I believe that there is a recordingwith Sitwell doing the reciting on EMI or Pearl but I'm not sure. There was one on London with Jeremy Ironsbut I think that it's out of print now. 'Polka' appears in a piece for reciter and chamber ensemblecalled "Facade." There are many recordings of the music, which is funny andironic, but not many with reciter. First, people may want to knowthat the poem Polka, that Hunter cites has been set to music, along withabout 40 other Sitwell poems by the British composer William Walton(1902-1983). Now to a couple of notes about China Cat. This note from a reader: Subject: china cat sunflower Like Wellington, Byron, the Marquis of Bristol,īut he finds fresh isles in a Negress' smiles. Stand Venus' children in their gay frocks. The Dame Edith Sitwell poem quoted by Hunter goes like this: Polka'Tra la la la la la la la (Sitwell's influence on this song may also be found in the closing line.) I'd have to admit that before you could trace it back that there was someinfluence." It was originally inspired by Dame Edith Sitwell, who had a way with words-I like theidea of quick, clicky assonance and alliteration like 'See me dance the polka, said Mr.Wag like a bear, with my top hat and my whiskers, that tra-la-la trapped affair.' I just like theway she put things together. I wrote it in different settings and added this andthat to it. 29) Hunter says: " 'China Cat' took a long time to write. In an interview in Golden Road (Spring, 1991, p. It's good that a few things in this world are clear to allof us." People seem to know exactly whatI'm talking about. In his Box of Rain, Hunter writes: "Nobody ever asked me the meaning of this song. 24), Hunter said: "Ican sit right here and write you a China Cat or one of those things in tenminutes.How many of those things do you need.?" Ken covers the song in their live performances. If you have time, check out my China Cat page, which (of course) featuresa direct link to your China Cat Sunflower page. By 1979 we hadreleased a single on Atlantis Records of LA and were getting lots of airplay in the SF Bay Area market.the name China Cat was well-exposedduring that period. The Dead were a big influence.īut wait, there's more. Since i was the bass player (and one ofthe creative forces in that band) I worked into our songs a lot ofsyncopation. IN addition, we covered a few Dead arrangements of cover songs(Know You Rider, Not Fade Away). During the period of 1971-72and then again between 19 I was in a Bay Area band calledChina Cat, the name adopted by myself as a direct result of my love thatDead song. This ispurely a piece of trivia-with-a-small-T. 2.Īn enduring song in the band's repertoire, usually paired with "I Know YouRider" in concert, leading to the designation "China/Rider."Ī reader writes: Date: Mon, 13:51:32 -0700Īnyway, this message is in reference to China Cat Sunflower.
Grateful Dead: Authentic Guitar Classics Vol.Hunter has posted the manuscript of an early draft of the song in his archives. Look for awhile at the China Cat Sunflower The Annotated "China Cat Sunflower" "A leaf of all colors plays a golden-stringed fiddle." The Annotated "China Cat Sunflower"An installment in the Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics.ġ997-1998 Research Associate, Music Dept., University of California Santa CruzĬhina Cat SunflowerWords by Robert Hunter music by Jerry GarciaĬopyright Ice Nine Publishing used by permission.
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