1998
Ghost (Anastasio, Marshall)
I feel I never told you
the story of the ghost
that I once knew and talked to
of whom I'd never boast
for this was my big secret
how I'd get ahead
and never have to worry
I'd call him instead
his answer came in actions
he never spoke a word
or maybe I laid down the phone
before he could be heard
I somehow feel forsaken
like he had closed the door
I guess I just stopped needing him
as much as once before
but maybe he's still with me
the latch was left unhooked
he's waiting in the wind and rain
I simply haven't looked
Birds Of A Feather (Phish/Marshall)
it's easy sometimes when you just coast along
but like it or not something always seems to go wrong
sometimes people build you up just so they can knock you down
sometimes they will have you there 'cause they need someone around
perhaps you'll receive invitations for tea
perhaps you'll laugh and make them all smile
or maybe you'll join them 'cause it had to be
perhaps you'll forget you forgot for awhile
birds of a feather are flocking outside
like whippets they dance in a curly-queue dance
of pulses and ringing and campfire chants
of ritual drumming although at first glance
you thought you could run but you won't take a chance
it's not an experience if they can't bring someone along
they hang on emotions they bottle inside
they peck at the ground
and strut out of stride
Meat (Phish, Marshall)
I am a prince I have it all
I hear your footsteps through the wall
I wait in silence for your call
then take a shot and watch you fall
I am a ghost but I cannot fly
I'm stuck here as the years slide by
I need a resting place 'cause I
already felt my body die
if I had a host of ghosts
living on my street
I'd jive and strive to stay alive
and offer them some meat
I need a different life I think
perhaps I'd be the missing link
and treasure moments as I drink
away the memories let them sink
Guyute (Anastasio, Marshall)
Guyute was the ugly pig
who walked on me and danced a jig
that he had learned when he was six
then stopped and did some other tricks
like pulling weapons from his coat
and holding them against my throat
he lectured me in language strange
and scampered quickly out of range
I'm bouncing like a newborn elf
I can't remain inside myself
Guyute glances in my eyes
and manages to hypnotize
me as I sleep the sleep of death
he sucks from me my only breath
that I had breathed since I was ten
I hope this happens once again
Fikus (Phish, Marshall)
Fikus dreamed a dream for me
it cost me nothing it was free
he dreamed of walking in the sand
of blossoms forming in his hand
of kitchen cake and cedar shakes
of waterfalls and yellow snakes
of earthen dams and hydrofoils
of watching water 'til it boils
of holding forth from singing words
of flying south with flocks of birds
none of this was charged to me
for as I said it was for free
Shafty (Phish/Marshall)
the terrible thing about hell
is that when you're there you can't even tell
as you move through this life you love so
you could be there and not even know
but you say so what I'm doing just fine
the irony is that it's all in your mind
and that's why hell is so vicious and cruel
but you'll just go on an oblivious fool
Limb By Limb (Anastasio, Marshall, Herman)
the shoulder that I leaned on was carved out of stone
but when I'm done freezing I want to be alone
never want my hand cut off
never want a hacking cough
never need a cliffside push
never turn my brain to mush
always give me what I lack
always take the best parts back
always recognize your fate
always just a moment late
left is where I always turn
left is how I'm forced to learn
left the route my walking takes
left alone with my mistakes
up against the person who
up 'til now I never knew
up from hell the answer blew
up or down it's up to you
drop me off the Chinese wall
and peel my fingers off the rim
I come unglued while in midair and land to reform
limb by limb
and I am taken far away...
lingering slowly melting away
tossed with the salad and baled with the hay
pooling like water that drips from above
trampled by lambs pecked by the dove
Frankie Says (Phish/Marshall)
time is me and I should know
I knew this several months ago
I knew more than I do now
for I've been turned around somehow
relax the world will spin beside itself and suck you in
with threats and hopes beyond compare
I change the landscape as I pass
meandering from sand to glass
I suction there for one whole day
until the feeling goes away
I don't need these orbits in my life
revolve and cycle through
don't keep coming back for more
I don't need this circular design
wheel and spin away from me
you've been by here before
I've lost my mind
I've lost my way
I'm bound to lose
You wonder where I am
Brian and Robert (Anastasio/Marshall)
if you're just staring at your walls
observing echoing footfalls
from tenants wandering distant halls
then this one is for you
if children playing all around
to you is noise not pleasant sound
and you'd be lost on the playground
then this one is for you
all alone the life you lead
a silent diner where you feed
bow your head pretend to read
this one is for you
slip past strangers in the street
there's no one that you care to meet
longing for your TV seat
this one is for you
Water In The Sky (Anastasio/Marshall)
listen as she speaks to you
hear the voices flutter through
the barriers arranged by you
close the shutters draw the shades
filter out the everglades
glistening with evening dew
thunder calls through waterfalls
rising tides and ocean walls
I can hear you when you sigh
listen as she speaks to you
hear the voices flutter through
watch them fall and let them lie
I can hear you when you sigh
through the water in the sky
Roggae (Phish/Marshall)
the circus is the place for me with bears and clowns and noise
I love the shiny music that descends from overhead
Gordon knew the moment when the stars all turned around
but from that vantage point I frowned
if life were easy and not so fast
I wouldn't think about the past
I can't forget to turn the earth so both sides get their share
of darkness and of light
so now I wander over grounds of light and heat and sound and mist
provoking dreams that don't exist
a circus of light where dreams can take flight
in the peacefulness dreaming dreams brings
Wading In The Velvet Sea (Anastasio/Marshall)
I took a moment from my day
wrapped it up in things you say
mailed it off to your address
you'll get it pretty soon unless
the packaging begins to break
and all the points I tried to make
are tossed with thoughts into a bin
time leaks out my life leaks in
you won't find moments in a box
and someone else will set your clocks
I took a moment from my day
wrapped it up in things you say
and mailed it off to you
The Moma Dance (Phish/Marshall)
and all throughout I gaze and glimpse you
loving never did convince you
I see you when you're all alone
it's like a person I've not known
the moment ends though I feel winds
blowing differently than ever before
and they're pushing me further from shore
a frothy cap the steady slap
of lines against the rail
a biting rain take in the main
up the rigging take in sail mind the skipper we'll not fail
he'll bring out wine all will be fine just hear the order watch the sail
the moment ends
End Of Session (Phish/Marshall)
a silent bird / a raging tide a mountainside
an open door / looming from the surf
a whispered word / a steady wind as we began
and then no more / to close in on the earth
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