Songfacts®:

• The album The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday was never officially released but is the cornerstone of the Phish legacy. Phish frontman Trey Anasatasio made it for his senior thesis project at Goddard College, and it was played in parts (and occasionally as a whole) throughout Phish's existence.
  
  Of the 14 songs on the album, Anastasio called "Tela" his favorite. He also said it was the most time consuming.
• The Man Who Stepped Into Yesterday evolved into the song cycle known as Gamehendge, which tells a complex story about a rebellion against King Wilson in the fictional world of Gamehendge.
  
  The narrative is long and detailed, and made even more complicated by the fact that it employs multiple narrators of varying reliability, meaning that we are often uncertain if we're being told the truth.
  
  In the broader story, "Tela" is a female character. Some have theorized that she represents the feminine archetype. Whatever or whoever Tela is, the song's narrator is Colonel Forbin, a central character in the story and one who is trying to break into the evil King Wilson's castle in order to steal the Helping Friendly Book.
  
  Forbin is completely leveled by Tela, who "was born in a vulgar crooked hut in the shadow of Wilson's castle."
• Anastasio wrote the words in the spirit of poetry more than lyrics, and it shows in the language. The song describes a woman of transcendent beauty and purity. It's not much more than that - a love poem. Tela's role in the broader story is never made clear.
  
  Interpretations fall into two camps. There are those who think Tela was a spy, and those who staunchly deny that claim.