Stars Hollow’s In the Flower Bed: A Masterclass in Emo Lyricism and Songwriting

Stars Hollow is an emo band from Iowa that started releasing music in 2016. They have released two EPs prior (I’m Really Not That Upset About It in 2016 and Happy Again in 2018, as well as an LP titled I Want to Live My Life. In addition, they have also released a slew of singles, such as “Tadpole” and “Blue Christmas.” Having years of experience under their belt and an impressive catalog, Stars Hollow hones and perfects their perfect blend of twinkly riffs, shouty vocals, and clever songwriting on In the Flower Bed.

Prior to hearing this EP, I had never really listened to Stars Hollow. I was familiar with and loved “Tadpole,” but had never taken a deeper dive into their discography. However, around the time In the Flower Bed was released, I saw that one of my favorite guitarists, Louie from Tiny Voices/Endswell, joined the band. Louie has always been such a big inspiration for my own guitar playing and song writing, so I decided to check out the new project.

The opening track, The Clothes I’ll Be Buried In, is such a perfect way to introduce the concepts of the album. It discusses themes of self-hatred, regret, and the inability to accept who you were. In particular, the line “I love myself like an absent father,” struck me extremely hard, as it perfectly encapsulates what the song is about. Just like an absent father neglects his son, the writer neglected himself in the past and must make amends now for his previous actions. However, even though the song is quite dejecting, the final line, “But it’s better than nothing” shows that writer is optimistic, even if only slightly. Apart from the poetic lyrics, the riff at the beginning is such a clever way to create an interesting line with just chords, as the varied rhythm and changes keep you on your toes. It then transitions into a tappy, twinkly riff that is gorgeous and fits the with gang vocals in the background. The opening riff then comes back at the start of the next song, seamlessly transitioning between the two songs.

Thorns almost feels like the second part of the first song, tackling similar issues of struggling with acceptance and trying to change for the better. When looking at the lyrical content, it seems as if the writer is portraying himself as a ghost, where he is trying to get to his physical body but is unable to, because there are thorns and four leaf clovers protecting the body. On a literal level this may not make much sense, but when looked at figuratively, it is hands down one of the most beautiful ways of portraying guilt and regret. When the writer talks about being a ghost, he is essentially a shell of his former self, a person that thought he had moved on, but is still chained to his body, also known as his former self. As a result, his body is being torn away by insects, vines, and thorns, which symbolize his mistakes he had made in his past. At first, he tries to ignore it, but the plants keep growing, meaning that his mistakes keep coming back. He then gets angry and blames it on being born lucky, having been protected by thorns and four leaf clovers, which shows to me that the author initially built up walls around these mistakes, where he doesn’t tell anyone about them and doesn’t let himself process them, and realizes now that it will be nearly impossible to properly deal with it, as the thorns are protecting those mistakes. As a result, he blames himself and realizes that he was the one who let these thorns grow. One of the last lines of the song also tears me up, which is “How could I resist? When you’re such a magnificent piece of shit?” This is genius levels of lyricism, which goes perfectly with the narrative created, as when he was in the past (aka the body being protected), he could not resist putting up these thorns, and the oxymoron of being a magnificent piece of shit displays that even though he did make these mistakes, he has pity for what he had to do. Even though I’m probably looking to far into this, the narrative I have created in my head for this song is so moving and emotional for me, and I think it is a perfect example of how lyrics should be written. The guitars and drums also compliment this song perfectly, where sections of the song slow down and then pick up at integral parts in the lyrics, all complimenting each other perfectly.

