Rift lyrics

Hey all,

I was reading through guyute's thread of bizarre phish lyrics and I wondered if anyone noticed how the lyrics to the album Rift describe one big relationship break-up? Starting with the internal trumoil of "Rift", through bittersweet accusations of "Fast Enough," "wedge," "Friend," "Sparkle," and "Ice," through self-doubting dirges of "Mound," "Horn" and "Weigh," and into the calm acceptance of inexorable failure in "Horse", "Lengthwise," and "Silent in the Morning" (after all, what can be worse in a relationship than silence in the morning?) punctuated by Fishman's triplet ride cymbal in lieu of the more flowing straight four.

Was there anything happening in Trey's life that might have inspired this? Or any of the rest of the guys'?

 

hmm, thats an interesting obsevation. I never really thought about it nor do i know if there was anything in treys life that would of inspired that. I'm not sure how "It's Ice" fits in and I don't really think if the whole album is about a realtionship or a break up, but some songs definatly are. Weigh, one of the first phish songs i ever heard, and one of my favorites, could definatly be about a break up.

 

Yeah, it is about a relationship breakup. The boys said this in their promo video for the album (you can probably find it on youtube).

As far as I know, it wasn't concerning anybody in the band.

 

Trey doesn't write the lyrics. this story was made up by Tom Marshall, who was at the time going thru a bad relationship....you nailed it, just not written by Trey.

 

Good call, solla. I'd forgotten that marshall had a hand (kinda like forgetting about Hunter when talking of Garcia, eh?).

anyhow, regarding "It's Ice;" you can look at that tune metaphorically; Marshall (or whomever the speaker is) seesm to wrestle with himself, with the side of his persona that seems bent on following impulsive desires, rather than letting reason and rationality control things. there're echoes of this in "Heavy Things," I think.

 

yeah, people do forget about Hunter all the time...but the man is the greatest poet of the 20th and 21st cenutry...

 

You have a point there. I wonder if Marshall (or Trey) could ever have written something like "Lady With a Fan," or "Ripple"?

 

ahh, Ripple, no one could have written something similar to that....what a masterpeice....

 

gotta love Robert Hunter for that classic style, but Marshall's so abstract...kinda an apples and oranges thing

 

exactly.

 

back to the point...def. a breakup album...in my opinion this is the most powerful studio work they've done..."lengthwise" summarizes the whole vibe of the album together with a simple non'rhyming couplet

 

Yeah; and it's so true, too.

 

yea - good point. I never looked at the song that way. I always saw it as something of self conflict but now I can see it fitting in with the whole relationship idea. Just reading through some of those lyrics is a testament to the great lyrical quailty to phish's material. It really shows how ignorant some people are when they call phish lyrics frivilous. The lyrics always have a significant purpose weather its within its meaning or just its rythmical diction and phrasing.

 

people who just write off phish lyrics as "silly" are probably referencing songs like "YEM", "Harry Hood", "Bowie" and the other kinds of songs that concentrate more on the music than the lyrics.


Phish has some brilliant and inspired lyrics that no one in the jam scene has surpassed. and i don't know how people can talk shit about Phish's lyrics and not the worthless lyrics of bands like "Moe." and "UM's".....personally i'm sick and tired of "UM".....they are good players, but that doesn't mean they are good song writers. my drummer constantly says "you can't use the word 'suck', because they're so talented" and i always come back with, "good players, doesn't mean good song writers."


The Dead were first and foremost wicked song writers. the harmonic structure and melody is brilliant. i think its funny how people in the mainstream just write the dead off as some "touring" band from the 60's, who "were like totally fucked up all the time".....they never bother to understand that they are some of the greatest song writers in american and world history.


same thing with Phish. every single member is a classically trained master of their instrument. and i don't have to tell you how kick ass their songs are, i'll just say two words "Divided Sky".....

 

right there with ya, man... GD and Phish both thrived on the art of tension and release. The Dead (at some points) loved to just let the tension be what it is (i.e. Blues For Allah) in a free-jazz sort of way, but those glorious moments of release (Terrapin Station for example) were so exquisite that anyone who got "lost" at any point during the show was promptly found again.

Phish broke this songwriting/jamming device down to a science, and those hills and valleys have a much shorter wavelength. Mr. Marshall definitely has an influence on this. His lyrics may not have the same earthy down-home feel as Hunter and Barlow's did, but definitely reflect the cerebral exsplosism (that may not be a word) of Phish's music (and vice/versa).
Oh, yeah. One more word: Stash

 

one word: Guyute.

 

I would agree that moe and UM lyrics are usually not that profound. moe lyrics are usually either in the silly catagory such as Spine of a dog or just light hearted fun lyrics. Songs like Captain America and Opium however have some meaning. overall though the music is fun and the lyrics are far from worthless because of that. they help make it fun. sometimes that it the most important part of music; being able to sit back and enjoy it.

as far as Umphreys goes, please listen to this song
http://ia301104.us.archive.org/3/items/um2006-02-17.flac16/um2006-02-17d3t02_64kb.mp3

 

Sorry, but it's 4 words.

A Live One Stash.

 

i love the alive one stash, it is brilliant. Trey originally didn't want it on the album, and it ended up becoming his favorite of the release....

 

11-15-98--one of the best shows I attended--I think this Stash may eke the A Live One out by a nose