Phish Album

[No lyrics]

INTRODUCTION

Wilson

Wilson

Wilson

Wilson

Wilson

Once upon a time there was a mountain that rose out of a vast green forest. And in the forest there were birds and lakes and rocks and trees and rivers. The forest was also inhabited by a small group of people called the lizards. The lizards were a simple people and they had lived in the forest undisturbed for thousands of years in utter peace and tranquillity. Once a year when spring came, and the first blossoms began to show, the

lizards would gather at the base of the mountain, to give thanks for all that they had. They thanked the birds and they thanked the lakes and they thanked the rocks and the trees and the rivers; but most importantly, they thanked Icculus.

Icculus lived at the top of the mountain, or at least everyone thought so, for no one had actually ever seen him. But they knew he existed, because they had the Helping Friendly Book. Icculus had given the Helping Friendly Book to the Lizards thousands of years earlier as a gift. It contained all of the knowledge inherent in the universe, and had

enabled the Lizards to exist in harmony with nature for years. And so they lived; until one day a traveler arrived in Gamehendge. His name was Wilson and he quickly became intrigued by the Lizards way of life. He asked if he could stay on and live in the forest; and the Lizards, who had never seen an outsider, were happy to oblige.

Wilson lived with the Lizards for a few years, studying the ways of the Helping Friendly Book, and all was well. Until one morning when they awoke and the book was gone. Wilson explained that he had hidden the book, knowing that the Lizards had become dependent on it for survival. He declared himself king and enslaved the innocent

people of Gamehendge. He cut down the trees and built a city, which he called Prussia. And in the center of the city he built a castle, and locked in the highest tower of the castle lay the Helping Friendly Book out of the reach of the Lizards forever. But our story begins at a different time, not in Gamehendge, but on a suburban street in Long Island, and our hero is no king sitting in a castle, he is a retired colonel shaving in his bathroom.

Colonel Forbin looked square in the mirror and dragged the blade across his cold creamed skin. He saw the tired little folds of flesh that lay in a heap beneath his eyes. Fifty-two years of obedient self-restraint, of hiding his tension behind a serene veil of composure. For fifty-two years he had piled it all on the back burner, and for fifty-two years it had boiled, frothing over in a turbulent storm inside of him. It had escaped through his eyes, reacting with the cigarette smoke and the fluorescent lights and slowly accumulating into a sagging mass. He ran his dripping palm across the stubble on the nape of his neck and thought again about the door. He had discovered the door some months back on one of his ritualistic morning walks with his dog McGrupp. It had started out as a typical stroll with McGrupp bounding joyously ahead of the preoccupied colonel. As they reached the apex of the hill, he saw it and he knew it had always been there, and felt foolish for overlooking the door for so long. At first, he tried to ignore it, but he soon found that it was impossible, and slowly his newly acquired knowledge transformed his dreary life into a prison from which there was only one escape. And on this morning, Colonel Forbin stepped through the door...

Passing through the corridor I came upon an aging knight
Who leaned against the wall in gnarly armor
He was on his way to see the king
Wilson Wilson Wilson
He led me through the streets of Prussia talking
As he tried to crush a bug that scurried underneath his bootheel
He said there was a place where we should go
So he lead me through the forest to the edge of a lagoon by which
We wandered 'til we reached a bubbly spring
The knight grew very quiet as we stood there
Then he lifted up his visor and he turned to me and he began to sing

He said I come from the land of darkness
I said I come from the land of doom
He said I come from the land of Gamehendge
From the land of the big baboon
But I'm never never going back there
And I couldn't if I tried
'Cause I come from the land of Lizards
And the Lizards they have died
And the Lizards they have died
And the Lizards they have died
And the Lizards they have...

