“Bug” always strikes me as overly vapid, not emotional at all. Most of the songs on Farmhouse - with the exception of Dirt and Josie Wales - feel that way to me.
Are jams fair game for this? Cuz that 11/24/09 Reba from Philly 2… listen to Trey’s guitar at the end. Holy fuck! SO much feeling going into that 
I totally agree. I was just saying from the perspective of musical structure, the verses are very similar, as are the repetition style choruses. I just figured I’d throw that out there. Waste is still the one I’d go with, if she is an “Oh Sweet Nuthin” fan.
The only time I ever cried while listening to Phish was when listening to the Cypress performance of Bug…granted I was completely dosed beyond all recognition that night, but it was also the moment I realized that Phish was the greatest band in the world.
actually, she’s heard waste and several of the others on this list. and she’s not into the AUD and SBD stuff i have, although i have told her she must see them live to fully understand.
i think the big difference is that oh sweet nothin is such a raw emotional song, and most of phish’s music has a certain polish to it that just doesn’t have the same effect. there are definitely some great lyrics in there, but the delivery just isn’t quite the same.
plus i get the impression that some of you are just throwing out ballads and slow songs because i said girlfriend 
swept away
weekapaug groove
Ballad of Curtis Loew.
wait… we’re talking about getting all emo about it??? yeah, that happened during strange design once… but it might have been the shrooms tearing up 
I can’t believe I hadn’t said it before, but the end composition in Lizards totally does it for me (the instrumental part when Tela is pulling Rutherford the Brave our of the water).
Phish doesn’t like me, so they don’t play that song for me live… but, if they did, I think I’d probably shed a tear during that part.
I love that part of lizards, definitely shed a tear or two listening to it
Dunno if it’s been mentioned before, but “What’s the Use?” has a real emotive quality to it, for me.
And yeah, I was thinking about the instrumental part of “Lizards” too.
Also, “The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday.”
Can’t help but notice the last few posts indicate an instrumental piece.
For me, most of the Rift album …except maybe Weigh. Unless you count the emotion of joy. Then it’s most of their music fer cryin out loud.
Which is just it, their music conveys the emotion of the dudes in the band, which happens to NOT usually be dead serious close-to-the-heart typical song fodder. Thank God.
Maybe she just hasn’t “gotten” them yet … personally, I think you gotta see these crazy muppets in action, onstage, bobbing their heads etc., to really get this band. And like most music, a fan has to find their own way to fandom. Ya gotta be ready to accept art on your own terms.
For me the emotion is more of an experience thing. Like I used to sing Contact to get my (suborn) daughter to go to sleep when she was 12-18 months old. You know, it’s repetitive and can be sung for 20 mins. I can not hear that song w/out realizing how much she’s grown. Last summer, Gotta Jibbo was played at my sons bed time at Greatwoods which was the song I’d sing to him while carrying him to bed. That was emotional for me. Later that summer I’d switched to Wolfman’s brother. . .which was played at Darien at his bed time. CRAZY, the only two shows I hit and both have the bedtime song I’m singing to my kid at bedtime. (BTW Contact was the encore at Greatwoods).
^ That’s super cool Randy. It’s definitely about context and will obviously differ from person to person. My friend Tiffany always gets misty when Velvet Sea is played b/c it’s kind of her husband’s song (and he is never there with her) so she misses him especially when that tune comes on.
But yeah, for me, Kevin’s right - I find far more emotional content in the instrumentals rather than the lyrics. There are exceptions of course - Col. Forbin’s Ascent comes to mind for some reason - but overall I think their music is way more expressive than their lyrics.
Divided Sky made me cry once, it was my last show at alpine, when they ‘retired’ prior to Coventry…
Hood, Reba, Bowie.
I’ve cried.
without a doubt the instrumentals are full of emotion, passion, etc. she’s more of a lyrics kind of girl, though. i keep reminding her they’re a live band, not a studio band, but she won’t listen to me
…yet 
I was going to say Squirming Coil, but not for emotional lyrics.
FEFY and Brian and Robert.
^^I actually find that Coil’s lyrics are emotionally powerful. The Coil got away from Satan, that’s gotta count as a victory for the good guys.