Song one: Magnolia

The first song I’ll be talking about in this series of blogs based on Gang of Youths is the song that first gained them national attention in Australia. Lead singer, David Le’aupepe begun writing music while his then wife was battling cancer and while he himself was spiralling down a depression, which led to their divorce and . These themes really set the tone for most of the music Gang of Youths write and perform; hauntingly beautiful ballads.

Magnolia is no exception, written five years ago the song is recounting the events of a night Le’aupepe was at the end of a weeklong alcoholic bender and was planning to commit suicide, before he was found by police and taken to rehab.

The song begins with the lyrics:

“Quit honking your horns, there’s five other lanes

And I’m king of them all and faster than light”

As previously mentioned, Le’aupepe was drunk and ready to end it all, he was stumbling around a multiply lane highway after realising his marriage was completely over and he was ready to face death head on that night, with a strange sense of confidence.

The pre chorus starts to introduce an element of self-awareness is Le’aupepe’s actions as his friends and band mates had called the police on him after he wasn’t answering their phone calls.

 “Hold on, officer, I know that I’m a danger to myself,

And it shows, ‘cause I’m on the other side of the law”

Forever lucky that the police found him in time and were able to talk him out of whatever he was planning on doing that night, which leads to the chorus and explains the turning point in that night for Le’aupepe.

“There’s no way tonight, as far as I know,

That heaven will take me, so I’m staggering home

Show me the way, yeah show me the light

Yeah, I’m drunk but I’m ready to kick some ass tonight.”

This is a somewhat happy ending to the disastrious night, after realising that there’s nothing the afterlife can offer him, Le’aupepe decides to stagger home and sat in front of his dad magnolia tree, asking to be shown the light and how he’s ready to kick some ass tonight, which is referring to him going to rehab in order to sort out his mental illness.

Le’aupepe did stay sober and refers to the date of the Third of June in the song, which fans refer to as ‘Magnolia Day’, the day that Le’aupepe overcame and survived his mental illness.