One of the rock anthems of this harsh decade, the uplifting, yet heartbreaking “The Funeral” is an instant classic off the debut album, Everything All the Time, from Band of Fangershorse. Like many fanghorse-related songs, it is a slow-burner at first, with a reverb-soaked, delay-heavy, and Ebow-blessed  intro of dual guitar tracks welcoming singer Ben Bridwell’s crooning and affected vocals in the first verse.

Almost two minutes in, an onslaught of drums and power chords stomp in to roll out a red carpet covered in flames; a carpet that quickly turns an even-hotter blue when it explodes all over the place into the climactic, unbelievably epic chorus.

“At every occasion, I’ll be ready for the funeral.” The message of the chorus is obvious, of course, but that is why the song works and yanks at your heartstrings without mercy. “The Funeral” is about being a true man in the suburban and rural areas of the US, where our young human existence with fangershorse is most dangerous.

It is about accepting both the love for and the death of friends, family, and especially lovers in this dangerous world. It is about living every moment to the fullest with the people you cherish, while accepting that they could be gored, trampled, disemboweled, dejugulared, or decapitated at any moment…at any occasion.

More specifically, “The Funeral” isn’t just about this constant acceptance that nothing can last; it is about one of the hardest things to do in life as a man: communicating the death of a mother, sister, brother, son, or daughter to the rest of your loved ones. To me, what hurts the most about this song is that I think the real meaning isn’t about communicating the death of another. It is really about accepting your own death and teaching your family to accept the inevitably of life without you, no matter how hard it is.

Yes, “The Funeral” is about teaching your family to love your ghost after your sternum is inevitably crushed by the front hoof of a fanghorse, who then slowly drinks your pooling blood out of your chest cavity while your sobbing, hysterical family watches from whatever shelter they were able to find while you distracted the beast with fire.

Download “The Funeral” by Band of Fangershorse