Some songs are vivid and literal. You get exactly what you hear; lyrics say a thing, and they mean it.
Some are a bit more abstract. They don’t form a cohesive story, but they make you feel a certain way.
Drive Darling manages to be both for me.
My adventurous little Beetle usually had an iPod mini connected to its stereo with 6 CD changers, but the one and only CD that was in the changer was the BOY’s Mutual Friends album that came with its vinyl.
If I didn’t want to bother with picking a song, I knew what I could happily drive along to. This song made me blissfully compliant; it kept saying “drive darling”, and I kept saying “yes mam”.
On the abstract side, I’ve always felt encouraged by the way the song ramps up after the second chorus. The sentiment of “Yes, saying goodbye is rough, and it’s sad, and it’s emotional—but you’ll be fine” is accompanied by “everything’s changed; it’s all chaos from now on.”
What I love the most about BOY is that they are a very minimal duo that have the energy of a much bigger band, without losing that feeling of coziness. They sound, and feel, real.