Lyrics:

The Song:

This is one of the rarest Beck songs out there. Fans of the old Beck! The Setlists webpage will have seen this as listed as "Backwash Mother" on the June 21 1995 setlist. Before I heard it, I was unsure—I thought it could easily be an early version of "Hotwax" or even "Somewhere Far Along" (both of which use the word "backwash"). I'm glad to learn that it is its own song!

It's a punky, new wave kind of song, fast and energetic. Reminds me of a fuller "Burnt Orange Peel" or the like. It starts with a relatively long intro, and then Beck sings a line or two before shouting "Backwash" a number of times at the end.

This was only performed live once, that we know about anyway.

Live:

Played live once:
June 21, 1995

So far just the one recording is known. Was it really played at other shows in 1995?

I'd expect it to have been, but we need more recordings!

Notes:
Beck refers to the song as "Backwash" before starting it, so despite the web reports of a song called "Backwash Mother," I will use "Backwash" here. We've put "Backwash Mother" on another song anyway...