained in the repertoire steadily thereafter.


Gerrit Graham

The following information on Weir's lyricist for this song comes from an article in the December 27, 1999 & January 3, 2000 New Yorker magazine, "The Musical Life: A Moonlighting Lyricist's Day is Made" by Alec Wilkinson, pp. 44-46.

Graham is a 25-year friend of Weir. He is an actor who plays Roger Bender on the TV show "Now and Again." According to the article, "Victim or the Crime" was written in the early 1980s, and Weir's musical inspiration for the song was a piece by Bela Bartok.

Graham is still writing with Weir, and has several songs in the current Ratdog repertoire.


Patience runs out on the junkie

I seem to remember an interview with Garcia, in which he stated that the line was originally sung as "Patience runs out on the bunny."

Can anybody help verify or debunk this?

See Gerrit Graham's essay for the final word on this!


horns of the dilemma

First recorded use of the cliche/metaphor is by Laurence Sterne, in his Tristram Shandy (1760):
"One of the two horns of my dilemma." (Book IV, chapter 26)

More on this in Gerrit Graham's essay.


And so I wrestle with the angel

Image is Gustav Dore's "Jacob Wrestling With the Angel" (1855) from Carol Gerten-Jackon's Fine Art site.

A reference to Genesis 32: 24-32, in which Jacob wrestles with a supernatural being, often rendered as "angel," who is trying to prevent him from crossing a stream. Jacob's thigh is put out of joint in the melee, but eventually he prevails, and insists on receiving the being's blessing. The being blesses Jacob (under duress) and names him Israel.

Worth noting is that this story follows immediately the story of Jacob and his brother Esau.



Keywords:
@drugs, @angel, @dark DeadBase code: VICT
First posted: February 21, 1997
Last modified: May 10, 2004