He told me that the Lizards were a race of people practically extinct
From doing things smart people don't do
He said that he was once a Lizard too...
His name was Rutherford the Brave and he was on a quest to save
His people from the fate that lay before them.
Their clumsy end was perilously near
The Lizards would be saved, he said, if they could be enlightened
By the writings of the Helping Friendly Book
In all of Prussia only one existed
And Wilson had declared that any person who possessed it was a crook

chorus

The Helping Friendly Book, it seemed, possessed the ancient secrets
Of eternal joy and never-ending splendor
The trick was to surrender to the flow
We walked along beneath the moon
He lead us through the bush 'till soon
We saw before our eyes a raging river
He said that we could swim it if we tried
And saying this the knight dove in forgetting that his suit of arms
Would surely weigh him down and so he sunk
And as his body disappeared before me
I bowed my head in silence and remembered all thoughts that he had thunk

chorus

But Rutherford and Forbin weren't alone. And suddenly an unexpected movement caught his eye. On the far side of the river he saw a shaggy creature standing in the weeds; who stared across at Forbin with an unrelenting gaze. A gigantic mass of muscles and claws. The hideous beast reared back and hurled himself in the water and swam toward the region where Rutherford lay. And in a flash, the beast was gone, underneath the surface to the frosty depths below while Forbin, bewildered, waited alone.

The seconds dragged by in what seemed like hours till finally the colonel felt it all had been a dream. Defeated, he bowed his head then turned to go. Suddenly with a roar, the creature emerged before him and held the brave knight's body to the sky. And the creature laid the knight upon the shore. And the colonel fell beside his friend in prayer that he'd survive. And Rutherford, brave Rutherford was alive.

Forbin and the unit monster were crouched over the soggy knight carefully removing his bulky helmet when the colonel heard a sound behind him. He turned around and came face to face with an enormous shaggy horse-like creature covered from head to tail with alternating blotches of brown and white. It was a two-toned multi-beast, and atop the multi-beast sat the most beautiful woman the colonel had ever seen. After fifty-two years of undaunted bachelorhood, the colonel felt a feeling rush over him as he had never felt before.

The sky is burning in this lonely land
And I kneel by the river
And I feel the sand and the wind
The wind from beyond the mountain
The wind from beyond the mountain

And she comes to me in this lonely land
And looks down from the multi-beast
On which she rides like the wind
The wind from beyond the mountain
The wind from beyond the mountain

Tela was born in a vulgar crooked hut
In the shadow of Wilson's castle
Venomous scorn from a life of bitter toil
In the shadow of Wilson's castle

Glory esteem fueled by her hatred it grew
Swelling to the point where it would
Burst at the seems
There was nothing she could do

Tela Tela jewel of Wilson's foul domain
Tela Tela jewel of Wilson's foul domain
A lullaby the breezes whisper

And I look into her eyes
And my frozen heart begins to thaw
And burns, 'til layer after layer
Melts away into a pool
A sky blue mirror of her eyes

And my soul is made of marble
But in her gaze I crumble into dust
And drift away on the wind
The wind from beyond the mountain
The wind from beyond the mountain

Tela grew strong from her struggle
To endure in the shadow of Wilson's castle
Time touched her wounds
And shelter proved the cure
In the shadow of Wilson's castle

Each passing day seemed to feed
The brazen serpent locked inside
And liberate the spirit
She'd concealed for so long
There was no place left to hide

Tela Tela jewel of Wilson's foul domain
Tela Tela jewel of Wilson's foul domain
A lullaby the breezes whisper

[No lyrics]

Wilson
Wilson
Wilson
Wilson

Oh out near Stonehenge, I lived alone
Oh out near Gamehendge, I chafed a bone
Wilson, King of Prussia, I lay this hate on you
Wilson, Duke of Lizards, I beg it all true for you

Talk my Duke a mountain, Helping Friendly Book
Inasfar as fiefdom, I think you bad crook
Wilson, King of Prussia, I lay this hate on you
Wilson, Duke of Lizards, I beg it all true for you

Wilson
Wilson
Wilson

I talked to Mike Christian, Rog and Pete the same
When we had that meeting, over down near Gamehendge
Wilson, King of Prussia, I lay this hate on you
Wilson, Duke of Lizards, I beg it all true for you

