Tag Archives: juicy

#810: Ween – Marble Tulip Juicy Tree

I could never have predicted what I would be in for when I chose to listen to GodWeenSatan: The Oneness for the first time back in 2015. Before then, The Mollusk was the only Ween album I’d heard. And I thought that album was fantastic. Still do, today. So I went on Spotify, searched up Ween and thought, “Why not?” and pushed play. ‘You Fucked Up’ started and finished, and I was into it from then on. The madness started there and for another 70+ minutes just kept coming. I would describe ‘Marble Tulip Juicy Tree’ as the grand finale of the entire album. It’s what the previous 24 songs (or 27 if you have the ‘Anniversary’ edition) have been leading up to. Even though ‘Puffy Cloud’ is the album’s actual closer, I think of it as more of a credits song. Or at least something that comes in the stinger.

So what’s ‘Marble Tulip Juicy Tree’ about? If you were to guess that it would be about nothing just from looking at the title, you would be right. You’d also be a bit wrong too. It’s about everything, and nothing at the same time. It’s no secret that members Gene Ween and Dean Ween dabbled in a lot of drugs in their younger age. The lyrical content would probably have been inspired by some mushroom-LSD-hallucinogenic trip. That doesn’t stop it from being one of the most uplifting and glorious punk rock songs that I know. I think this song is made up of only five chords, but the way everything’s just executed is brilliant. Backwards guitars, guitar solos that pan from one ear to the other. There’s this booming speech by one of the band members friends that comes in as the song nears its end, and when that finishes the track climaxes with these strident guitar strums and what sounds like some sampled strings. It’s a massive song, honestly.

Listening to GodWeenSatan that one time sent me on a journey. 2015/2016 was my Ween year. I started a song discussion thread thing on the Ween reddit, I was so hyped about them. And coincidentally, the band reunited while I was gradually making my way through their discography. It was a good time to be a Ween fan. Glad I did become one sooner rather than later.