Most Meaningful Phish Song

So as the newcomer to a blog with 1200+ posts, it's hard to know what's been covered and what hasn't. Some would make a careful reading through the complete before posting a comments whore post like this; others are . . . well, me.

Here it is: Which Phish song is the most meaningful to you, and why? Not necessarily your favorite song, or the best jam song, or the best lyrics, though it could be any of these things. Just the most personally meaningful. The one that speaks to you the strongest.

For me, it's this one. Quiet and simple, almost unassuming, it speaks of the awe and epiphany, of the humility and messiness and toil, of creative expression. It speaks of reaching the top of the artistic mountain, however battered, and finding that you still want to climb.

Plus I love those Page songs.



How about you?

Comments

the joker said…
this is a tough one...but my most thoughtful/fav lyrics are from the lizards...i love the story and the secret is to "surrender to the flow"
The Stallion said…
The Divided Sky. Epic.
one of those first runs of the song piper. Even on the tapes of that song the momentum wants to bring you into a frenzy the nature of the progression makes you feel good. reba is there most technical song and i like it alot but piper just makes me feel good.
Unknown said…
I'm a n00b 4 life, so it's YEM... It takes me so many listens before I even pay attention to lyrics, so the journey during all of YEM's movements really captured my brain skull..
Dave said…
seeing pebbles and marbles at the last* (until june 7th) camden show will forever stick out in my memory
Scott Bernstein said…
Welcome to the team! I'd say the most meaningful Phish song for me is Silent In The Morning. It felt like the soundtrack to my love life in high school.
Nathan said…
Squirming coil
purview24 said…
Ghost...it's a different ghost story each time.
Eggs said…
I'm not gonna lie...Antelope is my shit! When I think of some of my favorite moments traveling to shows, this songs pops up in my head most often. Now we only have to hope they keep the Antelope running a bit longer this time!
Ziggy Stardust said…
Disease. Lyrically and musically. I always felt it was a touch hypocritical to keep singing that song for ten years. I've also often thought that it was the saddest song to ever make 100,000 people dance.
Suzy Greenberg...it's a rarity and that is absolutely what makes it so memorable and wicked awesome.
Unknown said…
Mikes ---> Weekapaug Groove and Antelope they always brighten my day no matter what the circumstances are!
supermisha said…
Boy
Man
God
Shiiiiiiiiit.
maiko said…
Dirt... It tells me what the difference between who we are ... and who they are.... I guess not all people can handle free will.
Kid Dynamite said…
bug: pure David Hume (philosopher) : nothing is ever really present to the mind besides its own perceptions.

pauly - i could write a whole post about this - let me know if you want me to.
randommsugirl said…
Reading all I can about Phish, as I am so stoked for my weekend getaway (Deer Creek + Two Alpines). For me, nothing will ever compare to Velvet Sea, the first time I ever heard it live. I get goosebumps just thinking about it :)
Unknown said…
Strange Design-"Just relax your doing fine, swimming in this real thing that I call life. Can I bring a few companions on this ride?"...
Also Julius-"Cause a week is a month is and an hour a day, when your reaching just pushe it further away now. With your past and your future precisely divided, am I at that moment? I haven't decided..."
chubs said…
"Birds of a Feather", was always a favorite. So many people dis' it but I can relate and interpret it in my own way. I always thought it was about creating your own scene instead of fitting into or getting sucked into someone else's scene. Many peeps of one scene. If you dont do your own thing, you might end up pecking at the ground and strutting out of stride.
Joel said…
POSSUM NUFF SAID
Unknown said…
Waste. Because there is nothing I'd rather waste my time doing.
rachel said…
the one and only tela!
jewel of wilson's foul domain
Garfield.Swift said…
Driver. I remember listin to that song when i was 16, on a cheap cassette retaped off a old lot bootleg, thinking yeah... my shirt is always fuckin dirty!!
Anonymous said…
Lifeboy has the most meaning for me because it has gotten me through so many days where i didn't wanna get outa bed. so blessed to have been there to see it on 12/30/09 WOWWW it was probably the most satisfying moment ive ever had at a phish show, curtain with>lifeboy>back on the train>wading...ahhreally? LOoove my boys. whats crazy was me and my homeboy were literally talking about how lifeboy has helped us get thru so much, THAT day. i reaalallly feel we made that happen ;)
Pat H. said…
personally i've always felt Waves is a phenomenal and perhaps somewhat overlooked tune. aside from the beautiful and insightful lyrics, i love the way page and trey speak to each other in the jam, the ebbs and flows of their conversation often culminating a beautiful trey climax. thee version from IT is a great example of this. i love the range of responses to this question
JOY.... it makes me feel better when I struggle with my relationship with my 2 teenage boys. You want them to grow up, but not so fast, and all you want is for them to be happy. We are a 2generation fan club, I would play PHISH albums when they were just born, so they have a deep appreciation for Phish. We enjoy concerts together, LOVED MIAMI NYE, it was a real experience.
tele-mon said…
Alumni Blues always had a special place in my heart. I heard it a lot when I went to UVM from 88-93, and I remember slipping it into a playlist at our graduation party. "I'm alright, 'cause I got a degree!"

