Cleaver and Walker began playing together in 2001 as a result of Cleaver’s stage fright when asked to perform a brief run of solo shows. The duo’s first performance was largely unplanned and yet went without incident.. so they agreed to continue and expand. Mark Messerly joined in 2002 as bassist and utility man, and Dawn Burman joined on drums shortly thereafter. The four-piece has released three full-length albums and one EP on their native Cincinnati’s Shake It label. Klug joined the band shortly after Burman's departure in early 2009.
The band is known for its use of "an army of alternately droning and jangling guitars" (Uncut 6/09) to offset the traditional three-minute pop format. Lyrics are typically split evenly between Cleaver and Walker.
Their work has met with critical praise from Rolling Stone and SPIN, both of which gave the band’s second and third albums four stars each, in addition to favorable reviews from Village Voice, NPR, Washington Post, Uncut, and many other press outlets. The “Dean of American Critics” Robert Christgau placed the band’s first two albums (Funeral Dress and Left for Dead) on his Best of the Decade list, and their third album (Wussy) ranked tenth in his best of 2009 Dean’s List.
Bought It Again
Wussy Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
And nobody knew
Nobody knew
When the smoke cleared out
There was nobody there but you
You came and showed your
Face around here
Made it perfectly clear
And nobody knew
You severed the brake line
And you bought it again
Got tangled in the lifeline
And you bought it again
I found a way to
Settle the score
I kicked down the door
By the time you patched it up
I was back for more
To prove to you
That I was sincere
I made it perfectly clear
THat my heart gave way
And nobody knew
I severed the brake line (fell apart)
And I bought it again
Got tangled in the lifeline (fell apart)
And I bought it again
In the opening lines of Wussy's "Bought It Again," we see a character who's heart has given out and nobody knew. It's unclear whether this character died or simply had an emotional breakdown. Regardless, when the smoke clears, there's nobody left but this person. They come back into the singer's life and seemingly state their reason for being gone - their heart gave out and nobody knew. But who is this person? What relationship do they have to the singer? It's impossible to say, as the lyrics are vague enough to apply to a variety of situations. However, it's clear that they have a contentious history, given the mention of severed brake lines and the repetition of the phrase "bought it again." It could be that the two are tied together by a history of just barely making it through tough times, only to fall apart again.
The next verse switches perspective to the singer, who says they've found a way to settle the score. They kicked down the door, leaving the impression that they're going to make sure their presence is known. It seems as though they're threatening retribution for the other person's actions, but once again, the lyrics are vague enough that it's unclear what really happened. It's also unclear whether the singer is being honest about their own heart giving out. Perhaps they're just echoing the other person's statement, or maybe they're using it as a way to manipulate the other person. Regardless, both figures in the song seem to be lost and struggling, mirroring each other in their inability to fully move on from whatever happened in the past.
Line by Line Meaning
Your heart gave way
You were emotionally overwhelmed
And nobody knew
No one understood what you were going through
Nobody knew
You kept your emotions hidden from everyone
When the smoke cleared out
After the chaos and confusion settled down
There was nobody there but you
You were left to deal with the aftermath on your own
You came and showed your
You returned to the same situation
Face around here
You were present in the same place as before
Made it perfectly clear
You were very upfront about your emotions
That your heart gave way
You were still emotionally overwhelmed
And nobody knew
No one else understood your feelings
You severed the brake line
You caused something to completely fall apart
And you bought it again
You repeated the same mistake and suffered the consequences
Got tangled in the lifeline
You became trapped in a bad situation
And you bought it again
You repeated the same mistake despite knowing the outcome
I found a way to
I discovered a method to deal with the situation
Settle the score
To finally come to a resolution
I kicked down the door
I made a bold move
By the time you patched it up
By the time you tried to fix the problem
I was back for more
I was already making more progress
To prove to you
To show you what I was capable of
That I was sincere
That I was genuine in my intentions
I made it perfectly clear
I talked openly about my feelings
That my heart gave way
That I was also struggling emotionally
And nobody knew
No one else was aware of my struggles
I severed the brake line (fell apart)
I made the situation worse
And I bought it again
I repeated the same mistake and suffered the consequences again
Got tangled in the lifeline (fell apart)
I became trapped in another bad situation
And I bought it again
I continued to repeat the same mistake despite knowing the outcome
Contributed by Olivia K. Suggest a correction in the comments below.