Phish.net

Close your eyes for a moment and imagine a lazy Sunday in July. It’s warm, but not hot, and you rock back and forth on your porch swing while sipping a cold lemonade and enjoying a slight breeze. This morning is about taking your time and soaking in the beauty, and all that’s needed to complete the picture is the one you love to share it with. Got that feeling? That’s what “Ether Sunday” is all about.

The gentle ballad that concludes Trey Anastasio’s self-titled solo album is one of those tunes whose gentle, swaying rhythm and afterglow imagery make a smile almost impossible to suppress. The lyrics capture the sublime moments of a summer morning when the world opens itself and invites you to share in its simple perfection: Beams of sunlight making silhouettes dance on the blinds, the soft breathing of a dozing friend, birdsongs blending with the music on your mind. It’s a beautiful dream that is meant to be shared, and “Ether Sunday” leaves us with the wish that, sometime soon, it will be.

The song’s title, while obviously a classic example of Trey’s playful wit, evokes the mythological god Aether, the upper air of purity and light which was breathed by immortals. At a moment like that described in “Ether Sunday,” the mundane aspects of life seem to evaporate and bring us closer to the vivid world of the divine.

“Ether Sunday” first dawned as the Set II closer on 2/21/01 in Boston, and while the song’s structure and sentiment were in place, the images had yet to mature. The lyrics would be reworked for the album version and make their live debut with the Dectet on 5/21/02 in Seattle, WA. Be sure to check out 10/28/05 in Vegas – Trey’s only solo acoustic performance to date – when he explains the “Hammy’s in the kitchen” line. Fans of this tune should be attentive to its quiet and delicate nature so that, hopefully, we will continue to discover these hidden ether eggs for years to come!

Watch Ether Sunday on YouTube TAB – ”Ether Sunday” 2/20/11 Boston, MA

(Anastasio/Lawton/Markellis)
� Who Is She? Music, BMI

Sunday morning
Shadows on the shade
Yellow dusted fingers bent
Through day old lemonade
Sounds of breathing
The birds singing in the trees
Beautiful monring
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
Hammy's in the kitchen
Captain's still in bed

Cuz 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