Chalk Dust Torture

"Chalk Dust Torture" is a 1992 song by the American band Phish. It is the thirteenth track from their 1992 album A Picture of Nectar and was also released as their first promotional single by Elektra Records. The song is a riff-based, fast-paced rock song written by Phish guitarist and lead vocalist Trey Anastasio and lyricist Tom Marshall. The studio recording features a lowered pitch effect on Anastasio's lead vocal, and in order to accommodate the lower pitch (one half-step down), the song's typical key of E was dropped to Eb. "Chalk Dust Torture" was the band's first song to receive significant radio airplay, peaking at No. 53 on the Radio & Records Album-oriented rock chart in 1992.