The Wagon is a song by alternative rock band Dinosaur Jr., released on their 1990 album Green Mind. The Wagon was released as single album on January 21, 1991. Featuring lyrics inspired by the band’s use of station wagons for transportation in its early days, the song was written by J Mascis and was one of the three songs on Green Mind to include drummer Murph.
The song was released as a single, reaching number 49 in the UK and number 22 on the US Modern Rock charts. It has since seen critical acclaim for its composition, production, and instrumental performance.
J Mascis stated in an interview that The Wagon was partly inspired by the station wagons that he and Lou Barlow used to get around in the early days of the band. He explained:
“I don’t know, we always had a (station) wagon. Me and Lou, our parents both had a wagon, and that’s how we’d get around, in our parents’ cars. On our first tour, we did it in a station wagon. I guess that was all we knew of cars. It was a good car ’cause it held a lot of stuff. It was kind of a part of the band when we started. I wish cars still had the wood paneling”.
The Wagon was the group’s first recording without original bassist Lou Barlow. The song was also one of the three on Green Mind which features drummer Murph, with Mascis and Jay Spiegel drumming on the other songs on the album. Don Fleming of Gumball appears on guitar.
Tracklist:
- The Wagon
- Pebbles Weeds
- The Little Baby
- Quicksand
Dinosaur Jr.
J Mascis: vocals, guitar, bass, drums, producer
Murph: drums
