Problems abound in Sassparilla songs.
They are pungent, not subtle. The people who are experiencing them are well aware that they’re doing something wrong, but the self-medication takes, more times than not, and they’re able to withstand it all. They fall into problems and rarely, if ever, claw their way out of them. It’s just one black hole of issues swirling around them, stinking up the place. Kevin Blackwell, the lead singer for the dirty bluegrass band out of Portland, Oregon, encapsulates the general character who calls these songs home, on “Mary Celeste,” singing:
“You and I Burn the same And we both wear dirty faces And we fly to close to the ground It’s not enough to live You’ve got to burn My promises do you no good If they take the place of thinking We’re no strangers To the world To its troubles You’re worn out and I’m a mess You told me You can’t prove its real unless it bleeds Then you cut me into pieces and saw that I was real On the grinding wheels of love I’m going back to that someplace And I love the way your name feels in my mouth I’m a liar You’re a thief We’re in trouble You’re fed up and I’m a mess.”
All this misery keeps great company. It’s the liquor cabinet that takes a hurt.