Back to Basom

My interpretation of this song is personal and philosophical, and most likely not what Gener had in mind writing it, but here goes:

The Buddhist idea of enlightenment is about severing one's attachment to the material world of senses and objects. I hear this song as a response to that, celebrating the fact that it is precisely those attachments that bring meaning and pleasure to life. While the eventual goal is the end of suffering, along the way, suffering is inextricably linked to all our experiences.

How is that in the song? Check it out:

• We're talking about an idea that originated in South Asia - "Like seeking wonder from a foreign place".

• ...but it's accessible to any sentient being - "It matters not from where I'm coming".

• The destination, enlightenment, is in some sense inevitable - "A thread already spun".

• However, the journey of being reborn over and over again - "Please believe I'm only traveling"

• ...and learning lessons along the way, has to actually happen - "What you are is cooked until it's done".

• Our goal is to find and eliminate our worldly attachments - "Left to locate the last trace of waste".

• But, that attachment also brings meaning and pleasure - "Picked it up and it was smiling".

• There's an acknowledgment that the pleasure is always coupled with pain - "Like a dancer who has lost her legs / She laughs alone but then she's crying".

• The line "We sleep to tight when we're breathing" has a double-meaning. The reference to breathing addresses the practice of meditation and focusing on one's breath, as the dynamic interface between self and not-self. Also, breathing implies living in this world, which implies suffering, but nevertheless we love it in an innocent, child-like way: we "sleep so tight".

• The chorus sounds like the vow of a Bodhisattva: To remain in this world - "let me fly back to Basom" - postponing enlightenment and freedom - "calm the light", don't yet pass into the light - in order to help all sentient beings reach the goal.

• Basom itself, though it may be a town in New York, sounds like a earthy, worldly place, made of "base" elements. It's not a place of enlightenment, but rather the "base" from which we travel.

Like I said, this is just my own interpretation, and what the song means to me. The brothers Ween are amazing musicians and writers, and their songs must speak to many people in a million different ways.

Hail Boognish, yo.

I agree with feverfist that it's probably more a loosely impressionistic, rather than strictly symbolic sketch of childhood nostalgia. However the wonky patina of psychedelia is all over it (I mean come on, "Went to locate the last trace of waste, I picked it up and it was smiling?? Puuuleeease!!!): the weird sense of disembodiment, flight, general foreigness (like travelling to a strange place and not sure how you got there or from whence you came), the altered perception of light (calmed?), the synthenesia-like feel of the line "the snow's so light it's bleeding". So maybe, to tie some of these ideas together, they tripped out a lot in Basom when they were still relatively young and innocent, making it a nostalgic symbol for their early forays into chemicals and a metaphor itself for that magical trip to a strange, yet familiar, and wonderous, yet creepy place? Yeah, that sounds about right. Geener?

Basom is a town in far upstate New York, northeast of Buffalo. I looked it up. Now I don't know this for sure, maybe a bigger Ween nut than me can fill me in on this. Maybe one of the guys had a cabin up there or something. This song definately gives me images of a cabin in the winter, snuggled up with the one you love.

Somehow this has to do with Ween's childhood together. Saw that in an interview on Ween TV (Winamp), but wasn't really paying much attention.

Back to basom is a reference to childhood in general, a thread already spun is an allusion to the greek goddess who tucks and pulls thread through sustenance and returns to a demanding view of something new to return to a happy blue mooon and forever not the lyrics are in tune its back full of nothing is something to lune over monkeys bring back falsehoods of trackters dont bleieve in what you see its time for everything to be not anybody else but me but something is something and thats for free

This is easily my favorite song.

As for what its about, I'd say Nostalgia is the general theme. Its pretty prevalent in every part of the song if you read a little into it.

Wow this was the first song I listened to from White Pepper and its still one of my favorites. Im not sure about all of the details behind the music, but still, amazing song. When Ween is serious, they can pull off AMAZING music.

Like with any other Ween, it's never serious. The lyrics exist to inform the type of song atmosphere they are going for. This one sounds like Pink Floyd at parts, but they blend it.

Just look at the lyrics. Like a dancer who has lost her leg/she's alone but then she's crying. That's patently absurd and you can hear the smile on his face.

seeing as deaner loves fishing I always interpreted it as them fishing (fly fishing) a tribute to a good fishing spot or a memory of simpler days doing this. the "bleeding snow", "let me fly", "last trace of waste", loosely supports the theory. Never been fishing myself. Just a WEENer like everyone else.

Alotta Mofos on here are saying that Gener wrote this, but it says pretty clearly it was Deaner. I dont have a damn clue what it's about. Usually Gener writes songs like this one and Deaner writes more guitar rock asskickers, but that doesnt seem to be the case here.