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Whether it's manic house-pets, nearly extinct reptilians, road wary highway-dwellers, existential insects or a handful of other curious woodland creatures, few bands can boast as many songs about bizarre, charismatic animals as everyone's favorite topically named band, Phish. Yet even among this vast lyrical menagerie, there’s only one beastie distinguished enough to have not one, but two songs devoted to it… the Mule.

Watch Timber (Jerry the Mule) on YouTube Odetta, “Timber (Jerry the Mule)”

Granted, certain allotments of fans may be more familiar with a certain tune about mules and their disturbing Freudian connection to UFO abductions, but “Timber Ho!” (as it is commonly known) was actually the first of the mule-inspired tunes to make its way on to the hallowed setlist. The song – also known as "Timber (Jerry the Mule)" – was written in the 1930’s by the songwriting team of Josh White and Sam Gary and received what was considered moderate airplay at the time. And while the song was originally composed as a team by the aforementioned duo, it was Josh White who supplied both the vocals and guitar work when it came time to record. Local legends claim that on hot summer nights somewhere below the Mason/Dixon Line, the ghosts of White and Gary can still be heard arguing over who played Garfunkel to whose Simon.

“Timber (Jerry)” chronicles the amusing tale of a determined man and his ill-tempered mule and their repeated attempts to haul lumber for an unsympathetic boss (you may know him as “The Man”). Like much of depression-era poetry and songwriting, the lyrics take a satirical approach to depicting the everyday struggle everyday people endured to survive. But not long after its inception, “Timber (Jerry)” disappeared into a vast sea of musical catalogues for the next thirty years. The song was later resurrected during the 1960s, when it was re-recorded by renowned blues & folk artist Odetta Holmes. After Holmes though, the song once again faded into the musical ether. And it might have been lost forever, were it not for one special night in April of 1987, when Phish debuted it in front of the fortunate audience at Nectar’s.

Watch Timber (Jerry the Mule) on YouTube Phish, “Timber (Jerry)” – 11/16/95, West Palm Beach, FL

Phish played “Timber (Jerry)” fairly regularly until 1990, when the song was inexplicably shelved for two years.  After its one-time appearance on 12/30/92, the song once again eluded concertgoers for another three years, until the last night of the 1995 summer tour (7/3/95). On that particular night, the last of two truly incredible nights of music in North Fayston, VT, two lucky fans near the rail were holding a sign that read “Timber Ho!” During the set-break, the band decided to grant them their request and played the song for the first time in 258 shows. With the crowd’s jaws still on the floor and the earth still quaking beneath them, the boys from Burlington kicked things into the stratosphere when they reprised “Timber (Jerry)” during an extended tease through the "Bowie" intro that immediately followed. 

And with its entrance into Phish’s ever-growing musical arsenal, along with it came the years-long debate as to the correct title of the song. The true name of the song is in fact, “Timber (Jerry),” but only the most orthodox of fans identify it by its true moniker. It’s most commonly identified on setlists as “Timber (Ho!),” due to the song’s chorus, but is also sometimes written as "Timber" for the sake of brevity. The style and overall feel of the song, as well as the sharp contrast between the lyrics and music often leads people to mistakenly identify the song as an original. But every question and every concern ceases to matter when those first few notes echo into the sky.

Watch Timber (Jerry the Mule) on YouTube Phish, “Timber (Jerry)” – 8/17/11, Chicago, IL

Despite its folk music roots, Phish puts their own undeniable spin on “Timber (Jerry),” bringing a space age, otherworldly quality to it. The song can sometimes provide the springboard for an interesting set (check out the segue into “Mike’s” from the second set of 12/31/97), or the gateway into a mind-numbing jam (7/26/97 comes highly recommended). Other pre-hiatus versions that are worthy of mention are 2/7/89, 6/16/90, 11/11/96, 11/28/98, 7/17/99, 7/14/00 and 9/30/00 (the last pre-hiatus occurrence).

Then came a little year called 2003… An action hero became a politician, teenagers started eating fewer carbohydrates, a self-proclaimed magician suspended himself in a glass box over the Thames, and Phish knew the time had come to bust out a little ditty called “Timber (Jerry)” on 7/29/03. If you haven’t heard 7/29/03, stop reading and immediately download it. The Pittsburgh show was without a doubt the mind-scrambling sleeper show of ’03 summer tour, and features a handful of other notable first-since hiatus bust-outs that should be on everyone’s absolutely-without a doubt-required listening list. “Timber (Jerry)" reared it's mule-eared head a few more times in 2004 (see 4/15/04 in Vega$ or 8/11/04 from Mansfield, MA).

Much to everyone's thrill and delight, “Timber (Jerry)” re-entered the spotlight after five long years when it appeared midway through the first set at Jones Beach on 6/2/09. Though "Timber" has yet to be utilized as an improvisational tool in 3.0, it remains alive and well, a first-set staple in the Phish repertoire. Representative versions can be found in outstanding modern shows including 11/27/09 Albany, 5/29/11 Bethel Woods, or 8/7/15 Blossom.  

Watch Timber (Jerry the Mule) on YouTube Phish, “Timber (Jerry)” – 8/7/15, Cuyahoga Falls, OH

(White)
Publisher Unknown (ASCAP)

I'm gonna pull this timber `fore the sun go down
Get it `cross the river `fore the bars come down
Drag it on down that dusty road
Come on Jerry, let's dump this load

I said "Timber, ho!", timber, woah this timber's gotta roll
I said "Timber, ho!", timber, woah this timber's gotta roll

My old Jerry was an Arkansas mule
Been everywhere and he ain't no fool
Weighed nine hundred and twenty-two
Done everything a poor mule can do

I said "Timber, ho!", timber, woah this timber's gotta roll
I said "Timber, ho!", timber, woah this timber's gotta roll

Jerry's shoulders stood six foot tall
Pulled more timber than a freight could haul
Workin' heavy old Jerry got sore
Pulled so much he couldn't pull no more

I said "Timber, ho!", timber, woah this timber's gotta roll
I said "Timber, ho!", timber, woah this timber's gotta roll

The boss said "Jerry" and it made him jump
Jerry ran and kicked the boss on the rump
My old Jerry was a cool mule
Had it been me I woulda killed that fool
Boss tried to shoot old Jerry in the head
Jerry took that bullet and he stomped him dead
Stomped that boss til he heard him scream
Sure don't care he was so damn mean

I said "Timber, ho!", timber, woah this timber's gotta roll
I said "Timber, ho!", timber, woah this timber's gotta roll

I said "Timber, ho!", timber, woah this timber's gotta roll
I said "Timber, ho!", timber, woah this timber's gotta roll