So I've got a thumbsucker out today about how the downloading of music has, happily, restored the mystery of song lyrics.

Unlike in the Cretaceous, when most CDs came readily packaged with lyrics, today you have to bring up a .PDF file with your download or consult Dr. Google. Who has time for that?

A reader sends along some more food for thought: Author-critic Jurgen Fauth's essay arguing that Grateful Dead lyrics depend for meaning on the context of the live experience. Nutgraph:

The strength of the band is unquestionably the live concert — the Grateful Dead have been the number one grossing touring band over the last couple of years, outdoing the likes of Madonna and Paul McCartney, without releasing a new studio album since "Built to Last" in 1989. This means that the usual way Hunter lyrics are being perceived is at a concert. Therefore, everything that happens at a Grateful Dead concert should be taken into account when reading the lyrics.

And then lyricist Robert Hunter's response.

Finally, a treat for those who made it to the end of all three pieces!