At the heart of the songs on I Was So Fond of You is the tragic loss of Patershuk’s sister, Clare, to a drunk driver in 2013, as “Harviestown” and the title track find him recalling and reflecting on her life and death. Patershuk is bound to time, fully human, fully honest, recognizing that the meaning of life only begins to emerge in hindsight. As such, many of the tracks on the album deal with tragedy - trying to make sense of it, contending with its repercussions and the questions that emerge. “Mean Coyotes” tells the story of an old horse who meets a tough end, while conveying the sense of powerlessness felt when tragedy strikes outside of our control. “Little Guitar” follows a man who buys a guitar after WWII and deals with the loss of his brother, considering how things that are rugged, beaten up, and well traveled, can, like us, be sources of beauty and solace in the face of a cruel world.