Next up is “Acne Scars,” my personal favorite off the EP. Starting off with an acoustic intro, it delves into themes previously mentioned. The singer states that he is “digging up graves…while you pick at your face.” Acne scars happen when people pick at their blemishes too much, leading to scarring that can stay permanently. When looking at the context of the album, we can see how this relates to the themes of trying to overcome previous mistakes and how those mistakes can stay with us. The writer (the one in the present) is digging up his past self, and seeing that his older self is picking at his face, symbolizing mistakes that have permanently scarred him. He then goes on to state that he doesn’t blame him for these mistakes, but then says that he wants to shake him awake so that he won’t grow tired of him. In my eyes, I see this as his prior self pushing these issues down until he grows to hate himself, halting progress on learning to grow from these mistakes. The next lines “I want to break you / So that you can feel that ache / Every moment you’re awake,” display that he wishes his past self would have broken down and felt the heartache of his mistakes, instead of ignoring it and pushing it down. This is further iterated by the singer stating how he bets he is ashamed of the trash in the backyard that buried the plants he grew. This further highlights how the singer regrets shoving his mistakes away and ignoring them, since it buried any chances of growth he had. He then finishes the song by stating that his birthday wish never came true to completely get rid of these mistakes. This song is lyrically genius and perfectly ties in with the themes of the last song, with the idea of the narrator looking back at his past self and realizing how these self-sabotaging behaviors had affected him. The points of sparse instrumentation that swell into booming sections with soaring drums accentuate the message in a perfect way. The tapping riff is also gorgeous and lush, and is my favorite riff off the album.

The next song, Sickening, is a much heavier and shouty track with distorted guitars and loud drums. The lyrics are also much more violent, with images of cracking skulls on pavement and rotting body parts. To delve in deeper, it seems that the ground wants to swallow the narrator whole and how the garden is growing shame. This shows that the he is becoming consumed with guilt from his prior mistakes. This guilt and shame builds up inside of him and he mentions the person, potentially an old lover or family member, that is seeing him fall apart. He mentions how they were previously two birds of a feather, but plucked from the head of the crow, which is often a symbol of death, displaying their relationship may have been toxic. He then wishes he could tell them about how he wants to repay them by breaking his skull on pavement, displaying the sheer regret he had for his actions. He then talks about how he doesn’t want this person to see him breaking down, and how he is not worthy of their love, since he thinks its sickening for their arms to be around him. These themes of self-hatred really hit home for me, and the hardcore nature of the song really accentuates just how powerful this feeling of remorse and shame can be.

The final song on this track, “In the Flower Bed,” is a softer and more gentle track that wraps up this album perfectly. The chord progression is gorgeous and the electronic drums that show up halfway through the track is amazing and compliment the acoustic guitar perfectly. The lyrics are just as strong as the other tracks, with the message “I want to kill who I was back then.” This line sums up the whole album perfectly. The themes of guilt, regret, remorse, shame, all pile up in this last track. The singer states how it doesn’t rain, so he has to spit on their flowers to make them grow. This shows how he is now making up for his mistakes, by slowly forgiving himself and allowing himself to grow. He then states how he wishes he could give himself the chance to hold the sun while it sets and how its never lonely in the flower bed. This is such a beautiful line, and the first time I heard it I was in tears. He wishes that he could have let himself grow, be the person who he wants to be, and he comes to the realization that he isn’t lonely, and many other people are experiencing these same emotions. We are all growing from the same sun, and everyone makes mistakes, but we all grow together. This track is simply outstanding, and I encourage everyone to listen to it at least once, the emotion in this song is powerful.

In conclusion, even though I likely am reading too far into things or got the symbolism completely wrong (I was never very good in English class), to me these lyrics and tracks are some of the best I have ever heard. The emotions in these songs are raw, personal, and deep, and really hit me hard. As someone who is transitioning right now, I have a similar sentiment of wanting to kill who I was back then and hating myself for my past. It’s a sentiment a lot of people have, but realizing that it’s never lonely in the flower bed helps us get through it; we are all growing together. This album spoke to me in a way that no other album has and I love it with all my heart. If this hasn’t convinced you to listen to it yet, please do. (Also I want to give the songwriter a hug).

Much love to Stars Hollow, The DIYgest, and everyone who is part of the DIY community. -Jasmine

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