The band is known for musical improvisation, extended jams, blending of genres, and a rigorous touring schedule that draws a famously dedicated fan base. Their music blends elements of a wide variety of genres, including funk, progressive rock, psychedelic rock, folk, country, jazz, blues, bluegrass, and pop. Phish were part of a movement of improvisational rock groups, inspired by the Grateful Dead and colloquially known as "jam bands", which gained considerable popularity as touring concert acts in the 1990s.
After 15 years of performing together, Phish went on hiatus in 2000. They resumed touring in December 2002, but disbanded in 2004 after a farewell performance at their Coventry Festival in Vermont. They reunited in March 2009 for a series of three consecutive concerts played in the Hampton Coliseum in Hampton, Virginia, and have since resumed performing regularly.
Although the group received little radio play or MTV exposure, Phish developed a large following by word of mouth during the 1990s, particularly through fan-record tapes of their concerts, which circulated for free online with the band's permission. While often compared to the Grateful Dead, Phish finds their roots in styles such as jazz, funk and alternative rock as opposed to the Dead, who were more influenced by folk, country and blues.
Each Phish concert is different in terms of the songs included and the order in which they appeared, and (for many songs) in the way in which they were performed. Also unique to Phish are their large summer festivals which draw upwards of 70K people to remote areas in Maine and New York State as well as close to 100K for their epic Millennium Show in the Everglades of South Florida.
Along with Bob Dylan and The Beatles, Phish were one of the first bands to have an Internet newsgroup - rec.music.phish - launched in 1991.
In regards to Phish, Rolling Stone magazine proclaimed "Given their sense of community, their ambition and their challenging, generous performances, Phish have become the most important band of the Nineties."
Roses Are Free
Phish Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And put it on the tree
Cut a slab a melon
And pretend that you still love me
Carve out a pumpkin
And rely on your destiny
Get in your car
And the free
But don't forget to understand
Exactly what you put on the tree
Don't believe the florist when he tells
You that the roses are free
Take a wrinkled raisin
And do with it what you will
Push it into third
If you know your gonna climb a hill
Eat plenty of lasagna
'Til you know that you had your fill
Resist all the urges
That make you want to go out and kill
But don't forget to understand
Exactly what you put on the tree
Don't believe the florist when he tells
You that the roses are free
Throw that pumpkin at the tree
Unless you think that pumpkin
Holds your destiny
Cast it off into the sea
Bake that pie and eat it with me
The lyrics to Phish's song Roses Are Free are a bit unconventional and open to interpretation. The song starts by instructing the listener to take a piece of tinsel and put it on the tree, as well as cut a slab of melon and pretend to still love the person they are addressing. It then moves on to carving a pumpkin and relying on destiny before cruising around. The lyrics urge the listener to understand exactly what they are putting on the tree and not to believe the florist when they claim the roses are free.
The later verses encourage the listener to take a wrinkled raisin and do with it what they will, push their car into third gear when climbing a hill, eat plenty of lasagna until they're full, and to resist urges that might lead to violence. The song's conclusion is once again encouraging the listener to understand what they put on the tree and to bake a pie and eat it with the singer.
Overall, the song seems to be about living a carefree and somewhat hedonistic lifestyle, but with a strong emphasis on understanding the consequences of one's actions and being mindful of what one puts out into the world. The song suggests that even though certain experiences may feel free, there are always consequences and implications involved.
Line by Line Meaning
Take a piece of tinsel
Take something seemingly insignificant and add it to the larger context
And put it on the tree
Incorporate this small thing into the larger picture
Cut a slab a melon
Make an effort to create something
And pretend that you still love me
Try to maintain a faƧade of affection despite a lack of feeling
Carve out a pumpkin
Spend time creating something for a specific purpose
And rely on your destiny
Trust that events will unfold as they are meant to
Get in your car
Take control of your actions and where you go
And cruise the land of the brave
Travel freely and without fear
And the free
Enjoy the freedoms of life
But don't forget to understand
Make sure you comprehend
Exactly what you put on the tree
What you add to your life has consequences
Don't believe the florist when he tells You that the roses are free
Be cautious of those who offer seemingly free things; everything comes at a cost
Take a wrinkled raisin
Take something old and seemingly unimportant
And do with it what you will
Mold it into what you desire
Push it into third
Put in effort to get over a difficult obstacle
If you know your gonna climb a hill
If you know there will be challenges to face
Eat plenty of lasagna
Take care of yourself and indulge in what you enjoy
Til you know that you had your fill
Until you feel satisfied
Resist all the urges
Fight against the temptations
That make you want to go out and kill
Things that may lead to bad decisions and harm
Throw that pumpkin at the tree
Get rid of things that are not meant for you
Unless you think that pumpkin Holds your destiny
If you believe that pumpkin is important to your path
Cast it off into the sea
Get rid of things that do not align with your goals
Bake that pie and eat it with me
Enjoy the simple pleasures of life with me
Lyrics Ā© O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Written by: AARON FREEMAN, MICHAEL MELCHIONDO
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Forrest George
Take a piece of tinsel and put it on the tree
Cut a slab of melon and pretend that you still love me
Carve out a pumpkin and rely on your destiny
Get in your car and cruise the land of the brave and free
But don't forget to understand exactly what you put on the tree
Don't believe the florist when he tells you that the roses are free
Take a wrinkled raisin, and do with it what you will
Push it into third if you know you're gonna climb that hill
Eat plenty of lasagna 'til you know that you've had your fill
Resist all the urges that make you wanna go out and kill
But don't forget to understand exactly what you put on the tree
Don't believe the florist when he tells you that the roses are free
Throw that pumpkin at the tree
Unless you think that pumpkin holds your destiny
Cast it off into the sea
Bake that pie and eat it with me
Throw that pumpkin at the tree
Unless you think that pumpkin holds your destiny
Cast it off into the sea
Bake that pie and eat it with me
kevinp23231
Mickey āDean Weenā Melchiondo- "When we re-recorded it for Chocolate and Cheese we filled up 24 tracks with parts. We never played it live, it had never even occurred to us until Phish started playing it out. Now itās one of my favorite songs to perform live, as the whole band is playing the entire time. Usually itās our finale of finales, the last song of the last encore. Phish, by covering it, made it one of our popular and most crowd pleasing tunes. For that we owe Trey forever because it opened up so many peopleās ears to the music of Ween and introduced us to a whole new audience within the jam band scene, which never would have happened otherwise."
Acid Mass
When did dean say that though? Because ween has been playing this song live for quite some timeā¦
Acid Mass
I thought this was a phish song for the longest time hahaha
Scott Douglas
When an artist or a band covers someone else's music, it's their way of showing that the band they are covering has made an impact on them and they want to show respect towards what they have done. That's all there is to it. They aren't trying to compete with them. Imitation is the highest form of flattery.
Neal Williams
And I love trey, but I love ween more
Neal Williams
True, but it also did a disservice to Ween because Ween is not a jam band.
Tommy Jeff
Scott Douglas amazing that this even needs to be explained to some people....
Mr. Weasel
Moot Itās because ween fans hate Phish fans for how they act at concerts, and they donāt like Ween being called a jam band. I donāt like his version or Phish really either, but the hate is uncalled for. The Phish fans are biting the bait as well, making it worse.
Moot
Scott Douglas Gotta agree here. Although I just found both bands, don't see why there always has to be a competition on who's better. Also, this version really isn't as bad as people are saying, just lacks some enthusiasm.
gary coderre
A+ to the girl in the front throwing out the rose petals at the first chorus