Second place goes to Carini for similar reasons: "The thesis that your writing is a load of shit, but I'm glad you finally finished it."
Anonymous said…
Bathtub. My First show in VA of 98',I was late and walked in when this started.I will never forget that moment..
Erika said…
7.16.94 hood. Also Golgi, slave, stash fee walk away & lope
bcdigiart said…
All of These Dreams ...... grabs me in a emotion way.
The Rest of Your LIfetime Devoid of a Care.... if u keep your Eyes Open U may Find your way there....

Lyrics..... strike a cord.. a lot of the Trey Ballads... are kinda DEEP....
bcdigiart said…
All of These Dreams ...... grabs me in a emotion way.
The Rest of Your LIfetime Devoid of a Care.... if u keep your Eyes Open U may Find your way there....

Lyrics..... strike a cord.. a lot of the Trey Ballads... are kinda DEEP....
Evan said…
Free

"I feel....the feeling I forgot"
Hampton crowd reaction at both of their returns (2.0 and 3.0), incredible.
tomahawkcounty said…
For a very long time Slave would have to be the one - for the musical stories it has told, not lyrics. 12-30-93 and 11-26-94(ALO) are still my champs. Then in 2009 at the Gorge, with my presence there made possible only by my 18 Y.O. son (born 12 days before my first PHiSH gig), I heard the song Joy for the first time, and when they sang the chorus, it became the single most meaningful live musical moment out of thousands since the late '70s. It's a long story, but yet again, this band reached inside me and told me they just KNEW...
Phishphan said…
THE WEDGE...easy
Shit Beth Says said…
Sample.
Trey said the opening lyrics have a different meaning, or connection, every time he sings them.
"It's hidden far away
But someday I may tell
The tale of metal tangle
When into your world I fell"

Hey kiddo's WHAT is Ocelot really about?
Unknown said…
It changes from time to time, right now it's Joy, because don't we all just want those we care about to be happy? Great question and conversation!
Unknown said…
Since we are talking most meaningful, here, I am going to interpret that as the songs I hear that have caused me to absolutely inexplicably feel instant joy for being there to witness them every time: 1. Mountains in the Mist and 2. Corrina, Corrina. Don't get me wrong, I am not typically a sentimental song type guy, but these melodies grab a hold of me somewheres in Denis Leary's anatomically undefined "subcockles." I'd always rather hear a medulla oblangata-melting monster (still trying to find pieces of my former mental construction after the 8/22 Tweezer->Caspian audio nuclear assault). Yes, I'd rather dance my tuckus off, lose my shoes on the lawn floating rapt in the foursomes' uniquely-crafted psychedelic soundwaves. But, for me, those moments don't have the same emotional response that I can identify as in the above ballads, and because I can identify it as a strong emotional response it is more meaningful. I would characterize the response to the monster jams a more like the awe that one would encounter in confronting a deity--it can be witnessed, but never totally comprehended.
Unknown said…
This is great !!! Bug!!!! It doesn't matter !! What u choose there is no wrong answer here. TIWWD

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