Meaning of “Find Love” by Clem Snide

Clem Snide is an alt-country outfit from Boston which has been around since the early 1990s. Currently the band consists of the following musicians – frontman Eef Barzelay, bassist Brendan Fitzpatrick and drummer Ben Martin. And throughout the years, Clem Snide has dropped approximately 20 albums, including a few EPs.

“Find Love” dates back to the group’s fourth studio album, “Soft Spot”, which was released through SpinART on 6 June 2003. There isn’t a lot of information available on that project or Clem Snide in general. 

Barzelay and Fitzpatrick did participate on “Soft Spot”, with the former presumably writing its songs. And the producer of the LP is Joe Chiccarelli, a well-traveled industry vet.

Clem Snide is an enduring act, in that they don’t appear to have any chart history to speak of per se. But as for “Find Love”, despite the song being over 20 years old, it debuted on the American iTunes Chart on 15 August 2023, just a couple of days prior to this writing.

THE LYRICS

The title of this track, in context, is actually an instruction, in which Eef is encouraging us listeners to “find love”. For the most part the lyrics are metaphorical, pointing to the idea that we should pursue the aforementioned goal with superhuman fervor. 

And to note, the singer doesn’t specify what type of love he’s referring to. But all lyrics considered, it wouldn’t necessarily be the romantic, i.e. self-centered type, as Barzelay further goes on to advise that once a person does successfully secure it, they should “then give it all away”.

“Don’t let hurricanes hold you back
Raging rivers or shark attacks
Find love, and give it all away
Find love, and give it all away”

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