You're listening to Song Exploder,
where musicians take apart their songs and piece by piece tell the story of how they were made.
I'm Rishikesh Hirway.
This episode contains explicit language.
In 1993, Liz Phair released her debut album, Exile in Guyville.
It was an instant hit, critically and commercially.
It sold hundreds of thousands of copies.
Spin and The Village Voice named it Album of the Year.
And soon after, Rolling Stone put her on the cover of their magazine.
Now, 25 years later, Exile in Guyville is being reissued as a deluxe box set with new photos,
essays, and Liz Phair's original four-track cassette recordings.
In this episode, Liz and Exile in Guyville's producer, Brad Wood,
look back to tell the story of the creation of one of the songs on the album, Divorce Song.
It's never been a drag.
So take a deep breath and count back from ten.
And maybe you'll be all right.
I'm Liz Phair.
I don't remember when I wrote Divorce Song, but I remember the evening that inspired it.
I must have been a sophomore or junior in college.
I was dating a guy at Oberlin.