Friday
| Originally Performed By | Phish |
| Appears On |
|
| Music/Lyrics | Anastasio/Marshall/Herman |
| Vocals | Trey, Mike |
| Phish Debut | 2003-01-04 |
| Last Played | 2016-10-25 |
| Current Gap | 330 |
| Historian | Phillip Zerbo (pzerbo) |
| Last Update | 2020-07-05 |
History
“Friday” is a metaphorical dialog; between whom or what, it isn’t clear. One character stands unfulfilled, though their ultimate desires are unconvincing at best, and are certainly ambiguous. Trey assumes these dreary, lilting initial lines; and Mike responds in child-like refrains: “Why? Why? Why?” One interpretation has a father drowning his child (or a certain songwriting husband drowning his wife) – “Please follow me, into the sea, don’t worry if it’s cold” – and then later as she descends into the murk, so clueless as to be unaware of her imminent fate: “Why is the sea cool? Why is it blue?” Or perhaps the song is an indictment of blind obedience and the inherently lame naiveté of any individual or group engaged in herd mentality.
Whatever the scenario envisioned by its authors, “Friday” has to say the least never caught fire as a fan favorite. “Friday” has in fact been the object of an unusually vocal group of detractors – even for Phish fans! Aside from the usual drone of online fan commentators, a small but notable chorus of “boos” could be heard flowing from the audience as “Friday” closed the otherwise extremely well received 2/16/03 gig. Regardless of the relative merits of “Friday” itself, the song’s prominent placement in the middle of second sets or as an encore left a taste of “buzzkill” among many fans. “Friday” did not make an appearance until 325 shows later, in the eighth year of their 3.0 return on 10/25/16 in Grand Prairie, Texas (on a Tuesday). However, prior to that bust-out, it was soundchecked, including the FUCK YOUR FACE show on 8/31/12 at Dick’s, (on a Friday).
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