You got me back thinkin' that you're the worst one
I must inquire, Wilson, can you still have fun?
Wilson, can you still have fun now Wilson
Can you still have fun now, Wilson
[Incomprehensible]

Mr. Palmer is concerned with the thousand dollar question
Just like Roger he's a crazy little kid
I've got the time if you've got the inclination
So cheer up Palmer, you'll soon be dead

The noose is hanging, at least you won't die wondering
Sit up and take notice Tell it like it is
If I were near you I wouldn't be far from you
I've got a feeling you know what you did

[Chorus:]
AC/DC Bag
AC/DC Bag
AC/DC Bag
DC Bag
[2x]

Time to put your money where your mouth is
Put 'em in a field and let 'em fight it out
I'm running so fast my feet don't touch the ground
I'm a stranger here I'm going down

Let's get down to the nitty gritty
Let's get this show on the road
I'll show you mine if you show me yours
I'm breathing hard - open the door

[Chorus]

Brain dead, and made of money
No future at all
Pull down the blinds and run for cover
No future at all

Who would've thought it, that's where I am
No future at all
Don't sweat it, that's where I am
Whoa, carry me down, down, down, down

By that night, news of Palmer's death had traveled back to the camp. Spirits were low and Colonel Forbin felt devastated. Even though he had only been in Gamehendge for one day, he had already developed a deep hatred for Wilson. He wanted desperately to help the revolutionaries, but without Palmer, it seemed hopeless. He wandered slowly through the camp and passed Errand Wolfe, sitting by the fire with Rutherford, who had returned that afternoon. He walked on and soon found himself outside of Tela's hut. Forbin knocked and walked in. Tela sat behind a makeshift desk in the center of a room that was littered with small cages containing spotted stripers, a tiny three-legged breed of animal. The unit monster sat in the corner. The colonel took a step toward Tela and spoke. "I needed to come here tonight" he said, "to tell you that I've fallen in love with you." He looked to her eyes for approval but her face remained frozen in an expressionless stare. An awkward blanket of silence fell over the room and hung for
A long moment before being shattered by the sound of the door swinging violently open. It was Rutherford the Brave. The ironclad knight rushed across the room and gripped the throats of Tela and the unit monster in each of his mighty hands. They struggled to break free but even the unit monster was no match for Rutherford's power and soon it was over. The bodies fell to the floor in a lifeless heap. Colonel Forbin stepped forward from where he stood in the corner unable to contain his confusion and rage and screamed "WHY?" His question was answered by Errand Wolfe who had quietly slipped through the doorway during the confusion. "She was a spy," he said, and explained to Forbin that she had been sending information to Wilson using the spotted stripers as carriers. Roger's death had aroused his suspicion, and Palmer's had confirmed it. The colonel stood in silence in a world that had turned up-side-down so many times that he no longer knew which way was up. It had all seemed so simple when he first arrived. G
Ood versus evil, and of course he had sided with good as he had done all his life. And now, he stood and stared into the eyes of Errand Wolfe and he saw evil. The entire picture began to seem like an enormous puzzle with one piece missing, and the colonel knew what that piece was. "Within twenty-four hours," he said to Errand Wolfe, "You will have the Helping Friendly Book." And even as the words were leaving his lips, he found himself running out the door and into the forest, not towards Prussia, but toward the great mountain looming in the distance.

[No lyrics]

Colonel Forbin stared up at the mountain
And wiped away the beads of sweat
That glistened on his brow
His tired feet were buried in the quagmire
And his bloodshot eyes saw all that lay between him
And fulfillment of his vow

And he felt his fingers wrap around a knotted root
And pulled his body upwards
To a sea green mossy boulder
And he dragged his weary carcass [or "shit-ass"] up the mountain

And he climbed so slowly
He climbed so slowly
Ahead
Ahead

Suddenly he heard the crack of thunder
And the rocks began to crumble overhead
And tumble down the mountain to the
Dismal swamp that lay beneath the jagged cliffs
through which his path had led
And the earth began to quake beneath his feet
And the mighty mountain changed before his eyes
And he stood amidst a sea of dust and rocks and stones
Cascading down the mountain
And a thousand birds were headed for the sky. Oh...

