"Ripple" is the sixth song on the Grateful Dead album American Beauty. It was released as the B-side to the single "Truckin'".

Background

Robert Hunter wrote the lyrics in 1970 in London on the same afternoon he wrote those to "Brokedown Palace" and "To Lay Me Down" (reputedly drinking half a bottle of retsina in the process). Jerry Garcia wrote the music to accompany Hunter's lyrics, and the song debuted August 18, 1970 at Fillmore West in San Francisco. "Ripple" has a similar melody to the gospel hymn "Because He Lives," which was published a year later. Both songs are similar to "Any Dream Will Do" from the Andrew Lloyd Webber-Tim Rice musical Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, which was first performed in 1968, and recorded in 1969.

In popular culture

A number of essays have been written analyzing and annotating this song. The 1985 drama film Mask, with Cher and Eric Stoltz, features this song. The song is played during the last scene of the television series Freaks and Geeks.

Reception

In 2021, Rolling Stone ranked the song at number 334 in their updated list of the 500 Greatest Songs of All Time.