Avant Gardener

Album: The Double EP: A Sea of Split Peas (2013)
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Songfacts®:

  • This song about a slacker who has a severe allergic reaction while cleaning up her yard was penned by Barnett on the beach. She told NME: "As a song I was really proud of it. But I thought everyone would hate it! Just because, aw, it's a really stupid song. It's so long and has no chorus and it's not catchy, you know?"
  • The lyrics of this half-spoken song describe an event that actually happened. Barnett was feeling ambitious one day and decided to do some gardening. It went horribly wrong when she started having trouble breathing. An ambulance was called and she ended up in the hospital. She explained to Uncut magazine: "'Avant Gardener' is all true, apart from the adrenaline into the heart, like in Pulp Fiction. I just got adrenaline in the top of the thigh... But in the heart sounded so much more exciting."
  • Although this song recounts a real experience, Barnett does it with a sardonic wink, as it expresses that feeling you get when you finally find ambition and it fails miserably, making you wonder if you're better off staying in your comfort zone.
  • The music video quickly got over a million views on YouTube and led to an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The video is a non sequitur, with Barnett playing an awkward match of tennis with her band.

Comments: 1

  • Slug from TaiwanIt's not about a panic attack, it's about a severe allergic reaction (anaphylactic shock) to something while gardening. Hence the reference to anaphylactic and adrenaline (which is used to treat Anaphylaxis). The song is based on a severe asthma attack the writer had experienced, not a panic attack.
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