You Enjoy Myself
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"You Enjoy Myself", known in short as YEM by Phish Heads, is a Phish song written by Trey Anastasio. It is one of the oldest songs in Phish's catalog. It was first performed live on February 3, 1986.
The song was featured on Phish's third album Junta (although a shorter, a capella version appeared on their 1986 self-titled debut known as The White Tape), and was a staple of the group's many live performances. Like The Divided Sky from the same era, the piece is classically structured and fans have dubbed each section of the song with names like "Pre-Nirvana", "Nirvana", "The Note", "The Second Note", and "The Charge."
It is reported that the title came from an Italian who said "You enjoy myself, yes?" to Anastasio and Jon Fishman when they toured Europe in 1985, playing in the streets. Supposedly, this was a too-literal translation from Italian into English for "best wishes." After falling down laughing, Anastasio wrote the song.
Halfway through the song are the only clearly comprehensible lyrics in the song: "Boy! ... Man! ... God! ... Shit!," followed by a line whose meaning has perpetually been subject to discussion. One popular interpretation is "Wash uffitzi, drive me to Firenze," referring to the Italian trip, where Anastasio and Fishman lived in a car. The lyrics have also been interpreted as "Wash your feet they drive me into a frenzy" in reference to the lack of Fishman's hygiene on that same trip.
The most probable explanation for this line is that "Uffizi" ('you-FEET-tzee') is a pun on an Italian-accented pronunciation of the words "your feet." Uffizi is a museum the pair visited in Firenze, or Florence, Italy. At a spring near Uffizi, it is reported that they washed their feet. One theory is that the quoted Italian hailed from this area — in which case the meaning of the song as a whole becomes clearer.
Appears on
- Junta
- A Live One
- Live Phish Volume 7
- Live Phish Volume 9
- Live Phish Volume 11
- Live Phish Volume 14
- Live Phish Volume 15
- Live Phish 4-5-98
See also
External link
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