“Franklin’s Tower” is a song by the American rock band the Grateful Dead, written by Jerry Garcia, Robert Hunter, released as the second from the band’s eighth studio album Blues for Allah (1975) in January 1976.
Background and composition
Taking inspiration from Lou Reed‘s hit “Walk on the WIld Side“, Robert Hunter and intended the song to be a lullabye birthday wish for his son. The track is shrouded in unusual, yet symbolic imagery, as Grateful Dead biographer David Gans wrote in his book The American Book of the Dead: “The song paints landscapes and offers timescapes where the four winds blow around a structure that contains a bell with magical properties so powerful that an unnamed brand of salvation may be obtained by its ringing.” According to Hunter, the lyrics contain references to Benjamin Franklin and the Liberty Bell.
“Playing scales is like a boxer skipping rope or punching a bag. It’s not the thing in itself; it’s preparatory to the activity.” – Barney Kessel
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