At Grateful Dead concerts, the last line of "Scarlet Begonias" ("From the Mars Hotel", 1974, lyrics by Robert Hunter) felt like a reference to the concert experience: "Everybody's playing in the heart of gold band." The band began to jam on the song's closing riff, and the audience danced along. While preparing the song for discussion, I thought of Neil Young's "Heart of Gold" ("Harvest", 1972): "Keep me searching for a heart of gold." Connecting the two, "everybody" is in the band of those who search for a heart of gold. And a student in class addeed an extra twist: "Scarlet Begonias" ends with the phrase "gold band"—a wedding ring. (Andrew Shields, #111words, 13 March 2026)