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What would relationships be like if the burden of time were lifted, and with it the pressure to hurry forward to the next milestone, the next crisis, the next resolution? In “Fast Enough for You,” Tom Marshall supposes that we wouldn’t burden each other as we do with weighty expectations and needs unmet, and things would be a whole lot happier. But that’s not the way it is, and the lover to whom our narrator speaks is not content with the pace of the affair. He is thus a target for her scorn.

Watch Fast Enough for You on YouTube ”Fast Enough for You” – 1/4/03, Hampton, VA

Like relationships themselves, Phish ballads seem to run a common course (“familiarity breeds contempt breeds solitude breeds reconciliation,” perhaps) and so it has been with “FEFY.” Upon its introduction in 1992, it became a regular fixture in setlists for the next year and a half, along with “Horse” > “Silent.” As several new ballads were introduced in early 1994, including “Lifeboy” and “If I Could,” those songs tended to find favor in the down-tempo slots, and by 1997 (on the heels of the ballad-spangled Billy Breathes), “Fast Enough” had become downright rare. Since Phish's return to the stage in 2009, "FEFY" has settled into a very light rotation of two times a year, with recent versions to be found in excellent shows including 10/19/10 Augusta and 9/3/11 in Colorado.

Watch Fast Enough for You on YouTube ”Fast Enough for You” – 6/9/09, Asheville, NC

Though “FEFY” only varies slightly in the outro solo, there’s a discernible difference between an impassioned take and a phoned-in reading. It’s all about the energy, which means that 1993-94 versions often get the nod from fans. Many regard the 11/19/92 debut as the most distinctive version, as it features Gordon Stone’s silken pedal steel textures (as also heard on Rift).

(Anastasio/Marshall)
� Who Is She? Music, BMI

If time were only part of the equation
Then you could draw the boundaries of our cage
You wouldn't pile another stone upon me
And I'd be happy just to watch you age

But everything is in its own dominion
And waiting in the shallows as I do
Appeases me as water slowly trickles out
Which isn't nearly fast enough for you

It isn't nearly fast enough for you
It isn't nearly fast enough for you
It's what I was afraid of
I stumble into view
But it isn't nearly fast enough for you
It isn't nearly fast enough for you