What’s On The Shelf | Games, Music & Culture

I and Love and You by the Avett Brothers is a depiction of love in a multifaceted way, rather than the straightforward romance you might expect. The song begins in a strange place, with the singer packing up and leaving in what feels like a rushed escape. Only the people who need to know are told before the ties to that former life are severed. In doing some background research for this piece, I learned that this love isn’t necessarily between romantic partners like we would normally expect from a song like this, but between members of a family. With this knowledge, the song moves into a more sorrowful place. Everything becomes a mixed bag: shining eyes compared to stolen, polished dimes, old fights being seen as wastes of time, and the growing difficulty in saying something that should be easy: I love you. There’s an uneasy sense of acceptance, too, with the singer recognizing that the person he is today resembles the person he once struggled with. And by the end, all exits look the same.

Family dynamics are difficult to navigate, with countless movies, songs, books, and other forms of art depicting the passage of trauma from one family member to another. I and Love and You resonates deeply within that sphere. Relationships don’t just fall apart overnight, but slowly deteriorate like an unpainted bridge left to rust or an unmaintained building beginning to crumble. Things BECOME harder to say. It’s not a simple on/off switch. Words that once came naturally become something you can barely bring yourself to utter. The Avett Brothers nailed that feeling back in 2009 and continue to explore the far reaches of relationships with their music in interesting ways.