“Carissa” by Sun Kil Moon

Mark Kozelek’s family is from Midwest America. This is a place where, unlike more urbanized parts of the country and according to the premise to “Carrisa” as provided by Kozelek, many people actually incinerate their own rubbish as opposed to it being collected by the trashman. 

It was in the process of doing so that Mark’s second cousin, Carissa, met her fate, “from an aerosol can explosion”. And to make matter worse, his uncle, i.e. Carissa’s grandfather, “died the same way”. And you know these types of random deaths, with Carissa only being 35 years old at the time, are the ones that really catch us left behind off-guard.

Lyrics of “Carissa”

So with this song being biographical and Kozelek being a folk singer, the nature of the lyrics are threefold. They commence with the vocalist reminiscing on how “the last time (he) saw” Carissa she was “15 and pregnant”. So the implication would be, since they haven’t seen each other in two decades, that the two of them weren’t really that close. So the rest of the extended first verse and the bridge are basically dedicated to the vocalist’s shock and grief concerning the addressee’s death.

And as for the second verse, it is more centered on him questioning how exactly the aforementioned accident actually took place. In other words, as the verse concludes, it is revealed that Mark finds it ironic, for lack of a better word, how both Carissa and her dad died in the same freak manner.

The above is also a sentiment repeated in the chorus – how the vocalist is having a hard time accepting the story as presented to him.

Takeaway

Conclusively, since this is in fact a folk-ish song, there is way too much detail therein to be delineated here. But let’s just close out by saying that the lyrics are very personal and specific in nature. For example, they are not generally applicable to anyone who may be grieving the unexpected passing of a loved one. 

So basically, Mark Kolezek was able to take a specific tragedy and turn it into a piece that speaks directly to the matter at hand and his personalized reaction to it.

Sun Kill Moon and “Carissa”

Sun Kill Moon is a band of folk rockers who, as of the writing of this post, don’t have a set membership with the exception of Mark Kozelek, the singer/instrumentalist who fronts the act.

It is Kozelek who wrote and produced this song. And it is the opening track on “Benji”, the Sun Kill Moon album which came out on 11 February 2014, courtesy Caldo Verde Records.

The “Benji” Album

American folk rock act Sun Kil Moon released the album, “Benji” on February 11 of 2014. It was released as the band’s sixth studio album. “Benji” shares the same name with Joe Camp’s family film of 1974, a movie the band’s guitarist, Kozelek, revealed as one of his favorites.

This album was recorded at the Hyde Street Studios in San Francisco and produced by Kozelek.

The following rock acts threw in their support for the project:

• Jen Wood
• Owen Ashworth
• Steve Shelley
• Will Oldham

“Benji” was called 2014’s best and 3rd best album by Fact magazine and Stereogum respectively.

It peaked at No. 75 on the Billboard 200 and No. 69 on the OCC in the United Kingdom.