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Destiny Unbound, debuted September 14, 1990, was a song written by Mike Gordon for Phish. It was only played 27 times in Phish's 21 years: five times in 1990, 21 times in 1991, and once in 2003. Mike Gordon with Phish at Deer Creek in 2004. ...
Phish was an American rock band most noted for jamming and improvisation. ...
This article is about the year. ...
1991 (MCMXCI) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
2003 (MMIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Gregorian calendar. ...
Song Retirement
It isn't exactly clear why the band dropped it for twelve years. One theory is that it was "said to sound too much like the Grateful Dead and, [...] [had] legendary status as the too over-requested rare tune." ([1]) Another propounded theory is that Gordon didn't like the song, and since he sung most of it (with some backup help), it might have been his decision (see Chanting, Hampton '97). The Grateful Dead was an American psychedelia-influenced rock band formed in 1965 in San Francisco. ...
Phish was an extremely prolific band that wrote a dozen songs for each one they kept and played. Thus, songs often appeared briefly in a tour and then disappeared, becoming fabled rarities. In the case of Destiny Unbound, to which this occurred, Phish fans, over time, requested it more and more, until it acquired a mythical connotation. Destiny Unbound was jokingly synonymous with the impossible.
Chanting In the mid-Nineties, Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio announced that the band would play Destiny Unbound if the entire audience sang it. Consequently, the next several years saw many fan-led efforts to organize the audience and coordinate a mass chant. Throughout the tours, this occurred in 1996 at the Red Rocks Amphitheater, in 1997 at the Hampton Coliseum (the famous "death chant" show), and in 1998 at the Lemonwheel, to name a few. Trey Anastasio Ernest Giuseppe Trey Anastasio III, born September 30, 1964, is an American guitarist, composer and vocalist most noted for his work with the legendary rock band Phish. ...
Red Rocks Area Red Rocks is a mountain park to the southwest of Denver, where very large, dark red boulders seem to sprout from the earth. ...
Located in Hampton, Virginia, the Hampton Coliseum is a multi-use facility owned by the city of Hampton. ...
Lemonwheel was the third of seven weekend-long festivals hosted by the rock band Phish (following 1996s The Clifford Ball and 1997s The Great Went). ...
The 1997 Hampton show remains poignant in the memories of many fans for two reasons. Firstly, when the band walked onstage after setbreak to see and hear the audience singing Destiny Unbound in unison, they were very surprised, and Trey Anastasio made a very funny remark: "That just sounds like a horrible cannibalistic chant for people who want blood, I don't know what you're saying. Is this the human sacrifice part of the show?" This accounts for the show's nickname. Secondly, the band's response to the audience's effort to revive Destiny Unbound was marked by many. Phish.net posted this report by Jesse Alderman:
"We made a really valiant effort to get the boys to play Destiny on Saturday 11-22-97 at Hampton. My friend printed up flyers and got the first 5 or 6 rows prepared to sing the first line to Destiny. We waited since 3:30 and landed some great front row seats. We befriended this great security guard who was a great help in organizing the chant at the set-break. Once they came the chant was loud and audible to the band. Fishman had a look of surprise. Mike was very stoic and was not at all amused. However, Trey and Page were loving it. They were both cracking up. Hence, the "human sacrifice" and "death chant" comments from Trey. Trey and Page proceeded to discuss something ... and they were still laughing. Then they looked over at Mike and he shoke his head and started up Halley's by himself. Trey, unaffected by Mike's unwillingness to play his song, shrugged his shoulders and busted out an amazing and long Halley's. Ostensibly, it seemed that we should not give up and that Mike is the one who is very objectionable on the Destiny issue."
Lyrics Highway Bill's on the rotary still and he can't even feel the pain
Of a sun dried shoulder and a scar from a boulder,
That cut him right across his vein
Now he's suckin' cigar and he's shovelin' tar,
In the crater of a turnpike terrain
He's got only one hope, and he wants to elope,
'Cuz Highway Jill is driving him insane
(chorus)
We gotta get on the road, destiny unbound
She's the one for me, we gotta get outta town
We gotta get on the road, destiny unbound
She's the one for me, we gotta get outta town
Highway Jill was a daffodil with a cactus sense of pride
At the wheel of a tractor, she was quite an impactor
When the road rocks started to slide
She saw Bill drop his shovel on a pile of gravel
As he climbed up out of his ditch
She was wonderstruck when he climbed in her truck
He said "I've been havin' this everlasting itch
(chorus)
At first she was cold, she was ready to scold
This guy from the pit with a thing in his head
But then she thought twice, when he melted her ice
With his passionate eyes, she was energized!
She started the ignition and without permission
The two of 'em flew down the dusty road
But the road wasn't finished and the pavement diminished
They soared off the edge and they plunged in the sludge
She said there isn't even any road, our destiny was bound
We were the ones for us, but now we're in the ground
(4x)
See also Phish was an American rock band most noted for jamming and improvisation. ...
Mike Gordon with Phish at Deer Creek in 2004. ...
Trey Anastasio Ernest Giuseppe Trey Anastasio III, born September 30, 1964, is an American guitarist, composer and vocalist most noted for his work with the legendary rock band Phish. ...
Phish performed 226 original songs during their 21-year career (1983-2004). ...
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