Big Jilm
"Big Jilm" is a song by Ween from the 1992 album Pure Guava. An alternate version can also be found on the Eravis Spring '91 Tape (1991).[1]
Song Details[edit | edit source]
Meaning[edit | edit source]
"Big Jilm" is based on a real person, Jim Lemons, who worked at Dean Ween's father's car dealership when he was growing up.[2] As Dean himself explained:
It's written about a guy worked for my father, this old black guy who had a car detailing service when I was growing up, this nice old guy, Jim Lemons.[3]
Jim Lemons passed away at the age of 85 in 2010, and his obituary was published in The Trentonian.[4]
The misspelling of Jim as "Jilm" in the song title is allegedly due to Deaner's handwriting.[5]
Live Performances[edit | edit source]
"Big Jilm" was played live as early as July 1991, over a year before its release on Pure Guava. Although it was not very common in the DAT-deck era, Ween started playing the song frequently with the live band on the Chocolate and Cheese tour, and it has remained a common live song ever since (including on the 1996 country tour with the Shit Creek Boys, when it was reworked with country instrumentation).[6] It has also been played by Gene Ween at solo acoustic shows, as well as by the Dean Ween Group.[7]
Three live recordings have been officially released:
- 12/9/1992 - At the Cat's Cradle, 1992
- 7/8/2000 - Live at Stubb's, 7/2000
- 11/8/2003 - Live in Chicago (DVD version only)
In a 2012 interview, Dean Ween described how different the live song is from the studio version.
One of our fans . . . put up a YouTube video of a version of "Big Jim" from Pure Guava. I think it's been like seventeen years since I heard it. It took me a second to even realize what I was listening to. It's like no similarities at all to the live versions.[8]
Lyrics[edit | edit source]
The Pure Guava lyric sheet contains official lyrics in Dean Ween's handwriting:
Rollin' and wheelin', stealin' and dealin'
Big Jim
Boll weevil, it's a pleazel, it's a pleazel my weasel
Big Jim
Dreamin' and schemin', screamin' and bleedin'
Big Jim
Froggy in the meadow, under the log
Big Jim
Rollin' and wheelin', stealin' and dealin'
Big Jim
What's the biggest thing u ever did done see?
Big Jim[9]
Song Themes[edit | edit source]
Screaming, Sung by Dean Ween, Sung by Gene Ween, Tape Speed Manipulation, Weasel
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emkY2VFRMV0
- ↑ https://www.facebook.com/ween/photos/a.380875668563.161451.33881673563/439525763563/?type=1&theater
- ↑ "Ween's Pure Guava turns twenty years old today", Westword
- ↑ https://www.legacy.com/us/obituaries/trentonian/name/james-lemons-obituary?pid=145721733
- ↑ [citation needed]
- ↑ https://brownbase.org/every_time_played.php?band=all%20bands&song_id=18
- ↑ https://brownbase.org/every_time_played.php?band=all%20bands&song_id=18
- ↑ "Ween's Pure Guava turns twenty years old today", Westword
- ↑ From the official Pure Guava lyric sheet; lightly edited for clarity.