Morning Dew
Morning Dew was a folk song written by Bonnie Dobson in around 1961 when Bonnie was about 20. They lyrics are a conversation between the last surviving guy and girl after a nuclear world war. Things in the world today remind one of what can happen if we don't cooperate and work together for the betterment of people everywhere. We hope for peace as we contemplate what we stand to lose if things continue on a path of destruction.
The Grateful Dead Version
The Grateful Dead did a version of this song on their first album in 1966. You can find that song on YouTube here.
But we're all about Garage Rock and Psychedelic music here. The Dead fit in, soft of, in their early days. Their version is a bit psychedelic, I will admit. Although I'd classify it more as electrified folk. Still, go listen if you never heard their version of this song.
The Orange Wedge Version
I want to feature two other versions of this song. First up, here is a band from Grand Rapids Michigan called The Orange Wedge. Their version is close to the Dead's take on it. I think it has some Garage Rock characteristics even though it came out in 1968, a year or two after most Garage Rock we cover here.
The Nova Local Version
The Nova Local were a group of guys who came together in Chapel Hill NC at the UNC College at Chapel Hill. They had a great Garage Rock song called Games which simply must be heard, and I'll drop in in below.
Randy Winburn, the singer of The Nova Local and the writer of Games later became known as Rand Winburn. He became a Christian music singer and you can hear his sing Forever on YouTube here. Note that it is NOT Garage Rock!
This version, also from 1968, starts with a long intro that starts at volume 0 and builds. You can't even hear anything for the first 10 or 15 seconds but at a minute in, the guitar hits hard! This is more psychedelic than Garage Rock but I think its an excellent version of Morning Dew.
Bonus Track! Games - The Nova Local
If I recall, this song was a single released in 1967, before their 1968 album which contained the track Morning Dew, see above.
It is an up tempo Garage Rocker with great chords and a nice little guitar solo in the middle. Get up and dance to it!
