Breakups suck. When Victor Fuentes and his girlfriend, Cara, had broken up, she left all kinds of incidental things at his place: razor, makeup, shampoo, toothbrush, etc. He said that he was reminded of her when he saw the things and that he lamented ever breaking up. He also said that he didn’t even know why they had broken up in the first place. Fuentes agonizes during the song, saying, “What if I can’t forget you?” and, “None of the colors light up anymore in this hole.” The yearning is palpable as he shouts, “I’m just reaching for your necklace, talking to my Mom about this little girl from Texas.” McKinnon growls, “You can’t just throw me away!” Finally, Fuentes delivers the death knell: “I’d better learn to live alone.” Both of the singers also poignantly ask, “What if I don’t even want to?” when it comes to “picking up the pieces.”
The Title and Who Sang the Song
Obviously, the title is a portmanteau of “Cara,” the ex-girlfriend’s name, and “paraphernalia.” Fuentes asked his buddy Jeremy McKinnon to sing at least the chorus of the song. It turned out that McKinnon just sang the tortured chorus and the bridge, but Fuentes gave him full props for the collaboration. He said that he loves making music with his friends and that when he does so, it makes the songs that much more special to him than if he hadn’t collaborated with them.
Looking for Love
Fuentes said that the entire album, “Selfish Machines,” was about the desperation you feel when you want to be loved, and no one does. He says that such desperation is natural and normal: the giving and the taking, the wanting, and the desire, all of it. Other tracks on the album, such as “Besitos,” include Fuentes’s realization that he hurts his partners “over and over” without meaning to, and he delivers such realizations with self-aware maturity. Fuentes also dedicated one of the songs on the album to a fan whose boyfriend was killed in a car crash. He acknowledges his fascination with love even though he laments his lack of luck.
Other Media
Given the song’s “in-your-face” delivery, complete with screamed chorus and bridge, both film and television studios haven’t come calling to ask permission for its use in soundtracks. Still, even 13 years on, the power in it on the subject of love, perhaps unrequited, might eventually attract a filmmaker or television producer.
Lyrics
Sunshine
There ain’t a thing that you can do
That’s gonna ruin my night
(But there’s just something about)
This dizzy dreamer and her bleeding little blue boy
Licking your fingers like you’re done
And you’ve decided there is so much more than me
And baby, honestly it’s harder breathing next to you
I shake, I brought a gun and as the preacher tried to stop me
Hold my heart, it’s beating for you anyway
What if I can’t forget you?
I’ll burn your name into my throat
I’ll be the fire that’ll catch you
What’s so good about picking up the pieces?
None of the colors ever light up anymore in this hole
Nobody prays for the heartless (no)
Nobody gives another penny for the selfish
(You’re learning how to taste what you kill now)
Don’t mind me, I’m just reaching for your necklace
Talking to my mom about this little girl from Texas
What if I can’t forget you?
I’ll burn your name into my throat
I’ll be the fire that’ll catch you
What’s so good about picking up the pieces?
None of the colors ever light up anymore in this hole
Just give her back to me
You know I can’t afford the medicine that feeds what I need
So baby, what if I can’t forget you? (What if I can’t forget you?)
Collide invisible lips like a shadow on the wall
And just throw, oh no
You can’t just throw me away
So what if I can’t forget you?
I’ll burn your name into my throat
I’ll be the fire that’ll catch you
And what’s so good about picking up the pieces?
What if I don’t even want to?
What if I can’t forget you?
I’ll burn your name into my throat
I’ll be the fire that’ll catch you
What’s so good about picking up the pieces?
None of the colors ever light up anymore in this hole
Just give her back to me
You know I can’t afford the medicine that feeds what I need
So baby, what if I can’t forget you? (What if I can’t forget you?)
I’d better learn to live alone
Source: Musixmatch
Songwriters: Victor Fuentes / Michael Fuentes
Caraphernelia lyrics © Before Today Music Co., Get Your Mind Right Music
Listeners of Rock music, might also appreciate the song House of the Rising Sun by The Animals.
