One of my favourite songs, Me and My Dog by Boygenius is a cathartic and mellow tune that’s somewhat hopeful, somewhat retrospective. This comes from the first Boygenius EP, the selftiled Boygenius EP which received critical acclaim for its emotional depth and the collaborative synergy between Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus.
Me And My Dog Boygenius Review
The track starts off with this almost shimmering acoustic guitar that’s muted before Phoebe's voice comes in. “We had a great day, Even though we forgot to eat” sounds angelic as these high chords are being strummed.
There’s just something atmospherically to Me And My Dog that keeps me coming back to it. It’s a bit of a roller coaster/ a sandwich of good and bad lyrically going from blinding love referenced in verse 2 “I had a fever, Until I met you, Now you make me cool”. To then heartbreak, craving independence “I wanna be emaciated, I wanna hear one song without thinkin' of you” to then snapping back to the happy place of Phobe chilling with her dog Max.”I wish I was on a spaceship, Just me and my dog and an impossible view” expressing a need to escape.
Instrumentally Me & My Dog by Boygenius is pretty consistent on the muted acoustic guitar however, Lucy and Julien back up with sweet hums whilst what sounds like a metallic guitar plucking a high chord over and over. The simple nature helps to the impact as you can hear Julien screaming through Phoebe's angelic vocals throughout the Chorus.
Boygenius Me And My Dog Analysis
One of the reasons why this style of songwriting can be seen as sporadic is that Phoebe revealed to Pitchfork that Me and My Dog is about having a panic attack and the desire to be with her dog Max who passed in 2019.
Hence the outro expressing her grief “I dream about it, And I wake up falling”
Phoebe shared the meaning of me and my dog to Pitchfork:
Max is a black pug that I had since I was 8. He’s my best friend and he died at the beginning of last year at 16, which is very old for a pug. I wrote the Boygenius song “Me & My Dog” about Max before he died. He isn’t memorialized on [Punisher], but it is just a dark, more adult take on life. Going home to an empty apartment was pretty fucked up. Punisher has a dark tinge of loneliness. His death felt too raw before, but now I’m getting around to sticking him in stuff more.
Max is the most pure thing I’ve ever felt anything about. It’s like the death of innocence. I’m not really a crier in therapy. But a couple of weeks ago I did EMDR [eye movement desensitization and reprocessing] for the first time and my therapist was asking me about traumas, all this fucked up shit from my childhood, the stuff that I’m actually paying for therapy to get through. Then Max came up and I started sobbing uncontrollably. My therapist was like, “Can you please use the tissues on the counter and not your sleeve? It’s gross
Me and My Dog is referenced on Letter To An Old Poet
As mentioned in my Letter To An Old Poet meaning analysis we hear Briigers interpolate Me And My Dog in a creative way expressing change.
Me And My Dog Boygenius Lyrics
[Verse 1: Phoebe Bridgers]
We had a great day
Even though we forgot to eat
And you had a bad dream
And we got no sleep
'Cause we were kissing
[Verse 2: Phoebe Bridgers]
I had a fever
Until I met you
Now you make me cool
But sometimes I still do
Somethin' embarrassing
[Chorus: All]
I never said I'd be alright
Just thought I could hold myself together
When I couldn't breathe, I went outside
Don't know why I thought it'd be any better
I'm fine now, it doesn't matter
I didn't wanna be this guy
I cried at your show with the teenagers
Tell your friend I'll be alright
In the morning, it won't matter
I wanna be emaciated
I wanna hear one song without thinkin' of you
I wish I was on a spaceship
Just me and my dog and an impossible view
[Outro: All]
I dream about it
And I wake up falling
Me And My Dog Boygenius Lyrics Meaning
The lyrics to "Me and My Dog" by Boygenius, especially in the context of Phoebe Bridgers' personal experience with her dog Max, carry a poignant and emotional weight. Let's break down some elements of the lyrics:
Verse 1:
"We had a great day
Even though we forgot to eat
And you had a bad dream
And we got no sleep
'Cause we were kissing"
These lines describe a day spent with someone special, marked by simple joys and intimacy. The mundane details like forgetting to eat and the presence of a bad dream add a sense of realism to the narrative.
Verse 2:
"I had a fever
Until I met you
Now you make me cool
But sometimes I still do
Somethin' embarrassing"
The mention of having a fever until meeting someone suggests a transformative effect on the narrator's life. The admission of still doing "somethin' embarrassing" adds a touch of vulnerability and humanises the romantic relationship.
Chorus:
"I never said I'd be alright
Just thought I could hold myself