The sacred creed will be yours
And if you wait until tomorrow
The sacred creed will be yours
To devour
Yours
To seize
And to obey
Obey

When the dust had cleared, the colonel lifted up his head
And was driven to his knees by a blazing beam of light
And he saw the silhouette that stood before him
And he bowed in reverence
Trembling in the shadow of the mighty legend's form
Icculus the prophet stood before his eyes
Looking down on Colonel Forbin
Where he shuddered in the puddles and the muck
And he quietly addressed him

And he spoke so slowly
He spoke so slowly
Ahead
He said

Colonel Forbin I know why you've come here
And I'll help you with your quest to gain the knowledge that you lack
I call upon my faithful friend the mockingbird
To fly and seize the helping book and bring it to your shack
And a tree of knowledge in your soul will grow
And the Helping Friendly Book will plant the seed
But I warn you that all knowledge seeming innocent and pure
Becomes a deadly weapon in the hands of avarice
And greed

The sacred greed will be yours
And if you wait until tomorrow
The sacred creed will be yours
To devour
Yours
To seize
And to obey
And to obey

And the famous mockingbird swooped down out of the sky and landed on
Icculus's shoulder, and Icculus whispered into the bird's ear, and it flew
off toward Wilson's castle in the valley below.
Fly Famous Mockingbird
Fly famous mockingbird
Fly...
Fly famous mockingbird
Fly...
Fly famous mockingbird
Fly...
Fly famous mockingbird
Fly...
Fly...
Fly...
Fly famous mockingbird
Fly...

The next morning at the camp Errand Wolfe and Rutherford stood frozen in awe as the famous mockingbird flew out of the sky and laid the Helping Friendly Book at their feet. The quest for the book had dragged on for so many years that it's sudden appearance left the men staring in disbelief, unsure of what their next move should be. The shock wore off quickly though, and Errand Wolfe shot into high gear. He snatched up the book with one hand and the famous mockingbird with the other, and began to inform Rutherford of his plan. He would first kill Wilson, and then put the Helping Friendly Book to work for him. With Rutherford's aid he fastened the famous mockingbird to a pole, with glue and rubber bands, to insure the secrecy of his mission, and then set out to find the only man in Gamehendge who could handle the job of eliminating a King.

[No lyrics]

[No lyrics]

They call me the sloth
Way down in the ghetto
Italian spaghetti
Singing falsetto

Sleeping all day
Rip Van Winklin'
Spend my nights in bars
Glasses tinklin'

I'm so bad
He's so nasty
Ain't got no friends
Real outcasty

Stay out of my way
Ed up a cripple
I'll take this piece of paper
Slice your nipple

They call me the sloth
Way down in the ghetto
Italian spaghetti
Singing falsetto

Sleeping all day
Rip Van Winklin'
Spend my nights in bars
Glasses tinklin'

[No lyrics]

I come from atop the mountain, baby
Where the people come to pray
I comes from atop the mountain baby
Where the people come to pray

There ain't no truth in action
'Less you believe it anyway

I was riding down the road one day
Someone hit a possum
Riding down the road one day
Someone hit a possum

The road was his end
His end was that road, so they say

Whoa, possum, possum, possum, possum
Whoa, possum, possum, possum, possum
Whoa, possum, possum, your end is the road

I was riding down the road one day
Someone hit a possum
Riding down the road one day
Someone hit a possum

The road was his end
His end was that road, so they say

Whoa, possum, possum, possum, possum
Whoa, possum, possum, possum, possum
Whoa, possum, possum, your end is the road
Whoa, possum, possum, your end is the road