"Sample in a Jar" is a 1994 song by the American band Phish. It is the seventh track from their 1994 album Hoist and was released as their sixth promotional single by Elektra Records. The song is a pop, rock song written by Phish guitarist and lead vocalist Trey Anastasio and lyricist Tom Marshall. On the surface, the lyrics seem to deal with a relationship argument while intoxicated. In The Phish Book, Trey mentioned that the song is “basically about sitting in a car with the seatbelt on, drunk.”