"I want to find out, I want to find out, I want to find
out..."
The Annotated "Caution"
An installment in The Annotated
Grateful Dead Lyrics.
By David Dodd
Library, University of Colorado at Colorado Springs
"Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks)"
Words and music by Ron McKernan
"Caution (Do Not Stop on Tracks)"
Recorded on
First known performance: November 3, 1965 at Mother's, in San
Francisco. The band was still known as the Warlocks at the time. There seems to be
some doubt about this performance, as it is not listed in Deadbase VIII. Any
clues out there? It's possible that what is being referred to is the release of
a Warlocks demo, which included the tune.
A reference to a fortune teller, or to a traditional healer who is
a member of the people known as the Rom. Still a people of mystery
to the gaje (outsiders), they take care to preserve their
closed society from outside scrutiny. They have traditionally
occupied positions at the fringes of Western society, as fortune
tellers, tinkers, musicians, animal trainers, etc.
See the footnote in the annotations for "Ramble On Rose".
First posted: November 3, 1995
Last revised: