Calico, can you come tell me the news?

I know that's not the real lyric, but it's my favorite misheard lyric from Cosmic Charley by the Grateful Dead. I know now that it's "Calico, Kahlia" and I think I'll just have to assume those are two cats. :-)

Anyway, this song. To say this song gets stuck in my head would be an understatement. I listened to the Grateful Dead a lot while angsting over my career about 10 years ago, and in my head it has been ever since, off and on. It's amusing to me that, having finally looked up the lyrics, I find I've been missing probably the deepest line all along:

I just wonder if you shouldn't feel / less concern about the deep unreal.

I think the analysis on songmeanings.net is right, that this is the Dead poking gentle fun at their own psychedelically challenged fans and trying to remind them of reality. It's not a bad message for a career-angsting 20-something either... too bad I never properly heard that part before.