St. Stephen (song)

"St. Stephen"
Japanese cover art for the 1969 Japanese single issue of China Cat Sunflower, backed with St. Stephen. A picture of the band, tinted green, is the primary design; the songs are identified in English and Japanese on top of the image. 'NEW ROCK BEST HIT SERIES' is printed upon the top banner.
Japanese single cover, 1969
Single by Grateful Dead
from the album Aoxomoxoa
A-side"China Cat Sunflower"
ReleasedJune 20, 1969
RecordedJune 1969
GenrePsychedelic rock
Length4:26
LabelWarner Bros.
Songwriter(s)Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh, Robert Hunter
Producer(s)Bob Matthews and Betty Cantor
Grateful Dead singles chronology
"Dupree's Diamond Blues" / "Cosmic Charlie"
(1969) 		"St. Stephen" / "China Cat Sunflower"
(1969) 		"Uncle John's Band" / "New Speedway Boogie"
(1970)

"St. Stephen" is a song by the Grateful Dead, written by Jerry Garcia, Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter and originally released on the 1969 studio album Aoxomoxoa.[1][2][3] The same year, a live version of the song was released on Live/Dead, their first concert album. A single of St. Stephen was also released in Japan, where it was paired with "China Cat Sunflower" as its A-side.[4] Unlike the studio version, live versions usually included a section of the song called the "William Tell Bridge", which was used to segue into "The Eleven".[5] The song was played frequently in live concerts from the late 1960s to the early 1970s.[6]

The song makes reference to the last days and trial of the 1st century AD saint, St. Stephen, the first martyr of the New Testament of the Bible, who was stoned to death (Acts 7:54-60).[3]

  1. ^ Oliver Trager (1997). The American Book of the Dead. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 9780684814025.
  2. ^ Dodd, David (July 18, 2013). "Greatest Stories Ever Told: "Saint Stephen"". dead.net. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  3. ^ a b Dodd, David (March 8, 2006). "The Annotated "St. Stephen"". The Annotated Grateful Dead Lyrics. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  4. ^ "The Grateful Dead – China Cat Sunflower (1969, Red, Vinyl) - Discogs". Discogs. February 10, 2024. Retrieved February 10, 2024.
  5. ^ Allen, Alex. ""Saint Stephen"". Grateful Dead Song and Lyric Finder. Retrieved May 11, 2017.
  6. ^ "Deadbase IX (Grateful Dead Setlists 1959-1995)". Internet Archive. 1998. Retrieved February 10, 2024.