Grateful Dead — Skull & Roses: Chords & Links

Quick Facts

Released September 24, 1971 on Warner Bros. — the band's second live double album, issued with no visible title on the sleeve
Known as 'Skull and Roses' from its cover art (after an Edmund Joseph Sullivan illustration); the band wanted it called 'Skull Fuck', which Warner Bros. rejected
Peaked at #25 on the Billboard 200 and became the Dead's first gold album
Recorded March 24 – April 29, 1971 at Winterland, the Hammerstein Ballroom, and the Fillmore East
Carried the famous insert — 'Dead Freaks Unite: Who are you? Where are you? How are you?' — which started the Dead Heads mailing list
Features vocal overdubs and organ from Merl Saunders

Chords verified against Rukind.com and Ultimate Guitar tab archives — not generated from memory. Nashville numbers included; capital numerals (II, III7, VI7) mark a chord borrowed from outside the home key, usually a secondary dominant. Lyrics links follow each site's standard URL pattern — if a link 404s, search the site directly by title.

Skull & Roses — Track Order, Verified Chords, Numbers & Links
#	Song	Key	Chords	Numbers	Bass	Sources
1	Bertha	G	G, C, C#, D, Am	1, 4, #IV, 5, 2m	An acoustic-bass track with 8,000+ views, human-made, rated 4/5. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Rukind
2	Mama Tried	D	D, G, A7, C, Bm, A	1, 4, 5(7), b7, 6m, 5	A bass-only transcription, human-made. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Rukind
3	Big Railroad Blues	A	A, D, E	1, 4, 5	Fingerstyle bass track, human-made. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Rukind
4	Playing in the Band	D	D, A, E, G, Bm, Gm	1, 5, II, 4, 6m, 4m	The 'Live' transcription is human-made and rated 5/5 — several other Playing in the Band entries are explicitly AI tabs. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Rukind
5	The Other One	E	E, D, C, A, G, B	1, b7, b6, 4, b3, 5	Both Songsterr options for this song are AI-generated — worth verifying against the record. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Rukind
6	Me and My Uncle	Em	Em, G, G#, A, B	1m, b3, III, IV, V	Acoustic-bass track, but AI-generated — as is the 'Me and My Uncle > Big River' entry. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Rukind
7	Big Boss Man	A	A, D, E7, A7, E	1, 4, 5(7), 1(7), 5	A Skull & Roses–specific transcription, but AI-generated. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Rukind
8	Me and Bobby McGee	D	D, A, D7, G	1, 5, 1(7), 4	No Dead bass tab exists (Songsterr's entry has no bass track) — this is Janis Joplin's version, human-made and heavily viewed. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Ult. Guitar
9	Johnny B. Goode	A	A7, D7, E7	1(7), 4(7), 5(7)	No Dead version on Songsterr — this is Chuck Berry's original, human-made, with 68,000+ views. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Rukind
10	Wharf Rat	A	Asus2, A, Em, D, G, C, Dsus4, Asus4, A7	1, 1, 5m, 4, b7, b3, 4, 1, 1(7)	The 'Live' entry is human-made; the higher-traffic alternative is AI-generated, so prefer this one. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Rukind
11	Not Fade Away	E	E, A, D	1, 4, b7	Fingerstyle bass, human-made, ~2,000 views; the popular 'Fillmore East 1970' entry is AI-generated. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Rukind
12	Goin' Down the Road Feeling Bad	E	E, A, B, C#m	1, 4, 5, 6m	Fingerstyle bass rated 2/5, human-made. Songsterr	AZLyrics Genius Dead.net Rukind

Skull & Roses — Track Order, Verified Chords, Numbers & Links

Song

Key

Chords

Numbers

Bass

Sources

Bertha

G, C, C#, D, Am

1, 4, #IV, 5, 2m

An acoustic-bass track with 8,000+ views, human-made, rated 4/5.

Songsterr