China Doll is, to me, a good example of a song’s melodic and tonal qualities reflecting its lyrical sentiments. There’s just enough dissonance and resolution here, and Garcia typically sings this with a certain fragility in his voice. I don’t know if that’s intentional or just a product of the melody, but it seems pretty consistent to me so maybe this song just brought out something extra in ole Jer.

China Doll was played a total of 114 times, but it never consistently appeared in setlists. Generally it was played a handful of times in a given year, if that. Oftentimes it would emerge in the post-drums/space slot in shows, providing a gentle transition from the stratosphere back to Earth.

My favorite part of the song has always been the key change in the “pick up your china doll” part. Would that be the bridge? Regardless, I find that to be a very powerful moment in the song and the feeling it communicates is one of the reasons I like the song so much. At the same time it’s not a song I listen to a lot, probably because I don’t want that natural response to become muted, but when I put on an album that has China Doll on it I’m always pleased.

This slowly emerges out of The Wheel and Brent adds some filigree type keys fills just before Garcia begins his lament. Right after Jerry sings of the fleeting concern of flight, he plays a few soaring measure of his own in an example of the music following the lyrical muse. The key change comes, and Bobby and Brent jump in on backing vocals; they sound very tight and the song ever so slowly picks up the pace. Jerry engages his guitar in another legato solo. Phil drops a mini bomb and spurs Jerry to quicken his picking. You can hear they’re heading in a new direction and the fact that the landing place will be Around & Around comes as little surprise.

Complete Setlist 11/30/80