As he saw his life run away from him,
thousands ran along (a thousand came along)
chanting words from a song (psalm).
"Please we have no regret,"
Came from the baby's mouth.
He followed (we follow) the line(s) going south!

Lyrics: Neither the words nor puncuation are entirely certain.

• "Please, me, have no regrets" (self-directed affirmation)
• "Please me; have no regrets" (demand for servitude)
• "Please, me have no regrets." (assurance to another)
• "Please WE have no regrets." (relax, we're fine with it)
• Please Fee have no regrets (written after "Fee" and in reference to it said "Harryman" 9/26/99)

Don't go getting excited 'cause you think you know what the words really are. However, it is suggested that "...the 'curtain' refered to is the end of your life, like the dropping of the final curtain. Phish is wishing that they live their lives with no regrets, so when the curtain falls they are content to leave this place." (Mark Van Horn 8/19/96)

Song structure: Early versions (e.g. 5-15-88 and 7-23-88 under the moniker "The Curtain With" (not Width) start with the same lyrics ("Came from the baby's mouth") and music, but also include a second section. This latter piece is a long and slow, majestic melody which was dropped circa 1989-1990, then doubled in speed and placed to the words of "Rift", replacing the early music used in "Rift" and most clearly apparent as the recurring musical theme between the verses. The full "The Curtain With" returned 7-12-00 and 9-17-00. (Thanks to James Cooper , Jesse Jarnow, Marco Walsh, et al.)

Thanks also to Andrew Purrott (11/9/98); Scott Cirrus109" (7/31/99); Fred Trinkoff 4/23/00, and Mark Mezrich 4/23/00.