Music Review: The Band Perry "Chainsaw"

The Band Perry

Chainsaw

Album: Pioneer

Year: 2014

                 Kimberly Perry takes drastic measures to forget her first love in the unhinged “Chainsaw.”

                 A placid guitar opens the single, setting a decisive tone.  She must’ve smiled all day. They went to the park and held hands as they took a walk. They stopped at a tree and it was there her boyfriend first kissed her. He told her he was in love with her. Then, with a pocketknife he started to draw a heart into the tree. He put in his initials and then handed the knife to her. She put her initials in the tree. He added an arrow in it. Five years later, she takes the same walk alone. Next week is his engagement party. She wants to remember what it was like being his again. (“We scratched our names/In that oak tree/’Cause I loved you/And you loved me/A jagged little heart so the whole town knew it/Carved in the bark with an arrow through it/Well I came out here to see it one more time.”)

             In the chorus, she traces the heart and then pulls her out her chainsaw. She revs it up and starts tearing it down. The tree was placed in the perfect spot, providing shade and privacy for couples. However, now it’s a reminder of what she no longer has. Seeing their initials, knowing their future didn’t happen, stings. Today, she will take her anger out on the tree. (“And I got my chainsaw/Oh you know it's got to go, it's such a shame y'all/But I ain't gonna be happy 'til those names fall/And I'm sittin' on a stump/Love is shady/Love is tragic/It's hard to bury the hatchet/Holdin' a chainsaw.”)

                     She hacks at the tree seven times, for every year they were together. He told her he would always come back to her. He couldn’t imagine loving anyone else. Now, their relationship exists only in memories. The tree is simply a tree for him, a romantic spot he once used to visit. (“I guess all those years/They don't mean a thing/Now I can't wait/To count those rings/Nothing left of us but dust and splinters/A big pile of wood to keep me warm through the winter/'Cause I don't have you.”)

          A variation of the chorus is sung. (“But I got my chainsaw…holdin’ a chainsaw.”)

          In the bridge, she says he promised her a whole life together. A life he took away when he fell in love with someone else. (“Just a lil' old chainsaw/I remember what you said that night/That you would love me for the rest of your life/We wrote forever with a pocketknife/But forever's goin' down tonight.”)

          Another variation of the chorus is sung to end the single. (“'Cause I got my chainsaw..love is shady/Love is tragic/It's hard to bury the hatchet/Love is shady/Love is tragic/It's hard to bury the hatchet/Holdin' a chainsaw/Chainsaw.”)

Perry’s stormy vocals hold the crazy in, comtemplating whether or not to go through it. But she’s  provoked by the sight of the tree. She screams and yells at her ex-boyfriend while she chops up the tree. After falling down on the ground weeping, she is surrounded by tiny pieces of wood and bark. She wishes she could put it back together. She already regrets whatever piece she had of their relationship. In Carrie Underwood’s “Before He Cheats,” she did it without a care and went about the rest of her night. However, it’s clear that Perry is troubled and in some deep emotional pain, which makes her even scarier. Next time, it may not a be a tree but herself or someone else.

The riled “Chainsaw” has lots of issues to work through but any sharp, pointy objects should be hidden away and locked out of her reach.