The Dickie Scotland Song

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History

Being the tour accountant for Phish must be a brutally thankless job, and it must have been sheer hell during Phish's "final" tour in 2004. Icculus only knows what sorts of unimaginable requests Richard "Dickie Scotland" Glasgow had to entertain from band members and hangers-on over the years. And so the Coventry one-off ditty "The Dickie Scotland Song" stands out as a sweet moment of recognition for not just Glasgow himself, but for all the countless foot soldiers who labored to bring Phish to the stage tour after tour.

If the melody rang a bell, give yourself extra credit. The chords were lifted from the rare and buoyant "Chalk Dust Torture Reprise," which debuted on 12/10/94 at the tour closer in Santa Monica, CA. Like "Dickie Scotland," that song served as backdrop for a lengthy and sincere tribute to the band's crew and back office.

The gist of the original was revisited, ad nauseum, for much of the 9/22/99 soundcheck. But that appearance was a few steps from the sweetness of the original, which had been a fun honorary nod to a crucial team member, during a wild late-show part of the show. This earlier soundchecked version starts out as a fun nod, about getting their per diem, and so perhaps for a moment was honorary… -ish. But then it was minutes and minutes and minutes of vocal larks – about Glasgow and Fishman, about money and food, about Jewishness and… well.. it rambled – as it should, for a soundcheck. We include a transcription as a second “version” in the lyrics, and index them as separate songs in the lyrics index. But if there’s ever a third appearance, it’ll be yet a new version, as we’d be shocked for the band to rehearse and re-perform either of these versions as is. So, for the bean counters seeking a rarity to hunt in their long game, stake your flag on The Third Dickie Scotland Song.

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