Last Friday, May 12, Dropkick Murphys released their new cover album Okemah Rising. The album follows the lyrics of Woody Guthrie and interprets and converts them for new generation of music listeners. The album is named for Guthrie’s hometown of Okemah, OK, and follows Dropkick Murphys’ well-received This Machine Still Kills Fascists album.
The album includes vocals from Jaime Wyatt on the album’s newest single, “Bring It Home.” This song shows a more humorous side of Guthrie, but still is a perfect fit for Dropkick Murphys as the working-class anthems and songs of protest match the band’s sound. Dropkick Murphys’ Ken Casey describes the single as a “foot-stomping Celtic singalong with our old pal Jaime Wyatt,” and promises, “This one would have been right at home on any Dropkick album throughout our career.” Listen to the new single from the official video below.
The song has a very traditional Celtic sound, with bagpipes, drums, guitars, and a fast beat that sounds so traditionally like a jig. The song’s lyrics are about a man who continuously visits a neighbor, sees what appliances they have in their home, and repeatedly brings new appliances back to his house and wife, who eventually leaves him to stay with the neighbor, whose appliances are better than his, and made “a mighty fine replacement.”
In addition to this new single, Okemah Rising includes a number of collaborations with folk punk artists like Violent Femmes on “Gotta Get To Peekskill” and new Bostonian artist Jesse Ahern on “Rippin Up The Boundary Line.”
Okemah Rising’s song list is as follows:
“My Eyes Are Gonna Shine”
“Gotta Get To Peekskill” (featuring Violent Femmes)
“Watchin The World Go By”
“I Know How It Feels”
“Rippin Up The Boundary Line” (featuring Jesse Ahern)
“Hear The Curfew Blowin”
“Bring It Home” (featuring Jaime Wyatt)
“When I Was A Little Boy”
“Run Hitler Run”
“I’m Shipping Up To Boston – Tulsa Version”
Photo credit: Boston Schulz.
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