November 28, 2022 by Jade Helal (’23)
As Thanksgiving passes, it’s time to bring in the festive winter spirit. I would say it’s impossible to experience a truly merry mood without Phoebe Bridgers’ annual Christmas cover. Thankfully, she recently dropped her 2022 cover of Handsome Family’s “So Much Wine” and it was a masterpiece. Bridgers has outdone herself yet again, and this year’s cover seems to be a fan favorite.
September 2017 marked Bridgers’ first Christmas cover release: “Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas.” In 2018, she came out with a brilliant rendition of “Christmas Song.” In 2019, she covered “7 O’clock News/Silent Night.” In 2020, she sang “If We Make It Through December.” Finally, last year, 2021, was “Day After Tomorrow.” Bridgers donates all the proceeds she makes from these covers, and this year she is donating to Los Angeles LGBTQ Center–an organization that helps provide legal services, housing, healthcare, and HIV treatment.
Bridgers’ “So Much Wine” starts with, “I had nothing to say, on Christmas day, when you threw all your clothes in the snow.” The lyrics go on to describe what it is like seeing a loved one struggle with alcoholism. The original is composed of a harmonica, banjo, and soft vocals. It is a duet between Brett and Rennie Sparks–a husband and wife. The tune is certainly dismal, but at the same time classic and catchy.
Bridgers manages to make the song even more touching and tunes up the notes of melancholy by slowing the tempo and producing it acoustically. The harmonica is replaced with a violin and whistling. The chorus “listen to me, Butterfly, there’s only so much wine” sounds much more dramatic in Bridgers’ version, almost as if she is pleading with the intended listener. Seeing that Bridgers’ father struggles with alcoholism, which she touches in her song “Kyoto,” this song lands as incredibly meaningful and personal. She put her heart and soul into it, and it paid off.
Overall, though, Bridgers’ stayed true to the original version. Bridgers’ version has Marshall Vore on drums, Harrison Whitford on guitar, and Sebastian Steinberg on bass–and of course, Bridgers on the vocals, with her partner Paul Mescal accompanying her. It is most reminiscent of her first album “Stranger in The Alps,” with sounds most clearly reflective of the song “Funeral” from that album. “So Much Wine” is already a great song, and coupled with Bridgers’ unique voice, the cover truly was a hit–the ultimate holiday heartbreak anthem.
Phoebe Bridgers nailed her 2022 annual Christmas cover. “So Much Wine” has the perfect amount of emotion and feels meaningful while also being beautifully sung and composed. She put her own touch to it without altering the original song’s spirit. Phoebe Bridgers’ once again released an amazing cover and has left fans eagerly waiting to see what song she will pick next year.