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"Rift" is a perfect example of how some songs take years to develop. In fact, nearly five years elapsed between the time that pieces of “Rift” first appeared and when the song was finished and finally unveiled in March of 1992.

The song’s evolution began with an instrumental segment that the band had been playing as part of “The Curtain With.” In the late eighties, the band dropped the "With" ending, and it was thought to be gone forever. Then, in early 1990, the band debuted a new original song called “Rift.” The song included lyrics almost identical to those of today. In fact, only one line was dropped, though it still appears in the liner notes of the Rift album. Musically, though, the song seemed to be lacking any emotion.

Watch Rift on YouTube ”Rift” – 7/21/93, Middletown, NY

Still in its embryonic phase, “Rift” appeared five more times between February and May of 1990 and was recorded during the Wendell Studios sessions in June of the same year, but was nowhere to be found when the fall tour rolled around. Later, the band decided to fuse the lyrics Tom Marshall had written with, among other themes, the music from “The Curtain With.” The idea clicked, and “Rift” was finally born during the spring 1992 tour opener in Portsmouth, NH.

“Rift” is one of the most complex short songs in Phish’s repertoire. It certainly requires much more concentration and dedication than similar-length songs like “Sparkle” and “Sample,” as it features a difficult rhythm pattern and extended interplay between guitar and piano. From a lyrical standpoint, the song (and lead track) sets the theme for the album of the same name. The narrator speaks of a rift that has developed in a relationship. To demonstrate the confusion the narrator feels, Trey and Page share lead vocals, trading line for line as the music builds to a frenzy. Because of the raw passion of the song, it is usually played in the middle of the first set as a pick-me-up.

Watch Rift on YouTube ”Rift” – 9/1/13, Commerce City, CO

On a humorous note, fans were angered when the arena P.A. system failed during “Rift” in Worcester on 12/28/95, and were subsequently joyous when the sound returned. This led to quite a laugh when Page sang about the “silence contagious in moments like these.” Few can forget the exuberance Trey showed during “Rift” on 8/6/96. Playing at the fan-favorite venue Red Rocks, Trey mimicked the line that U2’s Bono made famous in the same venue nearly 15 years earlier and that Trey himself recreated on the Junta version of “Icculus”: “This is Red Rocks! This is the Edge!”

Since the “new” “Rift” debuted in 1992, it has became one of the most frequently played songs in rotation, a role that persists through the modern Phish 3.0 era.

(Anastasio/Marshall)
© by Who Is She? Music, Inc (BMI)

Last night, in the moments my thoughts were adrift
And coasting a terrace, approaching a rift
Through which I could spy several glimpses beneath
Of the darkness the light from above could not reach
I spied wings of reason, herself taking flight
And upon yonder precipice saw her alight
And glared back at me one last look of dismay
As if she were the last one she thought I'd betray

So much better I said to myself
And drawing quite close to the top of the shelf
I struggled with destiny upon the ledge
And gasped when defeated he slipped off the edge
And silence contagious in moments like these
Consumed me and strengthened my will to appease
The passion that sparked me one terrible night
And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite

So much better I said to myself
And drawing quite close to the top of the shelf
I struggled with destiny upon the ledge
And gasped when defeated he slipped off the edge

And silence contagious in moments like these
Consume me and strengthen my will to appease

The passion that sparked me one terrible night
And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite