You Enjoy Myself

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"You Enjoy Myself"
Song by Phish
from the album Junta
Released1988
Genre
Length9:47
Songwriter Trey Anastasio
Producer Phish

"You Enjoy Myself", commonly abbreviated to "YEM", is a Phish song written by Trey Anastasio from their 1988 debut album Junta. It is the band's most frequently performed song. [1]

Contents

History

Trey Anastasio wrote "You Enjoy Myself" in Florence, Italy, in the midst of a European busking trip. The title came from an Italian man befriended by Anastasio and Jon Fishman, who wrapped his arms around them near the Uffizi museum and exclaimed: "You know, when I am with you, you enjoy myself!" [2] The song was first performed live on February 3, 1986. A short, a cappella version of "You Enjoy Myself" appeared on The White Tape , Phish's 1986 demo album. A longer, full-band version appeared on their album full-length debut, 1988's Junta . [3]

Fans have dubbed the sections of the song "Pre-Nirvana," "Nirvana," "The Note," "The Second Note" and "The Charge." [4] The song's mysterious single lyric, the couplet "Boy. Man. God. Shit / Wash Uffizi drive me to Firenze," has been such an intense topic of discussion that Phish internet message boards refer to it by the acronym "WATSIYEM" ("What are they saying in 'You Enjoy Myself'?") [3]

When the song is performed live, one section features Anastasio and bassist Mike Gordon jumping on trampolines in tandem. [5] Performances of the song regularly exceed 15 minutes, with some approaching 40 minutes. [3]

Legacy

The song was ranked No. 85 in the list of the 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time of Rolling Stone , [6] who considered the version on A Live One to be definitive. [1] "You Enjoy Myself" is keyboardist Page McConnell's favorite Phish song. [7]

Appears on

See also

References

  1. 1 2 "Readers' Poll: The 10 Best Phish Songs". Rolling Stone . July 2, 2014. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  2. ↑ Anastasio, Trey (August 13, 2018). Trey Anastasio Explains the Origins of YEM. SiriusXM . Retrieved June 12, 2022.
  3. 1 2 3 The Mockingbird Foundation (2000). The Phish Companion: A Guide to the Band and Their Music. San Francisco: Miller Freeman. pp. 228–231. ISBN   0-87930-631-9 . Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  4. ↑ Bernstein, Scott (December 9, 2012). "Albany YEM: Best Jam Ever?". Glide Magazine. Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  5. ↑ Harrington, Jim (April 14, 2025). "Phish 101: Here's your introduction to America's greatest jam band". The Mercury News . Retrieved December 2, 2025.
  6. ↑ "Rolling Stone - The 100 Greatest Guitar Songs of All Time". Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on May 30, 2008. Retrieved January 9, 2018.{{cite magazine}}: CS1 maint: bot: original URL status unknown (link)
  7. ↑ Rosenberg, Howard L. (January 5, 2008). "Nightline Playlist: Page McConnell". ABC News . Archived from the original on May 19, 2011. Retrieved March 16, 2012.
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