Here Lucy Dacus looks back without anger but with a sizable dollop of sarcasm on what sounds like the holidays from hell. Ironic that. ‘VBS‘ is Lucy Dacus’ recollections of the limited joys and ultimate disappointments of Vacation Bible School. Yes folks, it actually exists. Lucy’s words on the song pretty much sum up the whole experience: “VBS means vacation bible school, and I went to tons of them. It’s where Christian parents send their kids over the winter, spring, or summer breaks from school to get closer to God, maybe learn some outdoor skills, and bring home useless crafts and totems like fruit of the spirit sand art and purity rings. I wrote the song in the van on the way to Nashville to record Home Video after seeing one of those readerboards outside a church advertising a wholesome church camp for kids. I thought about my first boyfriend, who I met at VBS, the resident bad boy who loved Slayer and weed more than Jesus. I took it upon myself to save him, and make him stop doing drugs (with an exception for snorting nutmeg). God, I was so lame.”
We’re kind of thinking that VBS didn’t have the lasting effect her folks had hoped for – but who knows? Even Alice Cooper eventually came back for more Bible Study Classes. So maybe subliminal brain washing works eventually.
