I heard two songs that caused me to purchase the CD which featured them. Both songs are grim. One has some dark humor. The song "In Hell I'll be in Good Company" is about a wife murderer about to be hanged, who is happy that when he gets to hell he'll see his unfaithful wife again. The song "Banjo Odyssey" attracted some controversy that the band addressed on their Facebook page. The band said the song lyrics are about a consensual albeit forbidden relationship. The doomed(?) lovers are trying to escape. That explanation may have been the songwriter's intention but I didn't get that impression at all--definitely not the consensual part. See what you think.
An action director/producer isn't necessarily promoting murder, revenge, and other crimes. I think that songwriters should be able to write of wicked actions without automatically being accused of endorsing evil. Depiction is not endorsement. Johnny Cash never shot a man in Reno just to watch him die. Ice Cube did not burn down any Korean owned businesses. Albert King didn't punch out his wife because she was cheating on him while claiming to be at the laundromat. And so on.
I like the band's harmonizing and multiple lead vocals, unusual instrumentation (replacing bass with cello, often eschewing full drum set) and oft sarcastic/warped lyrics. I appreciate that the lyrics can be interpreted in different ways.
In Hell I'll Be In Good Company
Dead love couldn't go no further
Proud of and disgusted by her
Push shove, a little bruised and battered
Oh Lord I ain't coming home with you
My life's a bit more colder
Dead wife is what I told her
Brass knife sinks into my shoulder
Oh babe don't know what I'm gonna do
Chorus:
I see my red head, messed bed, tear shed, queen bee
My squeeze
The stage it smells, tells, hell's bells, miss-spells
Knocks me on my knees
It didn't hurt, flirt, blood squirt, stuffed shirt
Hang me on a tree
After I count down, three rounds, in hell I'll be in good company
Repeat previous verses
Chorus
Banjo Odyssey
I don't care I'm coming over
What your daddy said isn't going over too well
Don't you know not to kiss and tell
Chorus:
Mama said, she's my brothers daughter
And I don't even know who's my father
I guess she's my cousin
But she needs some sweet loving anyway
Pulled you out by your hair
If people ask I was never there
Come on baby and take a ride with me
Come on baby let's drive to the sea
Chorus
It's a hot night driving down highway sixty
With my baby in the passenger seat
I roll down my window and I
Lean my head back and put my foot to the floor
We're going faster
And she's saying slow down (Slow down) (X4)
And I say no
And she's saying slow down (X3)
And she's screaming slow down
And I say no
Chorus
