The Way It Goes

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Originally Performed By	Gillian Welch
Original Album	The Harrow & The Harvest (2011)
Appears On
Music/Lyrics	Gillian Welch, David Rawlings
Vocals	Mike (lead), Page, Trey (backing)
Historian	Dan Mielcarz (ColForbin)
Last Update	2018-10-08

History

In the afternoon of 9/4/11 prior to the show, the soundcheck started to circulate through social media.  These 33 minutes of music contained some great jamming on “50 Ways to Leave Your Lover” as well as several attempts at playing “The Way it Goes” by Gillian Welch. A dark country-blues meditation on growing old and watching one’s friends die, move away, go to jail or worse - have children, “The Way it Goes” is one of the strongest tracks on Welch’s fifth album, The Harrow & The Harvest. 

Gillian Welch, "The Way it Goes"

Fans wondered if the soundcheck attempts meant that Phish would play the tune at that night’s show at Dick’s, and indeed they did. Phish’s performance of “The Way it Goes” clocked in at about five minutes and was relatively faithful to the album version, with the most notable difference being the change in instrumentation from the two acoustic guitars in the Welch and Rawlings original. Of note is the care with which Trey and Mike begin the song, ensuring that the tempo was perfect (see the video below). The 9/4/11 version remains the only time Phish has played the song.

“The Way it Goes” 9/4/11 Commerce City, CO

While “The Way it Goes” may have been destined to be a one-time cover by Phish, Mike was not ready to let go of the tune. It resurfaced during Mike’s fall tour on 11/13/11 in Lebanon, NH with a more jammed out and uptempo version. Scott Murawski is clearly more at home in the country-blues milieu than Trey and his playing adds a ton to the performance (not to mention he probably had the advantage of not learning the song four hours before attempting it on stage). A month later at The Egg in Albany on 12/11/11 Mike’s band took “The Way it Goes” to amazing new places. In a 12 minute version of the tune, Mike and his band take a long journey to the very edge of a Type II jam and back to the coda. If you like this tune, and you like Mike (who doesn’t, really?), this is an absolute must hear. This show is generally considered one of Mike’s best, and is available from LivePhish.com for free, so what are you waiting for? Grab a copy!

Mike Gordon, “The Way it Goes” 12/11/11 Albany, NY

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