Their seventh CD, Last Days of Wonder (June. 2006) was one of Mojo’s top ten American Albums for 2006 and called “an unqualified triumph” by Uncut. Of their sixth CD, Singing Bones, The UK’s Independent wrote, “Rarely, even in the fatalistic world of country music, has the precarious mystery of mortality been captured with such poetic grace as on Singing Bones.”
They have appeared in the movie, I’m Your Man (2005), a tribute to Leonard Cohen as well as Searching for the Wrong-Eyed Jesus (2004). In 2004, a reader's poll in Mojo named The Handsome Family's third CD, Through the Trees one of the ten essential Americana records.
Last Days of Wonder is a collection of love songs sung in airports, garbage dumps, drive-thru windows and shark-infested waters. The CD celebrates the little miraculous moments of beauty found in everyday life: a golf course shining in the rain, hanging lights bouncing in the breeze, pigeons singing from billboards, trees blooming in squares of dirt. The songs linger on those moments when we’re pulled from the ordinary to feel awed by mystery, bewildered by beauty, terrified by the vast unknowable around us (whether we wander through shady groves or crowded parking lots).
Brett Sparks, who writes the music, draws from medieval melody, country-politan string arrangements, tin-pan alley crooners, and dusty hillbilly records to weave together the fabric of this record. Rennie Sparks, who writes the lyrics, makes magical realism from polar adventure stories, pagan hunting songs and her own time spent (like most people) riding up elevators, staring out hotel room windows, and driving interstate highways. The entire album was recorded over a year's time in the converted garage studio at the back of the Sparks' Albuquerque house. Brett recorded it all on a Mac and a whole mess of wires, microphones and little metal boxes. Alongside the usual guitar, bass and drums you will hear mellotrons, ukulele, banjo, bowed wine glasses, and trombone.
Brett and Rennie (The Handsome Family) have been married for 18 years. In their live performances The Handsome Family are sometimes up to a six-piece band and sometimes just Brett and Rennie with (or without) a laptop computer.
So Long
The Handsome Family Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
So long to Mr. Whiskers, who jumped out of a window
And to the family of gerbils who chewed out of their cage
And the little brown rabbit I ran over by mistake
So long, so long
I'll see you on the other side
So long, so long
So long to the goldfish who ate each others' tails
So long to the chipmunk trapped under the stairs
So long to the rosebush I never watered
And to whatever was inside that hole that I raked over
So long, so long
I'll see you on the other side
So long, so long
I'll see you on the other side
So long to the seagull I hit with a rock
So long to the squirrel I accidentally shot
And to everything I burned with a magnifying lens
That long, lonely summer when I was only ten
So long, so long
I'll see you on the other side
So long, so long
I'll see you on the other side
The lyrics to The Handsome Family's song "So Long" are a goodbye to all the creatures in the singer's life that have come and gone. The song lists the animals and plants that have met their end in various ways, from the dog who ate Christmas tinsel to the rosebush that was never watered. The chorus repeats throughout the song, "So long, so long, I'll see you on the other side," implying that even though these creatures have left this world, the singer believes they may be reunited with them in another realm after death.
The tone of the song is both humorous and melancholic. The singer's memories of the departed creatures are tinged with regret and guilt, as they list the various ways in which they may have contributed to their demise. The lyrics also suggest a sense of wonder and mystery about what comes after death, with the repeated refrain expressing a hope that the singer and their animal companions will be reunited in some other place.
Overall, "So Long" is a poignant meditation on the fleeting nature of life and the enduring connections we have with the creatures we share this world with.
Line by Line Meaning
So long to my dog Snickers, who ate Christmas tinsel
Farewell to my beloved pet who consumed Christmas tinsel, leading to their demise
So long to Mr. Whiskers, who jumped out of a window
Goodbye to my cat who leapt out of a window, never to return
And to the family of gerbils who chewed out of their cage
Also, farewell to the group of gerbils who gnawed their way out of their enclosure
And the little brown rabbit I ran over by mistake
In addition, goodbye to the innocent bunny I accidentally hit with my vehicle
So long to the goldfish who ate each others' tails
Adieu to the fish I kept, who viciously cannibalized each other's fins
So long to the chipmunk trapped under the stairs
Farewell to the small rodent who was ensnared beneath the steps and perished
So long to the rosebush I never watered
Goodbye to the plant I neglected, failing to provide it with sustenance
And to whatever was inside that hole that I raked over
Additionally, farewell to any living creature who happened to reside in the hole I inadvertently covered with a rake
So long to the seagull I hit with a rock
Parting ways with the bird I struck with a stone
So long to the squirrel I accidentally shot
Bidding adieu to the small mammal I unintentionally harmed with a firearm
And to everything I burned with a magnifying lens
Also, farewell to all the living things I scorched using a magnifying glass
That long, lonely summer when I was only ten
During that extended period of isolation and solitude when I was a mere child
So long, so long
Goodbye, farewell
I'll see you on the other side
I hope to reunite with you in the afterlife
Lyrics © BMG Rights Management
Written by: BRETT SPARKS, RENNIE S SPARKS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind