Good Morning Little Schoolgirl
April 12, 1970
Fillmore West
Doesn't bother me at all. Rock and roll is in some way about being a teenager all the time anyway. The song is an act, the singer an actor. Isn't Pig's authenticity also a suspension of disbelief? Was he really a biker outlaw cowboy, or just a beautiful, enormously talented, deeply soulful and unfortunately tragic human musician. We like to think of this music as just happening, spontaneously, emanating directly out of and through these guys. But seriously, they were/are artists. Pigpen was fully conscious of the roles and personas he was playing. Singing "you're only 15 years of age" in a song that also says (repeatedly) "I'm a little schoolboy too" is no different for me than Bobby singing over 600 times "and I left his dead ass there by the side of the road" in MAMU. Do we cringe at the idea that Bobby might be a murderer? Of course not, and for that matter "Mexicali Blues" is much sleazier! In any case, this a truly hot version, and '70 Dead is some the dankest, bestest, kindest nug out there. Enjoy. Sorry for the rant!