Waving My Dick in the Wind

"Waving My Dick in the Wind" is a song by Ween from the 1997 album The Mollusk.

Song Details

"Waving My Dick in the Wind" was written in the fall of 1995 around the time of recording sessions for both The Mollusk and 12 Golden Country Greats, and the band considered recording it as a country song with the Nashville musicians. But ultimately, according to Dean Ween, "we had to make a conscious decision of where that song was gonna go, so we put it on The Mollusk". The song idea started as a "trucker-type song . . . about a guy six days on the road, trying to make it home if all goes right." Dean also said of the writing process: "Gener was just making up the verses, like 'You’re a real good dancer,' and it was so fucking funny. . . . That’s the hardest I’ve ever laughed in a take."

The character of "Jimmy Wilson" who appears in the song is often identified with drummer Claude Coleman due to his personification of the character during live performances. However, Coleman has explained, "It's not really about me, though. Jimmy Wilson is just a name. Jimmy is what we call all our friends, like, 'Hey, what's up Jimmy, how's it going, James?' So [for the song] they just gave Jimmy a last name, and since Jimmy's doing the dance and I'm the drummer, I think the misconception is that I'm Jimmy Wilson. But it's not really about me, it's not because of me. As far as I know, anyway. It might be."

History & Live Performances

Ween performed a primitive version of "Waving My Dick in the Wind" as a live duo with DAT-deck accompaniment twice in the spring of 1996; in these early versions, Gene and Dean sing the vocals against only a bare drum track, and Dean only plays guitar during the breaks in between verses. A more fleshed out demo recording was made probably sometime following that early version. Found on the semi-official The Mollusk Sessions, the demo recording features some of the identical instrumental takes, as well as the "Jimmy Wilson" vocal part, that would later appear on the final album version.

The song's proper live premiere in a form closer to the version we know today was later in 1996 on the 12 Golden Country Greats tour with the Shit Creek Boys, and it was featured heavily throughout that tour with country instrumentation; a 10/23/1996 example can be heard on the Live in Toronto Canada album. Following that tour, "Waving My Dick in the Wind" continued to be played frequently, and has since remained one of Ween's most common live songs. A 7/7/2000 recording from the White Pepper tour was featured on the album Live at Stubb's.

Lyrics

Official lyrics were printed in the liner notes of The Mollusk album:

I'm waving my dick in the wind
Waving my dick in the wind
If it all goes right, I'll be in your arms tonight
But I'm wavin' my dick in the wind

I'm lost in the sauce once again
I'm lost in the sauce once again
If I make it through the night
Everything will be alright
But I'm lost in the sauce once again

It's been 97 days since I've laid my head beside you
And a million miles of highway in between
There's some red and blue lights that are shinin' right behind me
And that pig's a pretty mean bastard

You should have seen old Jimmy Wilson dance
You should have seen old Jimmy Wilson dance
Give that boy a dime, and you could have a chance
To see old Jimmy Wilson dance
Dance, Jimmy!

I've got a real good feelin' 'bout old Jimmy Wilson
Sho' 'nuff he's got what it takes
Do another number for me, please won't ya, Jimmy
'Cause you're a really good dancer!

Song Themes

Alcohol/Drugs, Love, Profanity/Swearing, Sung by Gene Ween, Sung by Others