Released 1988 Writer(s) Trey Anastasio | Length 9:47 Producer(s) Phish | |
Genre Jazz fusion, funk rock, progressive rock, jam | ||
You Enjoy Myself, commonly abbreviated to "YEM" is a Phish song written by Trey Anastasio. It is the band's most frequently played song, having been featured — as of August 2012 — at about 35% of their 1,566 shows. The song is also one of the oldest in Phish's catalog, having been first performed live on February 3, 1986. Keyboardist Page McConnell revealed on Nightline with Ted Koppel that "You Enjoy Myself" was his favorite Phish song.
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The song was featured on Phish's first album Junta, although a shorter, a cappella version appeared on their 1986 self-titled debut commonly known as The White Tape. "You Enjoy Myself" is a staple of the group's popular live performances, and while the version that appears on Junta is under ten minutes long, live versions (especially after 1995) have regularly exceeded 25 minutes in length. The longest live version of the song to date, performed on October 31, 1995 during the band's Halloween show in Rosemont, IL, clocks in at over 40 minutes. The show was officially released as Live Phish Volume 14.
Like "The Divided Sky," another largely instrumental song from the same era, "YEM" is a classically structured piece, and fans have dubbed each section of the song with names like "Pre-Nirvana," "Nirvana," "The Note," "The Second Note" and "The Charge". When the song is performed live, one section features Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon jumping on trampolines in tandem. It is also known as one of Anastasio's most astute, complex and masterful compositions, weaving throughout different keys and themes. It begins with a spacy, arpeggiated intro in B flat major, weaves through a "Nirvana" segment and eventually culminates in a funky progression where the lyrics and jam begin.
One feature of the song beloved by fans is the so-called "vocal jam" occurring after the instrumental portion of the song has ended and extending over several minutes. This segment is absent from the studio recording but is a consistent part of live performances. The vocal jam features the four members of Phish performing a capella and harmonizing, but typically avoids singing of melodic lines, favoring instead techniques such as vocal percussion and rhythmic repetition of short syllabic sequences. Sometimes a few discernible words are woven into the jam, often referencing songs or jokes occurring earlier in the show.
The song was ranked #85 in the list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time of Rolling Stone.
History
The song's title was influenced by a German man named Jurgen while Anastasio and Fishman were in Florence.
Halfway through the song are the only clearly comprehensible lyrics in the song: "Boy! … Man! … God! … Shit!," followed by a line whose meaning has perpetually been subject to discussion until it was settled by an issue of Guitar World. After many interpretations including, "Wash your feet then drive me into a frenzy", it was revealed to be "wash Uffizi drive me to Firenze" in a Guitar World issue that included the tablature for the song.
One possible explanation for this line is that "Uffizi" is a pun on an Italian-accented pronunciation of the words "your feet." The Uffizi is a museum the pair visited in Firenze, or Florence, Italy. At a spring near the Uffizi, it is reported that they washed their feet. One theory is that the quoted Italian hailed from this area — in which case the meaning of the song as a whole becomes clearer.
Others believe that Fishman and Anastasio picked up a hitchhiker while in Italy, and the man kept saying "Wash uffitzi, drive me to Firenze." meaning "Would you please drive me to Florence?"
A rumor has it that the song was influenced by an experience Anastasio and Fishman had while swimming in the Mediterranean, and Fishman got a bit too far out to sea. Anastasio was a bit alarmed, and the main introduction to the song was composed as a consequence.
In an issue of Rolling Stone, Trey stated the intro was inspired by Robert Fripp.