Grateful Dead Family Discography: Katie Cruel

Katie Cruel

Composer: Traditional

Katie Cruel was performed by an unnamed bluegrass band with Jerry Garcia on banjo at an unknown venue in Burlingame in January 1962. Often on circulating copies of the tape of this set the song is listed as La Di Oh Day.

Some versions of the song I Know Where I'm Going are very similar to Katie Cruel, often having the same chorus and some similar verses. Some sources suggest that I Know Where I'm Going is derived from the Scottish song The Leeboy's Lassie. Other sources suggest that Katie Cruel is an American song dating from revolutionary times.

The song occurs on recordings as Katie Cruel, The Fate of Katie Cruel and Miss Katie Cruel. Both Katie and Katy are used in these titles.

Jerry Garcia recordings

Before The Dead, Jerry Garcia, 2018

Other recordings

Songs of Courting and Complaint, Peggy Seeger, 1955
The Many Sides of Sandy Paton, Sandy Paton, 1958
no info Hush Little Baby EP, Sandy and Caroline Paton, 1961
no info Open House, The Travelers 3, 1962
no info Lynn Gold, Lynn Gold, 1963
The Original Hootenanny, Various Artists (Travellers 3), 1963
no info Folk Songs, Maxine Sellers, 1964
Odetta Sings of Many Things, Odetta, 1964
no info Single (Today / Miss Katy Cruel), The New Christy Minstrels, 1964
no info In My Own Time, Karen Dalton, 1971
no info Northwest Regional Folklife Festival. Vol. 2, Various Artists (Round Town Girls), 1978
no info Traveller's Choice, Common Ground, 1984
no info Fast Folk Musical Magazine: Songs of Tradition, Various Artists (Wild Rose), 1986
no info Voices, Priscilla Herdman w/ Hills & Mangsen, 1992
no info Comet, Cordelia's Dad, 1995
no info Airs from Who Knows Where, Gloucester Hornpipe and Clog Society, 1995
no info The Definitive, The New Christy Minstrels, 1998
no info Original Seeds: Songs That Inspired Nick Cave, Various Artists (Karen Dalton), 1998
no info Library of Congress Recordings, March 25, 1947, Sam Hinton, 1999
no info Hits and Highlights 1962-1968 (Coat Your Mind in Honey), The New Christy Minstrels, 1999
no info A Bowl of Crystal Tears, Sylvia Herold, 2003
no info Fair Liberty's Call: A Musical Story of Revolutionary America, Original Cast, 2003
no info Dance to Bright Steel, Distant Oaks, 2004
no info Live at the University of Maryland, Gingerthistle, 2005
no info The Black Swan, Bert Jansch, 2006
no info Dat Rosa Mel Apibus, White Magic, 2006
no info Single (Katie Cruel / Hold Your Hand in the Dark), White Magic, 2006
no info Blink, Moira Smiley & Voco, 2006
no info Rua, Moira Smiley, 2006
no info Cotton Eyed Joe, Karen Dalton, 2007
no info Fresh as a Sweet Sunday Morning, Bert Jansch, 2007
no info Versatile Heart, Linda Thompson, 2007
no info The Essential Guide to Folk, Various Artists (Devendra Banhart, Bert Jansch and Beth Orton), 2007
no info Green Rocky Road, Karen Dalton, 2008
no info A Garland of Song, The Owl Service, 2008
Sinner's Prayer, Various Artists (Linda Thompson), 2008

Lyrics

Here are incomplete lyrics from a cut version of the Jerry Garcia tape;

When first I came to town,
They brought me bottles plenty,
And now they've changed their tune,
They bring me the bottles empty.
Diddle-ay, oh diddle-i o-day
Oh that I was what I would be,
That what I be that I am not,
Here am I where I must be,
Go where would I cannot.
I know who I love,
And I know who loves me,
I know where I'm going,
And I know who'll go with me.
Diddle-ay, oh diddle-i o-day
Through the woods I'll go,
Through the bog and mire,
Ride on down the raod,
And to my hearts desire.
Diddle-ay, oh diddle-i o-day
Oh that I was what I would be,
That what I be that I am not,
Here am I where I must be,
Go where would I cannot.
Eyes as bright as coals,
Lips like a bright red cherry
?
To make the young folks marry.
Diddle-ay, oh diddle-i o-day
(tape cut)
... and they've changed their tune,
They call me Katie Cruel.
Diddle-ay, oh diddle-i o-day
Oh that I was what I would be,
That what I be that I am not,
Here am I where I must be,
Go where would I cannot.