I was first introduced to the song “Can’t Complain” when I was over my friend’s house, and I asked him to show me new music; I instantly fell in love with the song. There was something about the song that just captivated me from the first note. The song is by a group called “Nickel Creek,” and if you haven’t heard of them, well, that probably makes sense because their most popular song has about 1 million views on youtube, compared to the songs you usually hear on the radio which can easily have 200 times the amount of views. The genre of the song is what I’d call a mix between bluegrass and folk (and some other stuff in between). What I really love about this song is how well it tells a story. Listening to this is like going on a journey through the person’s life, and it really is portrayed so beautifully. (I know it sounds cliche but it’s only way I can really describe how this song makes me feel). In the song you’ll hear many different instruments and sounds, including (at least) two different guitar tracks, a fiddle, what sounds like a cello, a bass (probably upright), and a church bell or gong of some sort.

The lyrics and the instrumentation fit together so perfectly in this song. As much as the lyrics tell a story, the music itself tell maybe an even more compelling story. Working together, the lyrics and music show the reader something incredible. Musically, the story starts out simple, with some long tones (playing the chords) in the background and then guitar, panned all the way to the left. Almost the whole time, the plucking guitar part has this one note that it keeps going to, which adds a lot of tension, and then it resolves, only to come back again in the subsequent chord. I love this so much and I really think it represents how the story follows a sort of rise and fall pattern, going from good to bad (and back to good) in the blink of an eye. As the story progresses, more and more instruments begin to come in, first another guitar part, then vocal harmonies, string parts, etc. As more and more of the plot of the story is revealed, more and more musical parts are added, which works so well. Just like chapters in a book, the song is split up into different sections, by key changes (in the first 4 minutes the key changes 4 times) and by dynamics. The song builds and builds and builds until it hits a wall and starts to fall back down again with the line “I cheated on her with a friend of mine.” and then my favorite part of the song happens about 30 seconds after that, when it fades out to the same long tones it started with (kind of like that the story went full circle; the lovers started out separated and disjointed and now they’ve come around to the same spot again, and then all of the sudden the singer says “No she can’t…” and everyone comes back in full blast, making the end of the song the most intense part.

The singer of the song uses the word “I” a lot, giving the impression that he’s talking about his own life and personal experiences, but you can never really know for sure, unless the writer releases what the song is actually about. This kind of music is not unusual for Nickel Creek, but it is definitely a bit less blueglass-y then some of their other songs (I’ve only heard a few others though). One line that I really like is “I guess we just kidnapped each other’s minds.” This really speaks to me because I know it feels to kind of lose yourself in someone, almost be like a prisoner to them.

Lastly, I would definitely recommend this song to anyone who likes tangy bluegrass type music, and even those who don’t, because it’s just a great overall song. For me, it’s a great song to just sit down, close your eyes, and listen to – but for others it may offer something different, who knows. Regardless of what the song could potentially mean to anyone, I think that it’s something that everyone should at least listen to once, just for the sake of expanding their horizon of musical knowledge and appreciation.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rxrHURemzIg

http://www.azlyrics.com/lyrics/nickelcreek/cantcomplain.html