Deck Wine

Marietta's song 'Deck Wine' delves into the raw and often painful experiences of life, capturing a sense of disillusionment and existential struggle. The opening lines, 'Today broke my balance worse than before / My guts are out, they're crawling on the floor,' immediately set a tone of vulnerability and chaos. The imagery of one's insides spilling out onto the floor is a powerful metaphor for emotional and psychological turmoil, suggesting a state of being overwhelmed and exposed. The plea for help for the 'tired and poor' guts further emphasizes a deep sense of exhaustion and need for support.

The lyrics also touch on the theme of habit and second nature, indicating a struggle with ingrained behaviors and the difficulty of breaking free from them. 'I can't break what's more than habit / But second nature, it's not my outfit, just how I live,' speaks to the idea that certain patterns and ways of living become so embedded in us that they feel like an intrinsic part of our identity. This line reflects a resignation to these habits, even as they contribute to the speaker's distress.

The song paints a bleak picture of a town and its inhabitants, with 'hospital rooms' knowing the characters better than they know themselves, and 'summer death' hinting at a pervasive sense of loss. The imagery of a town fading as the smoke quits moving and the loneliness of 'shapes who needed more than big things' captures a sense of stagnation and unfulfilled desires. The speaker's wish to 'explode, become minimal and disappear' underscores a desire to escape from the weight of existence. The closing lines, 'Neighbors always getting younger / Dying off, waiting for winter,' poignantly highlight the passage of time and the inevitability of death, leaving a lingering sense of melancholy and reflection on the transient nature of life.