"Editorial abstract illustration evoking the emotional arc of a song titled "Jack Straw" by Grateful Dead. Noticeable climb from quiet to loud. layered composition, overlapping color planes. Mood: energetic, melancholy, rebellious. Visual style: 1970s editorial print aesthetic, sun-faded color. Painterly, grainy film texture, muted palette with strategic accent colors. The composition should read left-to-right like a timeline — calm on one side, intensifying toward the other. Strictly no faces, no text, no logos, no literal objects, no band imagery. Pure color-field abstraction with emotional weight. 16:9 editorial format."
Jack Straw
Grateful Dead
1991‐12‐28: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA, USA (1972)
AI-analyzed — check another song
Real momentum, more energetic than 87% of our 19,209 measured songs — measures out best for workout.
140
BPM
Jack Straw by Grateful Dead is 140 BPM — Allegro (fast).
Half-time 70 BPM · Double-time 280 BPM · released 1972
Fan image for "Jack Straw"
An abstract illustration of what this song feels like. Each image is built from a prompt — the text description fed to the image generator. Listeners submit their own prompts, upvote the ones that fit best, and the top-voted prompt drives the next regeneration. After 100 image votes, we make a new picture.
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Song DNA
Notes: Live performances feature improvisational jams with tempo shifts and dual raw vocals that build tension dynamically. The groove-based arrangement with contrapuntal elements creates fluid but sometimes cluttered textures.
Misophonia Triggers
Recommended for: deep listening emotional release
A narrative murder ballad about two outlaws, Jack Straw and Shannon, on a journey marked by robbery, betrayal, and violence, delivered with wistful melodies and improvisational flair.
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Hear it the way it was made
The right gear changes everything.
Moods: energetic, melancholy, rebellious
Traditions: americana, folk rock, jam band
Volume Warning
"Jack Straw" climbs hard.
Dynamic range 7/10 places this in our upper band. The opening volume that feels comfortable will not be comfortable at the climax. If you are setting this up for a focused listen, anchor your volume to the quietest section, not the loudest. The arc is the point of the song; if you blunt it by riding the volume knob, you lose what makes it work. Grateful Dead built the dynamic shape on purpose. Plan around it.
How this song sits on each sensory axis
A dynamic range of 7/10 means this song moves. Expect a real volume climb between quiet sections and the loudest part of the arrangement — enough that you may want to set the initial volume below where you'd normally land.
Sudden changes: present. This song uses surprise as a feature. For focus or background listening, it's likely to pull your attention away; for active listening, that's often the point.
Texture is layered — a full arrangement with clear separation between parts.
Predictability is low — this song does not follow standard verse-chorus form closely, and rewards active listening more than passive listening.
Vocal style: dynamic vocals.
Where this sits in Grateful Dead's catalog
We have 39 songs from Grateful Dead in the library. Of those, 11 are rated Safe, 27 Moderate, and 1 Intense. This song's dynamic range of 7/10 sits above the artist average of 6.1, making it the #8 most dynamic track of theirs in our library.
1972 context
Released in 1972. We have 269 songs from that year in our library, averaging a dynamic range of 6.0/10. This track is about average than the year average. Explore more from the 1970s.
Explore by mood and tradition
How fast is "Jack Straw"?
140 BPM — Fast (workout / running pace)
For running
Steady-state running pace. Matches most recreational runners' natural cadence.
For workouts
Running, cycling, aerobic workouts, dance cardio.
For daily life
Active tasks, getting pumped up, party, anything high-energy.
Browse more songs at 140 BPM.
When "Jack Straw" works, and when it doesn't
Use-case verdicts computed from the song's tempo, dynamics, and sensory profile.
✗
Focus / studying
No — too dynamic or too many surprises. Save for active listening.
✓
Running / workout
Yes — 140 BPM sits squarely in the running / cardio band. Matches natural stride cadence.
✗
Sleep / winding down
No — contains elements that will keep an awake nervous system engaged.
✓
Driving / road trip
Yes — predictable enough for safe driving attention, interesting enough to stay engaged.
✓
Cooking / dinner background
Yes — sits in the background without demanding attention.
✓
Emotional release / catharsis
Yes — this is a song for actively feeling what you came to feel, not for background.
Related reading
Editorial guides that cover this song's use cases, moods, or artist.
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Why this rating
We rate this song Moderate because it falls between our Safe and Intense thresholds on at least one dimension. Moderate is the default for most well-produced music that has real arc but no surprise elements. Full rubric: methodology.
