“I’M GONNA MISS YOU AND YOUR MICKEY MOUSE TATTOO…”
Brittany Howard’s uncharacteristically direct tale of junkies in love
As a lyricist, Brittany Howard mostly deals in allusion and ambiguities. “I don’t write specifically,” she admits, “I don’t think there’s any fun in giving it all away. None of these songs are what they seem, I guess.” “Miss You”, however, is an unusually detailed song, a “Try A Little Tenderness”-like slow burn that begins, “I’m gonna miss you and your Mickey Mouse tattoo/And you’ll be leaving in your Honda Accord.”
“It’s about this couple I used to know,” explains Howard. “Basically, they were both addicted to drugs really bad, but they were both really in love with each other. It was so toxic and weird, and I wanted to write a love song that wasn’t like a normal love song, that wasn’t, ‘I love you so much, we’re together forever.’ It’s about two people ruining each other for everyone except for themselves.”
Are the Mickey Mouse tattoo and the Honda Accord real?
“Well, the Mickey Mouse tattoo is. I had to change the car, because it was a very specific type and I tried not to give everything away.”
But you didn’t have to change the tattoo?
“No – it’s such a good line…”