The Ship of the Sun

“We now return our souls to the creator,
as we stand on the edge of eternal darkness.
Let our chant fill the void,
in order that others may know.
In the land of the night,
the ship of the sun,
is drawn by the grateful dead.”

The Grateful Dead

Long before the internet was available to the masses a rumor circulated about this poem. Fans of the band the Grateful Dead claimed that this poem was the origin of the band name. It appeared on the cover of the self titled Grateful Dead album although distorted beyond legibility. This poem is often times attributed to The Egyptian Book of the Dead. It is plausible that the Wier or Lesh lineage was privileged to an esoteric volume of the Egyptian Book of the Dead, however in the commonly available literature this liturgy is not expressed. Most laymen who are interested in this subject find themselves reading E.A. Wallis Budge’s translations in The Egyptian Book of the Dead. This passage does not find its way into Budge’s comprehensive translations. Budges translations read more like the King James Bible than the poetic contemporary verse which seems more Akin to the writing style of Robert Hunter or another contemporary bard.

Burden of the Captain

I can not find attribution to the anecdote, but the decision to distort the text on the album  was made with input from Jerry Garcia who likely did not enjoy the idea of having to answer for the bands pretensions or esoteric influences. It is safe to say the Dead did much of what they did sub rosa. Late in life Jerry tells a much different story of how the Grateful Dead got their name where the name emerged in the pages of a dictionary.

The Sketch

The poem may be unattributed and possibly contrived, and the narrative for how the Grateful Dead got their name may be murky. But in the end it doesn’t really matter because the imagery is stirring and inspirational. The sketch I’m providing my commentary for is an abstraction based on this poem. The sketch is in Pilot G2 Pen on 8 1/2 x 11 inch white paper.