Lyrics omitted. The annotations below are reproduced by permission of David Dodd; the song lyrics themselves are copyrighted and are not reproduced here. Read them at the official source: dead.net/songs.
First performance: October 20, 1988, at The Summit, Houston, Texas. "Built to Last" appeared in the second set, following "Playing in the Band" and preceding drums. It was performed fairly infrequently through early 1990. It shares the distinction, along with "Blues for Allah," "Terrapin Station," and "Shakedown Street" of being a title track for an album.
This note from a reader:
From: Ian Szekeres [mailto:ian@urbancom.net]
Sent: Sunday, August 03, 2003 1:57 AM
Subject: built to last
No one has ever mentioned it, but I have always had the three stars in Orion's belt come to mind while hearing this song, it has always been a touchstone in the fall and spring for me to look up and see these three stars rise and fall, and seems to fit very well.