The Blarney Stone
"The Blarney Stone" is a song by Ween from the 1997 album The Mollusk.
Composition and Recording[edit | edit source]
"The Blarney Stone" was written by Gene Ween, but the lead vocals are sung by Dean Ween; introducing the song at a 2015 show, Gene said, "I wrote 'The Blarney Stone', but I gave it to Mickey, 'cause he does it a lot more justice."[1] The song was one of the earliest Mollusk songs written, and predates the album sessions by over a year; it was played live often beginning in the fall of 1994 on the Chocolate and Cheese tour. On said tour, the song was introduced as 'A 13th century Irish drinking song, which we wrote.'[2][3] Buckingham Green, another early Mollusk song, was debuted in 1992 in a performance which can be heard on the Cats Cradle album.
According to Guy Heller, "The Blarney Stone" is about their friend, a tattoo artist named Joe Rose, who is also the subject of the Moistboyz song "Asphalt Lullaby".[4]
The song was recorded in early 1996 on a four-track in Gene Ween's apartment. Ween then brought the tape to a rental house in New Hope, Pennsylvania that they were using after their first rented beach house flooded. To record the backing vocals, Ween threw a party in the studio. Dean Ween recounted: "We had two empty trash cans, and two hours into the party, we were smashing the bottles into the trash can. We did like 10 tracks of all of us singing along."[5]
Live Performances[edit | edit source]
Since its recording, "The Blarney Stone" has remained a common live song in Ween's live sets, including even the 1996 12 Golden Country Greats tour where it was adapted with country instrumentation.[6] A 11/8/2003 recording from the Quebec tour can be found on the DVD version of the Live in Chicago album.
"The Blarney Stone" has also been played live individually by both Gene Ween (solo acoustic) and Dean Ween (with the Dean Ween Group).[7]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
Official lyrics were printed in the liner notes of The Mollusk album:
Get off my ass, you wee bitty fuck
If I pull out the claymore, you're shit outta luck
Who's that girl, that pretty young thing?
After I fuck her, she'll get up and sing
Aye, aye, aye
Sharpen your boot, and bludgeon your eye
Aye, aye, aye
The Blarney Stone brings a tear to me eye
Down to the pub for a two-shilling ale
The bread on the counter is going stale
If I don't get some fresh bread soon
Gonna punch you in your face and bark at the moon
Aye, aye, aye
Sharpen your boot, and bludgeon your eye
Aye, aye, aye
The Blarney Stone brings a tear to me eye
Ain't got no girl, 'cuz I haven't the time
Got too many other things on me mind
Patty was nice, she was pale and cute
But I threw her away like an old piece of fruit
Aye, aye, aye
Sharpen your boot, and bludgeon your eye
Aye, aye, aye
The Blarney Stone brings a tear to me eye
Got ooze in my pores, my feet are all wet
Got mold in my ears, but I ain't dead yet
Got stones in me bladder, got a crack in me head
When Patty starts cryin', this is what I said
Aye, aye, aye
Sharpen your boot, and bludgeon your eye
Aye, aye, aye
The Blarney Stone brings a tear to me eye[8]
Song Themes[edit | edit source]
Alcohol/Drugs, Love, Profanity/Swearing, Sex, Sung by Dean Ween, Sung by Others
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eu-4e9PrrRU&t=1600s
- ↑ https://archive.org/details/Ween1994-09-01
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vHbl0Zcc9Zg&t=2727s
- ↑ Based on a Ween Archived interview with Guy Heller.
- ↑ https://www.stereogum.com/1951136/weens-the-mollusk-turns-20-an-oral-history-by-mickey-melchiondo/reviews/the-anniversary/
- ↑ https://brownbase.org/every_time_played.php?band=all%20bands&song_id=202
- ↑ https://brownbase.org/every_time_played.php?band=all%20bands&song_id=202
- ↑ From the Mollusk liner notes