Touch of Grey

"Touch of Grey" is a 1987 single by the Grateful Dead, and is from the album In the Dark. The song is known for its refrain "I will get by / I will survive." It combines dark lyrics in the verses with upbeat pop instrumentation. A simple pronoun change in the final chorus (“We will get by / We will survive”) transformed the song into an anthem, especially for the band's most ardent followers.

The music was composed by Jerry Garcia, and the lyrics were written by Robert Hunter. It was also released as a music video, the first one by the Grateful Dead.

The song was first performed as an encore on September 15, 1982, at the Capital Centre in Landover, Maryland, and was finally released on In the Dark in 1987. It was released as a single with "My Brother Esau" and later "Throwing Stones", and has appeared on a number of albums and collections.

"Touch of Grey" entered the Billboard Hot 100 at number 77 for the week dated July 25, 1987; in the process, it became their first song to appear on the Hot 100 in seven years and was the second most added song on radio that week. For the week dated August 15, 1987, the song ascended 15 places to number 32, becoming the band's first song to reach the top 40, which was seventeen years after their first entry on the Hot 100 with "Uncle John's Band. At the time, this marked the longest span of time between a band's debut on the Hot 100 and their first entry into the top 40. "Touch of Grey" peaked at number 9, and reached number 1 on the Mainstream Rock Tracks chart, the only song by the band ever to do so on both charts.