One of the best things about kids (or worst, pick your poison) is how attached they get to the most random trends. Silly bands, rainbow loom bracelets, those weird little eraser toys that no one ever actually used for erasing—they all hearken back to simpler times. And of course, the pillar of schoolyard fads: string figures. I spent a good chunk of change and countless hours learning how to make such fantastical shapes out of a loop of string like a witch’s broom, the Eiffel Tower, and a cup and saucer. And then of course there’s the infamous cat’s cradle, that messy string formation that takes two people to complete.
Pennsylvania rock band Tigers Jaw describes this tangled-up web in their latest drop, “Cat’s Cradle,” off of their upcoming album I Won’t Care How You Remember Me. A lush and intricate arrangement of keyboard, guitars, and Brianna Collins’ vocals mirror the messy cat’s cradle described in this song, an ode to ditching that bad friend and just saying, “All right, I’m finished.”
From the jump, the song races to reach its goal. “Ties that bound us now fallen apart / Our cat’s cradle tangled from the start / A bitter taste, fault split in two,” Collins sings matter-of-factly, level-headed enough to admit that in a cat’s cradle the burden falls onto both people. But, “I won’t make this any easier for you,” she promises with wry candor. After so much passive aggressiveness and failed communication, maybe it’s direct confrontation that leaves the biggest bruise but also delivers the final blow.
In a nice juxtaposition of the ever so slightly distorted vocals, the lyrics are filled with sight imagery and language circling the idea of newfound clarity: “Drew the blindfold from my brown eyes / Crystal view then I realized / If there was something I could do / It’s not enough for you.” It takes a degree of vulnerability and personal understanding to confront a manipulative and unhealthy relationship, and the lyrics navigate this painful process with impassioned force. In other words, à la Johnny Nash, she can see clearly now the rain is gone. And now that it’s gone, she realizes: “Lost your luster, no glitter in the light … Can’t keep holding on to what was lost.” She leaves the bad friend with one last couplet that somehow feels both scorching and generous: “Go and get what you want, you’ll see the truth / It’s not enough for you.”
“Cat’s Cradle” is a song that comes from a deeply personal space, yet resonates universally. We all have relationships that just aren’t worth maintaining, aren’t worth the wasted tears and forced love. It’s a pumped-up jam that you’ll find yourself wanting to dance to. I Won’t Care How You Remember Me drops March 5th through Hopeless Records, a move for Tigers Jaw that promises a bright future.
