Trey Anastasio (born Ernest Joseph Anastasio III on September 30, 1964 in F… Read Full Bio ↴Trey Anastasio (born Ernest Joseph Anastasio III on September 30, 1964 in Fort Worth, Texas, United States) is an American guitarist, composer, and vocalist most noted for his work with the rock band Phish. He is credited by name as composer of 152 Phish originals, 140 of them as a solo credit, in addition to 41 credits attributed to the band in the generic. He was rated as number 73 on The Rolling Stone List of the 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time in 2003.

Throughout his career, Anastasio has participated in various projects outside of Phish, furthering his reputation as a multifaceted composer, instrumentalist, and vocalist. He continues to thrill fans with powerful live performances, and is by no means close to being finished.

Ether Sunday
Trey Anastasio Lyrics

Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴

Sunday morning
Shadows on the shade
Yellow dusted fingers bent
Through day old lemonade
Sounds of breathing
The birds singing in the trees
Beautiful morning
There's no place I'd rather be

I sit right down and I rest awhile
By a shady tree
Golden rows of summer
Stretched as far as I can see
Sounds of music
Are rippling through my head
Harry's in the kitchen
Captain's still in bed

Cause life is just a funny dream
And someday
I'll share this dream with you
Just to be with you
This much I pray
It's true, it's true, it's true, it's true

Life is just a funny dream
And someday
I'll share this dream with you
Just to be with you

This much I pray
It's true, it's true, it's true, it's true, it's true, it's true

Overall Meaning

Trey Anastasio's song "Ether Sunday" is a beautiful ode to a lazy Sunday morning. The lyrics paint a picture of a serene and peaceful day, with shadows on the shade and yellow dusted fingers from a day-old lemonade. The sounds of nature - birds singing in the trees - and music - rippling through the head - transport the listener into a dream-like state. The singer describes sitting down under a shady tree, marveling at the golden rows of summer that stretch as far as the eye can see. The peaceful scene is interrupted only by the mention of Harry in the kitchen and Captain still in bed. But these interruptions are not jarring, they are part of the calm that surrounds the singer.

Line by Line Meaning

Sunday morning
It's a peaceful Sunday morning.

Shadows on the shade
The tree's leaves are creating beautiful shadows.

Yellow dusted fingers bent
Fingers have a layer of dust on them from the grass.

Through day old lemonade
The artist sees remnants of yesterday's lemonade.

Sounds of breathing
The artist is getting lost in his thoughts and is aware of his own breathing.

The birds singing in the trees
The singer hears the birds singing.

Beautiful morning
It's a beautiful morning.

There's no place I'd rather be
The artist is content where he is.

I sit right down and I rest awhile
The artist sits and enjoys the view.

By a shady tree
He's sitting in the shade of a tree.

Golden rows of summer
He sees the beautiful fields of crops.