Music Art #26. The Grateful Dead, Box Of Rain.

Today’s music inspired design is for The Grateful Dead’s song Box Of Rain. This is perhaps my favorite Grateful Dead song. I always thought the song was a metaphor for birth life and death and perhaps I am correct. I researched the song this morning and it appears that the song was written by Phil Lesh and Robert Hunter during the time that Phil’s father was dying from cancer. Lesh had been thinking that he would like to write a song that he could sing to his father during hospital visits. He eventually worked out the melody, recorded it and turned it over to Robert Hunter for lyrics. Hunter said that if there was ever a song that wrote itself, this one was it. As he listened to the tape he said the lyrics just came to the paper as fast as his pen could push.

I chose to create an illustration of the metaphor. Life is portrayed as a box that fills up with rain over time and then empties out in death. At least that is how I interpret the song. The point is that the time we are here is short compared to the time we are not here. A box will not hold water forever. I chose simple imagery. The typography is organic or grungy which is congruent with the style of the band and it’s music. That’s it, I hope you like! See you all tomorrow. ~Sean.

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