"Cassidy" is a song written by John Barlow

John Barlow

John Barlow was an English diplomat and spy in the time of Henry VIII.-Life:He graduated M.A. at the University of Oxford in 1521.Barlow was intimately involved in the King's attempts to secure a divorce from his first wife, Katherine of Aragon from the Pope. Barlow was a supporter of Henry's...

 and Bob Weir

Bob Weir

Bob Weir is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist, most recognized as a founding member of the Grateful Dead. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in 1995, Weir performed with The Other Ones, later known as The Dead, together with other former members of the Grateful Dead...

 and performed by the Grateful Dead

Grateful Dead

The Grateful Dead was an American rock band formed in 1965 in the San Francisco Bay Area. The band was known for its unique and eclectic style, which fused elements of rock, folk, bluegrass, blues, reggae, country, improvisational jazz, psychedelia, and space rock, and for live performances of long...

, Ratdog

Ratdog

RatDog , is an American rock band. The group began as a side project for Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir and bassist Rob Wasserman. After the Grateful Dead disbanded in December 1995, following the death of Jerry Garcia on August 9, 1995, RatDog became Bob Weir's primary band...

 and Phil Lesh & Friends. The song appeared on Bob Weir's Ace

Ace (Bob Weir album)

Ace was the first solo album by Grateful Dead rhythm guitarist Bob Weir, released in 1972.Its origins come from an offer by the Dead's Warner Bros. Records label to have band members cut their own solo records, and came out at the same time as Jerry Garcia's Garcia and Mickey Hart's Rolling Thunder...

, The Grateful Dead's Reckoning

Reckoning (Grateful Dead album)

Reckoning is a 1981 live double album by the Grateful Dead.It consists of acoustic material recorded live in September and October 1980. Some of the tracks are shortened versions of the live performances....

and Without a Net

Without a Net

Without a Net is a recording of the Grateful Dead performing live in concert. It was released in 1990. The album is dedicated to Clifton Hanger, a name keyboardist Brent Mydland used to sign in hotel guestbooks. Mydland died during this album's post-production of a drug overdose...

albums.

The song was named after the daughter of Grateful Dead crew member Rex Jackson and Weir's former housemate Eileen Law, Cassidy Law who was born in 1970. The lyrics also allude to Neal Cassady

Neal Cassady

Neal Leon Cassady was a major figure of the Beat Generation of the 1950s and the psychedelic movement of the 1960s. He served as the model for the character Dean Moriarty in Jack Kerouac's novel On the Road....

, who was associated with the Beats in the 1950s and the acid test

Acid Test

Acid test or acid tests may refer to:*Acid test , a chemical or metallurgical test which uses acid, now also used as a general term for "verified", "approved", or "tested" in a large number of fields...

 scene that spawned the Grateful Dead in the 1960s. Some of the lyrics in the song were also inspired by the death of Barlow's father.

The song was first performed on March 23, 1974 at the Cow Palace in Daly City, California

Daly City, California

Daly City is the largest city in San Mateo County, California, United States, with a 2010 population of 101,123. Located immediately south of San Francisco, it is named in honor of businessman and landowner John Daly.-History:...

.

Cover versions

In 1991, Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Vega

Suzanne Nadine Vega is an American songwriter and singer known for her eclectic folk-inspired music.Two of Vega's songs reached the top 10 of various international chart listings: "Luka" and "Tom's Diner"...

 recorded a version of this song on the album Deadicated