To mark the 76th birthday of Robert Hunter, John Mayer penned a heartfelt tribute on Instagram calling Hunter the “cartographer of the Grateful Dead’s long, strange trip.”

“He’s the one who stacked the deck and rigged the games and laid the flowers out so that those who felt a certain displacement in this world could be reminded of its exquisite, faulty joy,” Mayer wrote as a part of his note. “It’s an honor to sing your words.” 

There are a number of criticisms thrown at Mayer as he continues to work his way into the world of the Grateful Dead, but any question about his true, endearing love for the music shouldn’t be questioned and this is just another of many examples of that. 

Read the message in full below. 

Happy Birthday Robert Hunter. Chief lyricist and cartographer of the Grateful Dead’s long, strange trip. He built the bar that the Brown Eyed Women hang out in. He strung the river through the back of that Brokedown Palace. He’s the one who stacked the deck and rigged the games and laid the flowers out so that those who felt a certain displacement in this world could be reminded of its exquisite, faulty joy. It’s an honor to sing your words.
A post shared by johnmayer (@johnmayer) on Jun 23, 2017 at 3:05pm PDT