On Your Way Down

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Originally Performed By	Allen Toussaint
Original Album	Life, Love, and Faith (1972)
Appears On
Music/Lyrics	Allen Toussaint
Vocals	Page
Historian	Mockingbird Staff
Last Update	2016-03-04

History

“On Your Way Down” was penned by the late Allen Toussaint, appearing on his 1972 release Life, Love, and Faith. The song is better known for the Little Feat version appearing on Dixie Chicken; indeed, most listeners typically attribute it as a Little Feat song. 

Phish first performed “On Your Way Down” on 6/24/88 at Halverson’s in Burlington, and it lived for a little over a year in the repertoire before dropping from rotation after 8/12/89. Early Phish versions had a raw energy that comes from being on your way up, touring from windowless moving trucks, and sleeping on YMCA floors.

Allen Toussaint, "On Your Way Down" – Life, Love, and Faith

Ten years and 1,007 shows later, “On Your Way Down” resurfaced on 9/16/99 at Shoreline, and was played twice more on that fall tour (9/25/99 and 10/2/99). The song made one stop during Phish 2.0, on 7/30/03 in Camden in a set that also included “Lonesome Cowboy Bill” and the Phish debut of “You Ain’t Goin’ Nowhere.” 

“On Your Way Down” was performed a handful of times in Phish’s early 3.0 period. From recent performances, try 11/27/09 Albany, 8/15/10 Alpine Valley (three days after the death of Richie Hayward, the drummer and founding member of Little Feat), or the final Phish performance to date, 8/6/11 at the Gorge.

"On Your Way Down" – Phish, 8/15/10, East Troy, WI

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