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Cover of Tales From the Punchbowl by Primus
Cover: Tales From the Punchbowl

Song · Primus

“Wynona's Big Brown Beaver” by Primus

From the album Tales From the Punchbowl (1995)

“Wynona's Big Brown Beaver” by Primus appears on 40 radio countdowns from 23 stations between 1995 and 2025. It was first released in 1995 on the album Tales From the Punchbowl. Its best result is #28 on the WBER Listener Countdown 1995. In the combined RockLists rankings it is the #46 alternative song of 1995, #1,490 alternative song of all time and #315 of the '90s.

40countdowns
23stations
#28best position
0#1 finishes
0top 10 finishes
1995–2025years charted

Watch

Primus - Wynona's Big Brown Beaver (Official Video) (Digitally Remastered) [HD/2160p/60fps]

Video from YouTube (WTFMusic ᴴᴰ). Pressing play loads YouTube's player. Watch on YouTube

"Wynona's Big Brown Beaver" was the first single from Tales from the Punchbowl, Primus's fourth studio album, in 1995, and it's exactly as ridiculous as it sounds: a funky barnyard hoedown knocked sideways. Les Claypool wrote the words, he, Tim Alexander and Larry LaLonde built the music, and the band produced it themselves.

The inspiration came on a fly-fishing trip in Lassen County, where Claypool rounded a corner at sundown and came face to face with an enormous beaver. Each scared the other half to death, and the image stuck. He later admitted the song was never meant to become what it did. It even drew a Grammy nomination for Best Hard Rock Performance in 1996, and LaLonde was the only member of the band in attendance.

Written with AI assistance from RockLists chart data, MusicBrainz and Wikipedia.

RockLists rankings

Alternative & Modern Rock

Indie & Adult Alternative

Hard Rock & Metal

All Rock Formats

Year-end countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1995 54 KROQ Los Angeles, CA KROQ Top 106.7 Songs of 1995 107
1995 73 91X San Diego, CA / Tijuana 91X Top 91 Songs of 1995 91
1995 43 Q101 Chicago, IL Q101 Top 101 Songs of 1995 101
1995 81 WHFS Washington, DC / Baltimore, MD WHFS Top 99.1 Songs of 1995 100
1995 97 Radio 104.1 Hartford-New Haven, CT WMRQ Top 104 Songs of 1995 104
1995 28 WBER Rochester, NY WBER Listener Countdown 1995 50
1995 30 103.1 The Buzz West Palm Beach, FL The Buzz Top 103 Alternative Songs of '95 103
1995 40 Triple J Australia (national) Triple J Hottest 100 of 1995 100
1995 62 Radio & Records United States (national airplay chart) Radio & Records Top 95 Songs of 1995 95
1995 69 WDRE Philadelphia Philadelphia, PA WDRE Top 103.9 Songs of 1995 104

All-time and decade countdowns

Year#StationCountdownof
1995 194 Live 105 Live 105 Revolutionary 300 (July 1995) 300
1995 719 KISW KISW Top 1000 of All Time (1995) 1000
1999 232 KROQ KROQ Top 300 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 1999) 300
1999 371 91X 91X Fat 500 Songs of All-Time (July 1999) 500
1999 340 Q101 Q101 Top 1,011 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1017
1999 582 107.7 The End The End Top 1077 Songs of All-Time (December 1999) 1077
1999 863 CFNY 102.1 The Edge CFNY Top 1002 Songs of All-Time (November 1999) 1002
2002 60 K-Rock K-Rock Top 92 Party Songs of All-Time (2002) 92
2002 415 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2002) 500
2002 864 KISW KISW Top 999 of All Time (2002) 999
2002 1707 Fred (XM 44) Fred XM Top 2002 Songs of All-Time (July 2002) 2002
2003 410 WOXY 97X WOXY Modern Rock 500 (2003) 500
2004 248 Q101 Q101 Top 300 Party Songs of All-Time (July 2004) 300
2004 327 107.7 The End The End Original Alternative 500 (May 2004) 500
2005 357 99X 99X Freedom of Choice 1000 (2005) 1000
2006 100 107.7 The End The End Top 107 Songs of the '90s (December 2006) 107
2006 229 KROQ KROQ Flashback 500 (Memorial Day 2006) 500
2007 264 KROQ KROQ Top 500 Most Requested Songs of the '90s (Labor Day 2007) 500
2014 337 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2014) 500
2015 351 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2015) 500
2019 60 X96 X96's Top 100 Songs of the 90's 100
2019 311 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2019) 500
2020 331 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2020) 420
2021 538 90.9 The Bridge 90.9 The Bridge Top 909 Songs of the '90s 908
2021 327 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2021) 420
2022 222 X96 X96 Top 500 Alternative Songs of All Time 500
2022 388 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2022) 420
2023 393 94.3 WCYY WCYY CYY 500 Most Played Songs (2023) 500
2023 396 105.9 The X 105.9 The X July 420 (2023) 420
2025 463 WFPK WFPK Top 500 Songs of the '90s 500

Also listed as: Wyonna's Big Brown Beaver; Wynonna's Big Brown Beaver; Winona's Big Brown Beaver; Wynonas Big Brown Beaver.

Charting alongside it in 1995

Best songs of 1995 →
  1. 1You Oughta KnowAlanis Morissette
  2. 2LumpThe Presidents of the United States of America
  3. 3Lightning CrashesLive
  4. 4Bullet With Butterfly WingsThe Smashing Pumpkins
  5. 5NameGoo Goo Dolls
  6. 6My FriendsRed Hot Chili Peppers

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