Wynona's Big Brown Beaver

"Wynona's Big Brown Beaver"
Single by Primus
from the album Tales from the Punchbowl
Released	1995
Studio	Rancho Relaxo (Sebastopol, California)
Genre	Alternative rock [1] [2] blues rock [3]
Length	4:24
Label	Interscope
Songwriters	Les Claypool Larry LaLonde Tim Alexander
Producer	Primus
Primus singles chronology
"Mr. Krinkle" (1993) "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" (1995) "Mrs. Blaileen" (1996)

"Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" is a song by the American rock band Primus. It was released as the first single from their fourth studio album, Tales from the Punchbowl (1995). The song was nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1996. Of the band's three members, only guitarist Larry LaLonde showed up at the event. The award went to Pearl Jam for their song "Spin the Black Circle".

Controversy

Music journalists speculated that "Wynona" was about actress Winona Ryder; Ryder herself supposedly confronted the band about it backstage at HFStival, ^[4] but Claypool contradicted this account saying "I met Winona Ryder. She had heard from a friend of ours that I'd possibly written a song about her. She's actually really cool. She wasn't pissed really; I think she was just more confused. She wanted to know why we might write a song about her and I told her, 'It has nothing to do with you.' It was really cool. I got to meet a movie star." ^[5] He also said he was surprised he was not asked about country singer Wynonna Judd instead, considering the song's country music influence and the name being pronounced and spelled with a "y", which was closer to Judd's name. ^[6]

Legacy

Voodoo Brewery makes "Wynona's Big Brown Ale" in honor of the song and band. ^[7]

Track listing

1. "Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" – 4:23
2. "Hello Skinny/Constantinople" – 4:44 (originally by The Residents)
3. "Hellbound 17½ (Theme From)" – 2:59
4. "Have a Cigar" – 5:26 (only available on German edition of the single; originally by Pink Floyd)

Charts

Chart (1995)	Peak position
Australia (ARIA) [8]	80
US Alternative Airplay ( Billboard ) [9]	12
US Mainstream Rock ( Billboard ) [10]	23
US Radio Songs ( Billboard ) [11]	62

References

1. Tady, Scott (March 4, 2014). "Unusual as ever, Claypool entertains". Beaver County Times . Retrieved December 13, 2025.
2. Zaleski, Annie (May 20, 2014). "The Faint, Iceage, Primus, Hayes Carll, Pujol: 5 Must-See Cleveland Weekend Shows". Cleveland.com . Retrieved December 13, 2025.
3. Dalton, Stephen (July 28, 2015). "Primus And The Chocolate Factory Live In Manchester". Louder . Retrieved December 13, 2025.
4. Beaujon, Andrew (April 26, 2023). "When RFK Stadium Alt-Rocked".
5. "Interview with Primus from BAM magazine, July 11, 1997". www.ram.org.
6. Considine, J. D. (June 2, 1995). "For Primus, the punch is in energy and interplay". Baltimore Sun . Archived from the original on July 30, 2018.
7. "Wynona's Big Brown Ale". Voodoo Brewery. Retrieved 2020-02-04.
8. "The ARIA Australian Top 100 Singles Chart – Week Ending 06 Aug 1995". Imgur.com (original document published by ARIA). Retrieved 2017-06-01. N.B. The HP column displays the highest peak reached.
9. "Primus Chart History (Alternative Airplay)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
10. "Primus Chart History (Mainstream Rock)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2021.
11. "Primus Chart History (Radio Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved May 28, 2021.