Birthday Boy
"Birthday Boy" is a song from the 1990 album GodWeenSatan: The Oneness.
Song Details[edit | edit source]
Recording and Composition[edit | edit source]
"Birthday Boy" is a psychedelic noise pop song with a minor amount of shoegazing elements. The studio version is in the key of C major, while for live performances it is transposed down to G major.
The song was written by Gene Ween, who also sings the lead vocal.[1] The song features no bass or drums. The end of the song features audio clips of real-life answering machine messages from Gene's relatives, including his aunt, wishing him a happy 20th birthday. At the very end of the track, a brief snippet of the Pink Floyd song "Echoes" from their concert video 'Live in Pompeii' can be heard.
The version that appears on The Big Timmy Wasserman Tape is the same recording that was released on GodWeenSatan.
Meaning[edit | edit source]
Introducing the song at the 2004 Bonnaroo Music Festival, Gene Ween said, "This song's about Barrett Christy, a famous snowboarder, in case you all didn't know. She's a lovely girl."[2] Gene has also said that he was "in hell" when he wrote the song.[3] Barrett Christy is in fact a professional snowboarder from New Hope, Pennsylvania.
Live Performances[edit | edit source]
The song was debuted by Gene Ween during a solo acoustic set for a radio studio in May of 1990, six months before the release of GodWeenSatan.[4] Since the song's proper live debut by Ween in late 1991, it has been a fairly common inclusion in live sets over the years.[5] Two live recordings have been officially released: a version from 12/9/1992 is on At the Cat's Cradle, 1992, and a version from the 9/14/2001 anniversary show is on GodWeenSatan: Live.
Gene has frequently included the song in solo acoustic performances as well. He has also played it with his bands Gene Ween Band and Freeman.[6]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
Official lyrics, handwritten by Dean Ween, were printed in the GodWeenSatan liner notes:
Yeah! Pain.
Last time I saw u, I was holding your hand
And I couldn't wait 4 u to leave
I knew right then that it was over and done
And I couldn't believe that I was free
Help me now, I'm going down
And I don't know if I'll be ok
I'll be around, I'll be in town
If u need a place to stay
When the wind blows and there's a chill in the air
I hope that someone is taking care of u
I'm alright, yeah I'm really ok
Just so u know, I'm always there 4 u
Help me now, I'm going down
And I don't know if I'll be ok
I'll be around, I'll be in town
If u need a place to stay[7]
Song Themes[edit | edit source]
Band Members Named in the Song, Love, Sung by Gene Ween, Sung by Others
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072021/http://www.popmatters.com/feature/ween-030819/
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mp3GDgia8f8&list=PLCFkKHx7uMC8hgi2v01bd_LMCUC3816Zr&index=21
- ↑ https://web.archive.org/web/20160304072021/http://www.popmatters.com/feature/ween-030819/
- ↑ https://brownbase.org/setlist.php?band=all%20bands&show_id=1366
- ↑ https://brownbase.org/every_time_played.php?band=all%20bands&song_id=19
- ↑ https://brownbase.org/every_time_played.php?band=all%20bands&song_id=19
- ↑ From the GodWeenSatan liner notes; lightly edited for clarity.