This song in the Music Studio
66/100 intensity
See how “Jack Straw” sits against your own sensitivities, or use it as a waypoint in a calmer set.
Listen on
Spotify and YouTube links go direct to the track when we have the ID; otherwise they search for it. Embed this sensory profile on your site →
Rating last reviewed: 2026-04-14. Reviewed by the Music I Want editorial team against the documented methodology.
Think this rating is wrong? Contact the editor — every message is read and ratings get revised.
By the numbers: how this song compares
Computed from this song’s place among the 19,209 songs we’ve measured.
Where it sits in 19,000 songs
This is one of the more intense things in our library — more energetic than 87% of the 19,209 songs we've measured. Its intensity reading of 66/100 comes from a dynamic range of 7/10, layered texture, moderate shifts, and dynamic vocals. Relatively few songs occupy this exact corner of the spectrum.
What makes it unusual
What stands out most about this song is a fast, driving tempo: more extreme on that axis than 90% of everything we've measured. At the far opposite end of the library sit the songs built on near-total stillness — steady volume, no surprises, a slow and unhurried pulse — the kind of track this one is the counterpoint to.
Feels almost identical to
The Sad Skinhead — Faust · 99%Starpower — Sonic Youth · 99%Frame by Frame — King Crimson · 99%Polyethylene (Parts 1 and 2) — Radiohead · 99%
Closest matches by feel across all 19,209 measured songs — not by genre or artist, by how they actually move.
What it’s good for
Sleep0/10
Focus3/10
Workout8/10
Dinner5/10
Party / hype7/10
Scored from this song’s tempo, intensity, dynamics and texture — not crowd votes.
1972 in context
The 269 songs we’ve measured from 1972 average a dynamic range of 6.0/10. At 7/10, this track is louder and more dynamic than its year.
Mixes smoothly with
Within a few BPM and close in feel — they flow without a jarring transition.
The fingerprint
Intensity66
Dynamics67
Tempo56
Surprise50
Density33
Predictability100
Vocal force75
Trigger load13
The 8-dimension measurement behind every rating on this page.
Frequently asked about "Jack Straw"
Quick answers pulled from the song's sensory analysis.
What is the BPM of "Jack Straw" by Grateful Dead?
"Jack Straw" by Grateful Dead has a tempo of 140 BPM (Allegro (fast)). At half-time that is 70 BPM, and at double-time 280 BPM.
What is the sensory intensity of "Jack Straw" by Grateful Dead?
"Jack Straw" by Grateful Dead rates as Moderate intensity. Dynamic range 7/10, moderate sudden changes, layered texture. Moderate is the default for well-produced music with real arc but no surprise elements.
How loud is "Jack Straw" — what is its dynamic range?
"Jack Straw" has a dynamic range of 7/10. Noticeable climb from quiet sections to loudest point. Set opening volume slightly lower than your preferred peak.
Does "Jack Straw" have sudden or surprising changes?
Yes. "Jack Straw" uses surprise as a compositional feature. Expect unsignaled transitions.
What is "Jack Straw" best for?
In our library "Jack Straw" is recommended for: deep listening, emotional release. These tags are assigned only where the song's sensory profile genuinely supports the use case.
When was "Jack Straw" released?
"Jack Straw" is from 1972, on the album "1991‐12‐28: Oakland–Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland, CA, USA". It appears in our 1970s catalog.
What is the emotional mood of "Jack Straw"?
We tag "Jack Straw" as energetic, melancholy, rebellious. Moods are tonal descriptors based on how the song reads emotionally — separate from the sensory intensity axes.
What is the vocal style of "Jack Straw"?
The vocal style is dynamic vocals.
Is "Jack Straw" good for running?
Yes — at 140 BPM it sits in the running-cadence band (120-180 BPM). Match your stride to the beat and it keeps pace with most recreational runners.
Is "Jack Straw" good for studying?
Only partially. The song's dynamic range (7/10) means there will be loud moments that break focus during deep work.
Can I use "Jack Straw" for sleep?
Not recommended for sleep. Contains transitions that will wake you up.
Should I listen to "Jack Straw"?
"Jack Straw" is Moderate intensity — fine for most listeners, but with enough dynamic activity that it works best as active listening rather than background.
Songs with the same DNA
layered texture, similar intensity — across any genre or era.
Safer alternatives with a similar feel
These songs share similar moods but with a gentler sensory profile.
What this song means to people
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Where to next?
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