Lucky For You by Bully
by Lana Fleischli
Alicia Bognanno’s recent release, Lucky For You examines personal change and societal change. It is an album that provides all kinds of emotion. No matter what mood I’m in, a song on Lucky For You fits the energy in a way.
The way I have resonated with this piece is different than any other way I have resonated with an album because I am in a time in my life that I have never experienced before. I graduated high school less than a month ago and moved across the country to start working in a field of interest to me. Lucky For You has unintentionally been the soundtrack to the past month for me. I really resonated with “Days Move Slow” in how Bognanno portrays being stuck in one place– maybe being okay in that place– but knowing that “something’s gotta change.” Also, still feeling like you have an attachment to something that you’ve grown out of and the implications of wanting to be a part of it, but also being so ready to leave. That’s how I have felt in the last month. Everything is changing, and it has to, and I’m ready for it. However, there is still part of me that is so connected to this past version of myself and it feels like I can’t grow up.
Bognanno continues with the idea of change in “Change Your Mind.” It is a different kind of change, a need for someone to feel a certain way for her. She is trying to change their mind, but it doesn't seem to be working.
Throughout the album, she is looking for a change. She is stuck and isn’t sure how to move forward. The Fourth of July was two weeks ago, so I would be remiss if I didn’t mention “Ms. America.” Bognanno sings,
“I guess everything falls apart
Finding hope in a broken heart
All I wanted was a daughter
Try my best to raise her right
But the whole world's caught on fire
And I don't wanna teach a kid to fight.”
This is the societal change that I was mentioning. Even though the US has been stuck for centuries, it is also changing for the worse. We are moving back in time into a state of fear. So, there is change, but also stuck.
Alicia Bognanno’s life is stuck, and I can deeply relate to that. She’s stuck in a changing world that isn’t changing for the better. We are paralyzed in a society focused on the past to the point that as individuals, we can’t be present. We are stuck so we do not know how to create the relationships or the world we envision.