Meaning of Around the Pomegranate by Wilbur Soot
As we delve deeper into Mammalian Sighing Reflex, it is reading more and more like an album which is centered on Wilbur Soot’s discontent with his current life, despite the fact that he’s a celebrity. The lyrics of this track are kinda out there, even for an artist who relies as heavily on unconventional references as Soot does. But the song does feature one standard verse which, in theory, seemingly reiterates the sentiments expressed in Dropshipped Cat Shirt, another song from Wilbur’s album. And said sentiment would be akin to the vocalist having now reach a point in life where, after initially being under the impression that he was in control in the game, now feels as if he’s become disassociated and lonely.
The clearest statements in this entire song come in the outro, whereas the singer expresses the desire “to feel normal again” and “to have meals with (his) friends”. The final line of the song even goes on to imply that Wilbur is so discontent in the present that he’s actually looking forward to death. So the implication would be that something happened to him in recent times that has cast him into this woefully depressed state. And again going back to Dropshipped Cat Shirt, what we speculate is that he’s trying to present himself as one of those types of individuals who is adverse to being a celebrity.
That said, it’s still a matter of debate as to what the title of this song is supposed to mean, if anything. Wilburn does seem to indirectly reference pomegranate, a type of fruit that is grown commercially in California, during the very-first line of the track. But he seemingly goes on to insinuate that he’s doing so as a means of relaying a metaphor that may even be too complex for him to understand. In other words, the singer doesn’t really help in explaining the meaning of the titular preposition.
Indeed, Wilbur Soot is a musician who seems to take pride in making his lyrics as not-easy-to-understand as possible. As a singer he rarely makes direct statements, such of those found in this track’s outro. But again, it is the outro which verifies that this is a song of lamentation. And it may be, based on the bridge, that he perceives the intended addressee, who perhaps is a romantic interest, as someone who can save him from his current depression (again, as with Dropshipped Cat Shirt).
Facts about the Song
Wilbur Soot is the sole writer and producer of this track. Around the Pomegranate is third song on the playlist of his second full-length album, Mammalian Sighing Reflex, which itself was made public on 30 November 2023.
