Sugaree


"Sugaree" is a song written by long-time Grateful Dead lyricist Robert Hunter and composed by guitarist Jerry Garcia. It was written for Jerry Garcia's first solo album Garcia, which was released in January 1972. As with the songs on the rest of the album, Garcia plays every instrument himself, including acoustic guitar, bass guitar, and an electric guitar played through a Leslie speaker.
The song was first performed live by the Grateful Dead on July 31, 1971, at the Yale Bowl at Yale University, as was the song "Mr. Charlie". They played the song in numerous other concerts, including those later released as Dick's Picks Volume 3 and One from the Vault.

Predecessors

recorded a Marty Robbins-penned song in 1959 also called, "Sugaree."
Elizabeth Cotten, a North Carolina folksinger, wrote and recorded a song called "Shake Sugaree" in 1966. The chorus of Cotten's song is "Oh lordie me/Didn't I shake sugaree?" Hunter was aware of this song when he wrote "Sugaree." Elizabeth Cotten's song was about the exploitation of black people, while the Grateful Dead song can be interpreted as discouraging "snitching". Cotten's version is featured in the 2013 video game Bioshock: Infinite within the Finkton Shantytown where Booker DeWitt can encounter a group of impoverished children singing it.
Fred Neil released a song in 1966 on his eponymous album called "I've Got a Secret."
It can also be heard on "Echoes of My Mind - The Best of Fred Neil 1963-1971".
In 1970, singer-songwriter Keith Colley released the single "Sugaree " on the Challenge label.