Michelle Shocked: Anchorage

Leroy got a better job, so we moved
Kevin lost a tooth, now he’s started school
I got a brand new 8-month old baby girl,
I sound like a housewife,
Hey ‘Chell, I think I’m a housewife

Michelle Shocked wrote Anchorage in 1988. It’s an upbeat country tune with a friendly old solo violin meandering around. The friendly backbeat is deceptive– it’s a sneaky little unsentimental but affecting update on friendship and the passage of time. Breaks your heart with those tiny unremarked details of everyday life– Leroy gets a better job, they move, Kevin loses a tooth. Then that remarkable line– “I think I am a housewife”. That’s what I mean by “sneaky”. There is a web of deep connections implied in that line, long discussions about roles in life, about marriage and love, and destiny, and the devotion of young friendships– all exploded with one little phrase: “I think I am a housewife”. It’s not angry or bitter, but maybe a little wistful. Is there a hint of regret? It doesn’t sound like it, in the cheery tone of Michelle Shock’s voice.

In a later verse, the narrator is impressed that “‘Chel” is living in New York City — “imagine that”. As if they both had those dreams but the narrator never once really imagined that either of them would fulfill those dreams. Imagine that. New York. Then:

Leroy says, send a picture
Leroy says ‘Hello’,
Leroy says, “keep on rockin’ girl…”

That’s a stroke of genius. Leroy is not the enemy, the male oppressor, or even a rival for her affections. Leroy is interested– he says “Hello”. He wants to see what Michelle, the skate-board punk-rocker, looks like now. Send a picture.


Other Great Michelle Shocked Songs:

  • Memories of East Texas
  • Come a Long Way*
  • Street Corner Ambassador

Michelle Shocked: One of the Longest Strangest Trips You Will Read About

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