Rich,

The phrase "muddy water(s)" appeared in many many folk songs and blues songs -- including this one -- long before McKinley Morganfield adopted it as his stage name, undoubtedly because it was already a familiar blues phrase.

The Dead dropping this particular verse may have coincided with the death of Rod "Pigpen" McKernan, who used be the singer on this tune (probably dating back to the Warlocks before they became the Dead, or maybe all the way back to their original jug band incarnation -- Mother Machree's?). "Rider" probably became part of a medley with "China Cat" only after Pig's demise, or at least after he began to slowly fall apart.

Of course the city where one would rather not stay and be treated like a dog was *always* a fill-in-the-blank, perhaps starting with someplace like Clarksdale.

Never heard the "headlice" parody line before -- Thanks!