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The delightful and lilting ballad “Frost” debuted with TAB on 10/6/11 at the Thomas Wolfe Auditorium in Asheville, NC. At that gig Trey noted that the song was co-written with Tom Marshall just before that tour kicked off; it was written at the same writing session at Manhattan’s Jungle City Studio that produced “Winterqueen,” the only TAB song that made the cut for Phish’s 2013 Halloween performance of Wingsuit. Tom Marshall explained that the lyric released officially as "maybe he would sail away" was written "maybe he was sent away," and Trey has performed the song both ways, sometimes in the same performance.

Watch Frost on YouTube Trey Anastasio "Frost" - 3/8/17, Northampton, MA. Video by aerofan2007.

Lyrically “Frost” draws from the metaphorical well that has served Anastasio/Marshall compositions for decades – wind, water, frayed communication, all in a chilly motif. The studio version that appears on Trey’s 2012 release, Traveler, features a haunting organ part from Ray Paczkowski. Trey noted in an interview with Sirius JamOn that the organ part was recorded in a big empty room and sounds like “outer space music.”

Watch Frost on YouTube TAB, “Frost” – 10/18/12, Detroit, MI

“Frost” stuck to the TAB repertoire – appearing in most TAB shows from its debut through the 2013 spring tour promoting Traveler – where the haunting, dreamlike fairy tale qualities of the song are enhanced by the vocals of Natalie Cressman and Jennifer Hartswick. “Frost” was soundchecked three times on Phish’s 2013 summer tour, before finally breaking through on 7/17/13 in Alpharetta, GA.

Watch Frost on YouTube Trey Anastasio w/ LA Philharmonic "Frost" - 9/26/14, Los Angeles, CA. Video by Grunzy Channel.

“Frost” was scored for full orchestra by long-time collaborator Don Hart, making its orchestral debut at Anastasio’s performance with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center on 5/22/13. The only song from Traveler to make the jump to orchestra (and the only new song introduced at Trey’s only orchestral performance of 2013), the stunningly gorgeous orchestration combined with a pristine vocal offering from Trey was a highlight of this magnificent show.

Watch Frost on YouTube Phish "Frost" - 7/17/13, Alpharetta, GA. Video by shinepigeon.

(Anastasio/Marshall)
© Seven Below, Inc. (BMI)

the mistress of the dawn strides along
with her solitary pawn who lingers on then is gone
with no word and no one heard where he went to this day
maybe he would sail away [or: "maybe he was sent away" which is how it was first written. See history for more context.]

the children of the sun having fun
didn’t realize they were done because the pawn chanced to wander
through the camp just like a tramp he left his stamp there to this day
maybe he would sail away [or: "maybe he was sent away"]

gone are silent summer rains
wind is rolling off the plains
bringing ice upon the breeze
making flowing water freeze

the minstrel of the land made a stand in a castle built of sand
watched it fall in the frost and the message was lost
with one last word to deliver under ice upon the river it lies frozen to this day
maybe he would sail away [or: "maybe he was sent away"]