Concluding my ranking of the songs on Phoebe Bridgers’ Lost Weekend…
#3. ‘The Governor’s Waltz’
This beautiful track sounds like it could have appeared on either of Bridgers’ first two albums, which is part of why it became an early favorite. As much as I admire the ambition and growth on display in Lost Weekend, I don’t see it as the equal of Stranger in the Alps or Punisher. Not yet, anyway… I’ve certainly spent a lot more time with those albums than this one. ‘The Governor’s Waltz’ is the record’s Paul Mescal track, and while it throws some shade at his new girlfriend Gracie Abrams, it mostly finds Bridgers exploring her own failure to connect.
#2. ‘Haunted’
A full-on country stomp, and one of the album’s most glorious and uplifting songs, ‘Haunted’ finds Bridgers at her most optimistic. “I’m gonna put myself together, you can go or you can stay,” she sings, “I’m gonna put myself together either way.” Backed by her boygenius bandmates Lucy Dacus and Julien Baker, she sounds downright happy.
#1. ‘Still Standing’
That’s not the case on this song, which tackles Bridgers’ father’s death head-on. Tony Bridgers struggled with drug addiction and abused her mother before they ultimately divorced, and Phoebe struggles to reconcile those horrible memories with her grief. She closes the song singing “thank you for everything” after recounting an incident of domestic violence in the previous verse, but it doesn’t feel ironic. I chose this as my favorite song on Lost Weekend because it’s rare to witness somebody turning such thorny emotions into such resonant art.
🎵 Phoebe Bridgers Deep Dive 🎵
→ My exploration of Phoebe Bridgers’ catalog
Pushed head first into the world
Just to be thrown in the street when you’re dressed like a girl
An angel in the snow, accident prone
You left your suitcase by the bed
Like you needed to know you could go whenever you wanted
And I’m out on my feet
But I am still standing
[Chorus]
At the top of the stairs, turning red
Pound for pound in a prom dress
You try to make me afraid
We were both shining
Feeling indifferent, wearing black
Sometimes I want you back
But not today
[Verse 2]
I found her bleeding over the sink
But when you said, “Sorry”
You wеre looking at me
I can’t remember what I said
But I didn’t mean it
[Chorus]
I wasn’t too young to understand
I just didn’t think it was so bad
And it wasn’t, in a way
And now there is nothing
You’re back to the ocean, burning red
I can’t imagine you dead
But you are every day
Thank you for everything
Meet Me In Montauk 