Facing a moment of immense pressure under the public eye is the basis for Phish’s “The Line.” The origin of the song dates to 2005 Conference-USA basketball championship, and the stress that one real life player faced from the charity stripe.
“The Line,” performed by Phish 35 times in its history, was debuted on Halloween 2013 in Atlantic City during the “musical costume” of a brand new album, then titled Wingsuit, but later titled Fuego for release in Spring 2014.
This “moment of truth” song was explained by Trey Anastasio at the Atlantic City debut, saying later in the show that “The Line” was “Dedicated with much love to the incredible Darius Washington, Jr. that song is about his experience when he missed those two free throws at the end of the Final Four Michigan State game. We love him, and we can relate.”
For a deep dive into the poppy, dad-rock Phish song, read Jeremy Welsh’s history of the song. To catch this song live, you’ll have to hope Phish busts it out this summer – the song has not been performed since October 2018, making it firmly shelved for the time being.
Phish would perform “The Line” on the Late Show with David Letterman on June 24, 2014, an evening when the band would perform a separate, off-air, one hour set for lucky fans.
Other individual song performances on Letterman include “Chalkdust Torture” on December 30, 1994, “Julius” on July 13, 1995, “Character Zero” on March 5, 1997, “Birds of a Feather” on October 27, 1998, “All of These Dreams” on December 19, 2002, a multi-song performance on the Ed Sullivan Theater marquee on June 21, 2004, and “The Line” on June 25, 2014.
“The Line” lyrics via Phish.net
Dry mouth push it out I can hear my heart pound,
A hero’s what I’m not.
Voices scream, flashes flare, frozen as the people stare,
My crucifixion shot.
Friends were electric on the western side,
While triangles were shifting on the floor.
Squeezing out the breath that I don’t have,
The quiet now they only want two more.
And you step to the line.
And you step to the line.
Every shot I’ve taken, has led me to this moment since I was four feet high.
Big Dee is watching I remember what he taught me: “Don’t let them see you cry.”
And you step to the line.
And you step to the line.
You try to see your future from the line.
You’re clinging to the notion you’ll be fine.
But the circle’s getting smaller all the time.
Dry mouth push it out I can hear my heart pound,
A hero’s what I’m not.
Voices scream, flashes flare, frozen as the people stare,
My crucifixion shot.
And you step to the line.
And you step to the line.
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