Billy Breathes
Performances Song History Discussion

Billy Breathes

Music: Anastasio

Vocals: Trey (lead), Mike, Page (backing)

Debut: 1995-09-27

Historian: Craig DeLucia

In most cases where fans find a Phish song historically significant, it is because the song led to new avenues or styles of jamming. And while it is not a song where fans actively seek out multiple versions for their diversity, “Billy Breathes” stands in the select upper echelon of the Phish catalog when fans consider songs that mark the band’s most prevalent musical change in the mid 1990s: the emergence of mellow, ballad-esque material that rounded out Phish’s musical rotation.

“Billy Breathes” stands out in this regard, especially considering the rest of the songs on the album that bears its name. All other songs have either been jamming vehicles (“Free,” “Taste,” “Character Zero,” and “Theme From the Bottom”) or were written after “Billy’s” 9/27/95 debut in Sacramento (see, for example, “Swept Away,” “Steep,” and “Talk”). And while other ballads came before it (see “Fast Enough for You”), “Billy” seems to stand alone, historically, as a turning point in the band’s songwriting. Pre-“Billy” ballads were rarely written. Post-“Billy” they became more common.

After multiple appearances on the fall 1995 tour, “Billy Breathes” was heard only once in the summer of 1996. During that lone appearance in Amsterdam on July 12, Trey announced that fans were hearing the song in its final arrangement. It had certainly undergone several minor changes since its debut; like almost all Phish songs it constantly evolved during its first season. And when Billy Breathes was released prior to the fall 1996 tour, many fans tabbed the title song as the best song on the album. Some, including this fan, consider it the best piece of studio work in Phish’s catalog to date. The studio version saw the band nail the difficult, intricate harmonies so crucial to the song’s chorus. And the brief instrumental interlude was augmented with additional instrumentation and a breathtaking guitar solo that seemed to catapult the emotional level of the song to new heights. Notably, the success of the song on the live stage has led to fans’ accepting the new breed of lyric-based Phish songs. Live versions do not deviate significantly, except the degree to which the band nails the difficulties of the piece.

“Billy Breathes” was alternately in modest to heavy rotation from its debut through 2000 with its greatest frequency in 1995 and 1997. "Billy" has been flat-out scarce post-hiatus, with only two performances in 2003 (7/7/03 and 7/23/03) and one in 2009 (7/30/09). Trey also performed the song solo, on piano, during his May, 1999 tour.

Albums: Billy Breathes

Lyrics:

(Anastasio)
© Who Is She? Music, BMI

Tumbling greens
A pickup screams
Alone above the square
Oh sing softly

Above the trees
Where Billy breathes
We float upon the air

Softly sing sweet songs

Silent scenes
In motion means
I’ll wake you when we’re there
Oh sing softly

Time, it seems
In broken dreams
To sleep beside the stair