21 Oct Addiction: Problem or Solution? “Drinkin’ Problem”

The country music band Midland’s debut song “Drinkin’ Problem” deals directly and in a clever way with the question is addiction a problem, a solution, or a little bit of both? This question and its answer being an important part of the hug your cactus journey. The song itself has a bit of an old school country vibe with a catchy melody. It was received well both commercially and critically as it helped launch the band’s career. “If traditional country music is truly going to cover the radio in 2017, it’s going to be by bands like Midland. The trio’s ‘Drinkin’ Problem’ keeps the pretty of old-school country swing but dives dark into sorrow with no shame.”[i] The song itself is told in first person, as the individual is responding to others who “keep talking,” explaining why he keeps drinking and has no real intention of stopping any time soon.

One more night, one more down / One more, one more round / First one in, last one out / Giving this town lots to talk about / But they don’t know, what they don’t know.

Chorus:
People say I got a drinkin’ problem / That ain’t no reason to stop / People saying that I hit rock bottom / Just cause I’m living on the rocks / It’s a broken-hearted thinking problem, so pull one more bottle off the wall / People say I got a drinking problem, but I got no problem drinking at all. 

They keep on talking, drawing conclusions / They call it a problem, I call it a solution. 

Last call gets, later and later / I come in here so I don’t have to hate her / Same old folks, same old songs / Same old same old blue neon / The same old buzz, just because. 

They keep on talking, drawing conclusions / They call it a problem, I call it a solution. Just sitting hearing all my grand illusions / They call it a problem, I call it a solution. [ii]

The shameless darkness and sorrow expressed here is a reminder of the old joke, what do you get when you play a county song backwards? With the answer being something to the effect of; your dog, your spouse, your job, your truck, etc. Yet, there is something much deeper going on in these lyrics. The individual telling their story here is not trying to hide the reality that his life is in crisis and that his drinking is contributing to the crisis. In that sense, this song serves as type of a confession, but a confession without real remorse. He is lamenting their situation without taking personal responsibility. Instead, there is a bit of sarcastic defiance even. “It’s a broken-hearted thinking problem, so pull one more bottle off the wall / People say I got a drinking problem, but I got no problem drinking at all.”

The source of the crisis in this song is a broken heart and he even admits to going out drinking all night to avoid hating the one who has broken his heart. This lament over his current situation leads him to conclude, “they call it a problem, I call it a solution. Which brings us back to the original question is addiction a problem or a solution? Historically society has treated addiction more as a problem and treatment like the 12 Steps or a rehab “treatment” center as the solution. The benefits and contributions of the various 12 Step groups and other treatment approaches cannot easily be overstated.  For they have literally saved the life and quality of life for millions of people by helping them find real healing through a variety of addictions.  However, there is always a deeper issue or issues at play and as you learn to hug your cactus you also learn that you must also address the deeper issue. For example, going back to the song, again he is drinking to avoid the urge to hate the person who has broken his heart. In his mind then, drinking is a “better” solution than acting out his hate and even anger, either directly on her or taking it out on someone else.  So, the core problem here is not drinking, but his unresolved hate and anger towards another person. His drinking then is certainly a problem, a problem that others can plainly see, but it is also a flawed and destructive attempt at a solution.  A friend of mine who has struggled off and on with abusing alcohol in his life refers to it as his weapon of choice, which is another way of describing the same idea.

In order to receive true healing, one must then address both the addiction, in this case drinking, and the deeper cactus issue or ugly part of the soul issue, in this instance hate and anger. The answer to the original question then is both; addiction is both a problem and an attempted solution to a deeper problem. Both must be addressed and dealt with for true healing to take place. There are many whose cactus includes battling a less public or visible addiction than alcohol, drugs, or an eating disorder; and may not be able seek the help available to them through programs like 12 Steps.  For example, in my own life when I started to work though my own addictions of chaos, adrenaline and seeking attention; I found that these didn’t seem to fit neatly into one of the existing 12 Step groups.  I was still facing the reality that, “we are all addicts… a modern name and honest description for what the biblical tradition called ‘sin’ and medieval Christians called ‘passions’ or ‘attachments.’ They both recognized that serious measures or practices were needed to break us out.”^[iii] However, I still had to then, and to continue to work through these destructive tendencies as part of my own cactus hugging journey.  We are all addicted to something(s), and that addiction can easily become a destructive attempt at a solution to our deeper cactus/shadow/false self you don’t hug your cactus.  

[i] Dukes, Billy (December 27, 2016).https://tasteofcountry.com/midland-drinkin-problem/, Accessed October 21, 2017.

[ii] Midland, “Drinkin’ Problem” from the 2017 album On the Rocks.

[iii] Rohr, Richard, Breathing Under Water, xxiii.