WOLFMAN BY THE FRONT BOTTOMS : MY ANNOTATION

I'm not going to deny that I have an addictive personality. I will beat a song to death, and then have it rise from the ashes only a few weeks later to repeat the cycle. I love what I love, and will be loyal until the end. I've been addicted to The Front Bottoms' sing-talky style and odd lyric choices since early 2014. I was listening to I Hate My Friends on YouTube in my angst and belting every word before field hockey practice. However, as much as I love the New Jersey grown band, there are a few songs that REAAALLY click a gear within me.

Wolfman is one of those songs. It's got more magic to me than most of Brian Sella's others. Shall we dissect it? Well, this is my blog/website/mind space..so yes, we shall.

[Verse 1]

Deep and slow, that's how it goes

If anyone asks, yeah, I already know

Okay this, to me, is about the gut feeling that women get. It's the intuition. We know before we know. I knew who the other woman was months before, just seeing her name on Instagram. I knew that it wasn't right and I was proven correct too late. It's a deep intuition and it's calming to know it exists even if it only brings chaotic news.

'Cause I got this pain in my chest

Now this is the anxiety that follows before you've confirmed whatever the gut is leaning towards.

Every time I swim to consciousness

And I misspelled every word perfectly

These lines always strike me as self-destructive behavior. Like when it's too good to be true and you self-sabotage, intentional or not. You're misspelling, but perfectly. You're swimming towards understanding, but avoiding.

Every mistake made was purposely

Gaslight? Girlbossing? Gatekeeping? You know the right answer but once again, self-sabotage.

And my head is pounding to the beat of my heart

Anxiety over the intuition. Periodt. You can pretend it's butterflies...if you so dare.

[Chorus]

You are a broken heart tattoo

It's permanent. It's visible to all. You're scarred.

I'll have forever on my chest

Literal and metaphorical. Heartbreak - romantic, platonic, familial, internal, situational.

For a love that I have lost

But never could forget

Maybe it's over the life you thought you'd have (which is my own reason for loving the line) or maybe it's for a love that never got the right soil to bloom. Maybe it's the passing of two people and the story that could've been. There's a romance in the unknown but there's also so much grief.

[Verse 2]

Say what you have to say

Try not to cry

I'll never NOT say what I have to say. I'll yap all day. And it's been the destruction of more than one love. I will always be honest because I rather lose love with the truth than keep it under the umbrella of a lie. I'm not perfect, but I never act with ill intent. However, sometimes that matters less.

This is just not what you wanted

At this point in your life

I had it planned out. I was the type to make a Five Year Plan and adjust it often. But I don't anymore. I thought I'd have the house and the ring. But I wasn't ready and as much as I'm excited for that stage, I'm not seeking it out like I was.

It's so hard to stay

When all you wanna do is ride

I totally get you, I was a birdcage

And you were meant to fly

Despite wanting the world and more, sometimes we find ourselves in relationships (both romantic and platonic, possibly familial) that pigeonhole us. Sometimes is no fault of either party, but one wants roots and one has wings. It's sad and sweet and a tale as old as time. I appreciate the narrative coming from the roots.

[Chorus]

You are a broken heart tattoo

I'll have forever on my chest

For a love that I have lost

But never will forget

TFB changes the "never could forget" to "never will". It's reassuring. It's the details that matter here.

[Bridge]

I shook 'til I came out of it

I shook 'til I came out of it

I shook 'til I came out of it

I shook 'til I came out of it

AHA, IT'S OUR DEAR FRIEND ANXIETY AGAIN.

(I can't stop shaking)

Let's sit down, we'll sit down proud

We'll sit down proud

We'll sit down

[Outro]

Nothing matters, the importance of nothing

Nothing matters, the importance of nothing

Nothing matters, the importance of nothing

Brian Sella isn't wrong. Nothing matters. And nothing is important. I could talk about this for hours but for the sake of your attention span, I'll just say that the idea and emphasis of nothing is so beautiful.

That's what you taught me when I was barely listening

You ever completed a simple task and realized it's the exact way your father, your mother, sister, or cousin, would've done it? You're taught by actions and subliminals. You're learning from loved ones without conscious thought and I think it's wildly romantic that every person has different pieces of everyone who loved them before. Our narrator learned to let go as a lesson from his/her birdcaged love. And like most love stories, they learn the lesson after the partner is removed from their life.

Nothing matters, the importance of nothing

(You are a broken heart tattoo)

Nothing matters, the importance of nothing

Nothing matters, the importance of nothing

(You are a broken heart tattoo)

I love the repitioon and the extreme subtly of "you are a broken heart tattoo" again to reinfornce the marks left behind on the narrator as the love flew away. It's impactful and I LOVE THIS SONG SO MUCH.

Nothing matters, nothing matters

I love Brian Sella, I love The Front Bottoms, I love annotation and creative thought. Nothing matters....except this song. BRB, I've gotta put it on a six hour loop.