Hello Phish Phans!
This week we will be listening to a phan favorite: Harpua. Harpua is a fun song because like Colonel Forbin’s Ascent (see newsletter from March 5), Trey tells a story in the middle of the song. The story of Harpua is simple: a boy named Jimmy lives in a suburban neighborhood with his pet cat, Poster Nutbag. One day, Poster Nutbag is out wandering around and encounters a mean old dog named Harpua. Poster Nutbag and Harpua get in a scuffle, and Poster dies. Jimmy’s father tries to console his son, suggesting he gets a goldfish for a new pet, but Jimmy tells him he wants a dog.
Early versions of the song (late ‘80s – early ‘90s) feature that basic story. In the mid-90s, the story began to evolve. Here are two such versions, one from ’94 and one from ’96. This 1994 version contains narration of a comet crashing into Jupiter, which causes the band to start playing Also Sprach Zarathustra. It is later revealed that Poster Nutbag is hit by a comet and dies. This version contains much of the backstory so I would suggest listening to this version before the 1996 version if you have not listened to a Harpua before.
In the 1996 version, Trey tells the story of Jimmy and Poster’s journey to Las Vegas (where the band was currently playing). This version features Les Claypool and Larry LaLonde of Primus with a debut of “Wildwood Weed” with Les Claypool on vocals. Later, during Trey’s narration, Jimmy and Poster sing “I Want to be a Cowboy’s Sweetheart” at their campfire, which features the Yodeling Cowgirls on vocals. As Jimmy and Poster approach Vegas, they are met by four Elvis impersonators who demand that Jimmy battle them in an Elvis impersonation competition before entering Las Vegas (featuring Jon Fishman in the role of Jimmy and four Elvis impersonators). This version is ~27 minutes, but the full song is contained in one youtube video and is entertaining to watch. Also, if the beginning sounds weird, it’s because they are playing Harpua in 4/4 time (it is usually in 7/4 time).
Here are the two versions:
7/16/1994: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kj8wWdGJWqc
12/6/1996: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrEp7-5xtTM
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