Joy is over there in her incredible clothes
She has silver silk shimmering down to her toes
I was doing the best that I can I suppose
But that little girl dancer eventually grows
She grows

You can't imagine all the times that I tried
To uncover the source of the tears that you cried
Let's throw it away and just go for a ride
And you'd say ok but you'd keep it inside
And I tried

We want you to be happy
Don't live inside the gloom
We want you to be happy
Come step outside your room
We want you to be happy
Cause this is your song too

I never thought I could have it so good
You were the song that my soul understood
But time is a river that flows through the woods
And it led us to places we both understood
Would be gone
Before too long

When we were young we thought life was a game
But then somebody leaves you and you're never the same
All of the places and people belong
To the puzzle but one of the pieces is gone
And it's you
Joy, it's you

We want you to be happy
Don't live inside the gloom
We want you to be happy
Come step outside your room
We want you to be happy
Cause this is your song too

In time we'll weather this storm
Inside together you'll see the change
When the sun shines through

We want you to be happy
Don't live inside the gloom
We want you to be happy
Come step outside your room
We want you to be happy
'Cause this is your song too

Comments (6)

  • Anonymous
    Funny. I've never looked at the title, just listened to the album many times. One of my favorite Phish lyrics, perhaps my very favorite. Really though, it truly doesn't matter. I love this hootless perspective. It is very high and clear, and a beautiful song.
  • Anonymous
    I love you, always and forever... Please don't ever forget that... You were the best thing that has ever happened to me...
  • Anonymous
    this song rips my heart out. my 14 y/o sister was struggling with depression when i was 16 and kept threatening to kill herself. at one point i got sick of the threats and told her "if your gonna kill yourself go get a shotgun and do the job right." that was the last thing i ever said to her before she hung herself in the shower the next day. whenever i hear joy it makes me feel like the biggest asshole in the world. i still like to listen to it but usually by myself.
  • Anonymous
    This song makes me bawl. I can't understand how anyone could write something like this and not become depressed or messed up. i know i couldn't.
  • Anonymous
    Two of my best friends committed suicide within two weeks of each other in March, 2010. Katy Jane, March 8 and Danielle "Dee" March 23. Everytime I hear this song it reminds me of them. We would always jam out to Phish and the Disco Biscuits and Lotus, and they were just awesome people. This song completely describes Dee. She was my Joy, and I miss her like crazy. I miss them both. The way I see it is everything happens for a reason. I love you guys, R.I.P. Phish always says it better than I can.
  • Anonymous
    it is an incredible song... last night's Greek Theatre version is pretty good. your experiences on these comments shatter away the type of loss I have had but big or small, we've shared something similar... a missing puzzle piece results. yet, the strength (tho hard to find after gulping your tears and processing our recollections) is that to answer your question above... "This song makes me bawl. I can't understand how anyone could write something like this and not become depressed or messed up. i know i couldn't."....from this type of loss can come great strength. and thus, Joy. 1. Life means suffering.2. There is cause of suffering.3. Suffering can be overcome.4. The path to the cessation is the 8fold path