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Rift Lyrics

Last night, in the moments my thoughts were adrift

And coasting a terrace, approaching a rift

Through which I could spy several glimpses beneath

Of the darkness the light from above could not reach

I spied wings of reason, herself taking flight

And upon yonder precipice saw her alight

And glared back at me one last look of dismay

As if she were the last one she thought I'd betray


So much better I said to myself

And drawing quite close to the top of the shelf

I struggled with destiny upon the ledge

And gasped when defeated he slipped off the edge

And silence contagious in moments like these

Consumed me and strengthened my will to appease

The passion that sparked me one terrible night

And shocked and persuaded my soul to ignite


[repeat second verse]
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12 Meanings

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Cover art for Rift lyrics by Phish

This is the FIRST Phish tune I ever sat down and listented to.....needless to say, I was hooked. Makes me want to get up and dance.

Cover art for Rift lyrics by Phish

Trey actually said that Rift is about a guy going through a "rift" in a relationship, thinking about the relationship and trying to sleep and think things through over the course of the album.

Basically on this song, the guy's literally drifting off to sleep and thinking about the relationship with the logic that being half-asleep affords.

Song Meaning
Cover art for Rift lyrics by Phish

they leave each line hanging like its a sentance of its own and makes you wonder.. MORE COW BELLS.. haha and it sounds like a barbershop quartette(?) at the beginning - wonderful combo

Cover art for Rift lyrics by Phish

i think its about cheating on your loved one

Cover art for Rift lyrics by Phish

acid trip?

No moron.

Cover art for Rift lyrics by Phish

I would also like to point out that the next song on that album , when compared to the song "rift", isn't nearly fast enough for me.

Cover art for Rift lyrics by Phish

This song is about the "call of the void", those moments when you think about how you could just jump off a cliff and end your life (but don't).

In this song, the narrator is driving by a rift when he experiences the call of the void. However, he actually listens, getting out of the car and walking up to the edge (this sudden decision is also "betraying reason").

At this point he "struggles with destiny" - fighting with the idea that he has his whole life ahead of him, worth living. After winning against this thought, he does then proceed to jump.

After his leap, the narrator's life flashes before his eyes - the instrumental section of the song. He relives points in his life up until the fateful jump. At this point the lyrics repeat, showing him again struggling with and defeating "destiny" just before his jump.

But this time, he envisions a destiny as a person falling down into the rift ... and the sudden silence brings him back to his senses. Shocked that he got so close to ending his life, the narrator gets up and leaves, feeling wholly changed by the experience ("The passion that sparked me one terrible night...")

Unfortunately, he doesn't get very far, because he really did jump. The narrator dies upon reaching the bottom of the rift (similar to An Occurrence at Owl Creek Bridge). This is also because of how destiny, "...when defeated ... slipped off the edge" as his new destiny is to likewise jump into the rift.

PS anyone else picture the embodiment of destiny as Destiny from Neil Gaiman's The Sandman?

My Interpretation
Cover art for Rift lyrics by Phish

It\'s about the moment the writer made an important decision

My Interpretation
Cover art for Rift lyrics by Phish

I like to think that this, along with not just many Phish songs, but many songs in general, the meaning is somewhat adaptable and personal to the listener... and can change with time, situations, and people ????????‍♀️

I put a shrugging emoji at the end, it showed up as ?'s and a female symbol {insert shrugging emoji here}

Cover art for Rift lyrics by Phish

i think this song is talking about when a person promises not to do something like drugs for example ever again and he gets seen by someone important to him and he say fuck it like why the fuck does she care "as if she were the last one she thought id betray" because he justs wants to get higgh and not worry about it then