Clairo, Alewife | Somber Sunday

Alternative pop artist Clairo helps Somber Sunday live up to its name with “Alewife,” which features heavy subject matter – suicide. 

Somber Sunday perfectly captures the end of the weekend with its sadness, disappointment, and look towards yet another mad Monday. On the sixth edition of Somber Sunday, May 10, 2020, Clairo brings full-on somberness with “Alewife,” which hails from her debut album, Immunity.

Immunity certainly commences with sad subject matter.  On “Alewife,” Clairo sings in an undertone.  Interestingly, the alt-pop singer isn’t referencing a fish, but rather, a transit station in her native Massachusetts:

“In Massachusetts
Only 30 minutes from Alewife
I lay in my room
Wonderin’ why I’ve got this life.”

The the big takeaway from the song isn’t its title but rather the numerous references to suicide.  Clairo is thankful to a friend who ‘saved her.’ “But you know you saved me from doin’ / Something to myself that night,” she sings on the first verse.  On the second, she sings, “Swear I could’ve done it / If you weren’t there when I hit the floor.”  “Alewife,” which is a great fit for a Somber Sunday, or any somber or sad day, previously appeared on Songs Centered Around or Referencing Suicide, Vol. 2 and 17 Songs Characterized by Their Place.

Clairo • Immunity • Fader • 2019

Clairo, “Alewife” | Somber Sunday [Photo Credits: Andre Beukes, Brent Faulkner, Fader, The Musical Hype, Pixabay, Stock Snap]