"Charlie and Annie" by Stephen Kellogg and the Sixers, Wednesday, October 26, 2022 (partial repost)
Stephen Kellogg parted with his band, The Sixers, in 2012. Though the band doesn't consider themselves right-wing, they were named the “Armed Forces Entertainer of the Year” in 2010. Kellogg continues to play for the troops and raises money for St. Jude's every holiday season. His last album with the Sixers, Gift Horse is a treasure of Northeastern folk rock tunes, delving into topics of family, love, religion, and existential dread.
HIS RANTS COULD BE CONTAGIOUS. In a concert clip, Stephen Kellogg describes "Charlie and Annie" as his memories from middle school during a time he didn't feel very safe. The song talks about an ill-fated romance between alcoholic Charlie, who shows his kindness just enough to partially redeem himself through the singer. He's a victim of his addictions, though the singer doesn't let him off the hook. Annie is a beautiful woman who had quite the past before she got tied down by "Charlie and motherhood." Charlie is emotionally abusive and Annie is tied to her husband who is holding her back from greatness. The speaker isn't very present in the song, but rather tells about his observations of this toxic marriage. The speaker places distance between himself and the main subjects. To me the speaker seems to be older now thinking about friends of his parents. Perhaps he was friends with Charlie and Annie's kids and witnessed the emotional abuse in the marriage when over visiting his friends. And the kids who were friends with Charlie and Annie's kids didn't want to be around Charlie when he was drunk because he would shout at them and manipulate them to think that they had done something wrong.
WE WERE ALL AFRAID HE WAS DESCRIBING US. I think that the way that Stephen Kellogg wrote "Charlie and Annie" is both specific enough to make the story feel real, yet vague enough to make you feel like it's describing someone you knew. We've all been around unhappy marriages when we grew up. We've been around adults who fight constantly. When I was growing up, I constantly heard adults talking about staying together for their children. It was on TV, in church, and in conversations I overheard from my parents talking about their adult friends. Never were the families ever happy for sticking it out when there were fundamental problems. But when I was growing up, I always wondered what was so bad about divorce? If something could stop the screaming at night, if something could stop the resentment, if something could stop the emotional harm done, wouldn't it be worth it. Kids start to wonder if they are doomed to repeat their parents mistakes, finding partners just as maligned. And some of us grow up feeling like we'll never get married. I remember when I was in elementary school, there was a special pull out time called "Banana Splits" for children whose parents divorced. I think they were given snacks and, maybe banana splits. One day I asked my mom if I was ever going to get to attend. She said, "Your dad and I are never going to get divorced." And I believed her, even though it seemed that they should have.
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