Phoebe Bridgers wears a skeleton-themed outfit from Thom Browne with Ashley Zhang jewelry on the red carpet at the 63rd Grammy Awards. Credit: Jay L. Clendenin via TNS
Somehow Phoebe Bridgers makes sadness something to look forward to during the holiday season.
The Los Angeles-based singer-songwriter has released six Christmas covers since 2017, including Judy Garland’s “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas,” Mccarthy Trenching’s “Christmas Song,” Simon & Garfunkel’s “7 O’clock News / Silent Night,” Merle Haggard’s “If We Make It Through December,” Tom Waits’ “Day After Tomorrow” and now The Handsome Family’s “So Much Wine.” Bridgers released “So Much Wine” Nov. 17 and announced the song’s proceeds will go toward the Los Angeles LGBT Center.
Bridgers donated the proceeds of some of her previous Christmas covers to Planned Parenthood and the Local Integration & Family Empowerment Division of the International Institute of Los Angeles. This year’s beneficiary, the Los Angeles LGBT Center, provides help with legal services, housing, healthcare and HIV treatment, according to its website.
“So Much Wine” was initially released in 2000 by The Handsome Family, comprised of husband and wife duo Brett and Rennie Sparks, on their album “In The Air.” The Handsome Family’s music deceptively combines a classic, Americana sound with morbid lyrics and storytelling.
The song details the experience of watching a loved one struggle with alcoholism.
The Handsome Family’s original song is composed of soft vocals, banjo and an interluding harmonica. The song is melancholy yet comforting, not fully leaning into the sadness of the story “So Much Wine” tells.
“I had nothing to say on Christmas Day when you threw all your clothes in the snow” are the song’s opening lines.
Bridgers’ version of the song fully delves into the sorrow of the situation, slowing down the pace of the original and stripping it to an acoustic version. The harmonica in the original is replaced by a violin and whistling. Paul Mescal, Irish actor and Bridgers’ rumored fiancé, can also be heard in the background vocals of the track.
Bridgers moves away from the mellowness of the original, taking a more dramatic tone, almost as if she’s pleading with the person the song was written about.
“Listen to me, Butterfly, there’s only so much wine you can drink in one life, and it will never be enough to save you from the bottom of your glass,” Bridgers sang.
Bridgers’ cover of “So Much Wine” most likely has a personal meaning, as she sang about her father’s struggle with alcoholism in her previous work, especially in “Kyoto.”
There are further parallels between the storytelling found in “Kyoto” and “So Much Wine.”
“I’ve been driving out to the suburbs to park at the Goodwill, and stare at the chemtrails with my little brother,” Bridgers sings in “Kyoto.”
“So Much Wine” also details the experience of driving aimlessly looking for an answer.
“Where the state highway starts I stopped my car, I got out and stared up at the stars. As meteors died and shot ‘cross the sky, I thought about your sad, shining eyes,” Bridgers sang.
Bridgers’ cover of “So Much Wine” clearly has a deeper meaning to her, as she most likely relates to the lyrics in some capacity. Her cover is perfectly able to capture the feelings of helplessness and frustration of watching a loved one struggle with substance abuse.
“So Much Wine” serves as a personal and well-thought-out choice as the sixth installment of her annual Christmas cover. Bridgers makes it her own while still maintaining the song’s original essence.
Rating: 5/5
