Selwyn Birchwood

Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues [Vinyl LP]

PRESSED ON CLEAR YELLOW VINYL. ALSO AVAILABLE ON CD
Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues features 10 wildly imaginative original songs, all produced by Birchwood. From the blazing psychedelic soul of the title track to the heartfelt closing ballad, “The Struggle Is Real,” Selwyn tiptoes the tightrope between gritty gutbucket blues and contemporary grooves. Electric Swamp Funkin’ Blues honors the roots, while opening a doorway to the blues’ brilliant, funky future. “Birchwood is one of contemporary blues’ foremost innovators. Funky, Southern-flavored electric blues…infectious rhythms and inventive soloing.” —Blues Music Magazine

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1.	The Eagle Has Landed	1:28
2.	The Church of Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues	5:05	This is The Church of Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues This is The Church of Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues Have you heard the good news? It’s Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues This is The Church In this house, we don’t charge a toll to heal a soul We don’t throw rocks, but we get stoned Don’t need no denomination No damnation Tribulation Only liberation Music is the mission No notes of indoctrination Just a righteous revelation The sound is the salvation This is The Church of Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues This is The Church of Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues Have you heard the good news? It’s Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues This is The Church The stage is our pulpit The crowd’s the congregation We ain’t chasin’ prophets or profits Just the creation of joyful jubilation Music is the mission No notes of indoctrination Just a righteous revelation The sound is the salvation This is The Church of Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues This is The Church of Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues Have you heard the good news? It’s Electric Swamp Funkin' Blues This is The Church Swamp Funkin' Blues Swamp Funkin' Blues Swamp Funkin' Blues Swamp Funkin' Blues
3.	Damaged Goods	6:30	(Chorus:) I might be damaged goods That don’t mean I’m no good I might be damaged goods That don’t mean I’m no good If you’re looking for perfect It ain’t me I’m a little disturbed But I’ve found peace ‘Cause now I know Every soul Has a shadow And it follows them I’m a sinner By my own admission We’re all faced With the same affliction Mistakes are just a trait Of the human condition (Repeat chorus) I don’t have to be proud Of my past Or where I’ve been But it all makes you who you are And I’m happy with who I am I bare all my scars Like a Purple Heart Pinned to a veteran I’ve been broke But I ain’t broken I’ve been hopeless But I’m still hoping I’ve been cheated And I’ve been a cheat Life’s beat me down But I’m not beat (Repeat chorus) (Repeat chorus) That don’t mean that I am no good That don’t mean that I am no good That don’t mean that I am no good
4.	All Hail The Algorithm	4:57	Welcome Welcome to our digital hell The whole wide world’s in a digital web We traded our hard lives for hard drives Integrated so deep We can’t do anything, Without a screen Have you ever had conversation In the privacy of your own home Only to find it advertised The next time you open up your phone? Our creation’s now a creator It happened so fast, we didn’t notice it Now it is molding all of us To any image it sees fit (Pre chorus:) Now the system’s Always listening Siftin’ through the details we give them Customizing our simulation Feeding on all of your information Chorus All Hail the Algorithm All Hail the Algorithm They say the best way To enslave a man You just got to convince him To put the chains on his own hands We’re so captivated By our handhelds We don’t care that they They hold us captive now We don’t see what we want We see what it wants us to see Social media’s influence Hypnotizing humanity It’s like a mass experiment In Cognitive Dissonance When fantasies can be sentient Reality is irrelevant (Pre chorus:) Know the system’s Always listening Sifting through the details we give them Customizing our simulation Feeding on all of your information (Chorus:) All hail the Algorithm (Pre chorus:) Know the system’s Always listening Sifting through the details we give them Customizing our simulation Feeding on all of your information Chorus All Hail the Algorithm All Hail the Algorithm All Hail the Algorithm Goodbye
5.	Labour of Love	5:23	They say the ring on your finger Gets tighter each year Well, I know she loves me But I wonder If she likes me still But at the end of the day Life can’t break our bond We still find our happy place Is still in each other’s arms It’s a labour of love A labour of love Sometimes the strains Of growing pains Makes you forget How lucky you are There’s no harm done It’s just a labour of love A labour of love I’ve got two screaming kids With needs I can’t meet Seems like the harder I try to provide The more they need from me Feel like my hands have been tied But all I can do is try To give them the kind of life I never had Despite the tears in my eyes It’s a labour of love A labour of love But at the end of the day It’s a small price to pay I’m still amazed how they Melt my heart away It’s a labour of love A labour of love I wish I could tell my mother Now I’m a man, I understand Parents aren’t perfect They do the best they can In this labour of love
6.	Should’ve Never Gotten Out of Bed	3:42	I wake up, check the mail Find I owe the IRS a mint My rent is past due My bank account is in the negative Only bad news seem to come my way I never ever shouldve even gotten out of bed today On my job The boss cuss me out for being half past late He said he don’t care that my car caught fire on the interstate Fantasized all day About leaving this place I never ever shouldve even gotten out of bed today Come home early Seeking solace in the sanctity of my house My girlfriends got a boyfriend Never guess just how i found that out She said its my fault For leaving get to go to work all day I never ever shouldve even gotten out of bed today
7.	What I’ve Been Accused Of	4:35	A good man is no match For a jealous heart She’s suspicious when I’m with her Paranoid when we’re apart I wish I’d done half of what I’ve been accused of She wants to know everyone I’ve talked to She wants to know everywhere I go Wake up in the dead of night And she’s going through my phone I wish I’d done half of what I’ve been accused of Every day I plead my case But my trial is rigged ‘Cause she’s the judge and the jury And she’s already convicted me I wish I’d done half of what I’ve been accused of You treat me like I’m cheating I might ass well sow what I’m reaping ‘Cause, Lord knows, I’d hate to make A liar out of you I wish I’d done half of what I’ve been accused of
8.	Talking Heads	4:15	(Chorus:) Pay no mind to the talking heads They’re just throwing up the money that they’re fed If we’re fighting each other, we ain’t fighting them Pay no mind to the talking heads The TV, it seems, is just a cult of personality They tell ya what ya wanna hear It’s only fake news if you disagree Programming the public With slogans and sound bites But a lie repeated a thousand times Is still a lie Repeat Chorus In greed they trust And in money they must Obsessed with dollar signs They can’t get enough Skewing the news Cuz no one reads between the headlines They call ‘em half truths But they’re just half lies, in disguise Repeat Chorus Spinning stories so fast They got me dizzy Can’t have you think for yourself That’s a little too risky We’re left with the nightmare So they can live the dream They don’t really care About the other side of the TV screen Repeat Chorus
9.	Soulmate	5:36	There is somebody Out there For everybody Somewhere Don’t give up, don’t get down Because your Soul Mate Is waiting to be found Love is elusive Oh, but love is real True love True love can heal Don’t give up, don’t get down Because your Soul Mate Is waiting to be found When you feel that gravity When you can’t resist When it’s like your spirits Are a perfect fit Don’t give up, don’t get down Because your Soul Mate Is waiting to be found
10.	The Struggle is Real	5:01	Born to world with a cord around my neck Life’s been a fight since my very first breath Before I learned numbers I learned about the color wheel Let me tell you The struggle is real A boy child Learned about the world ‘Fore I was grown Wonder why they followed me In every store I go Mama explained They think my skin is gonna steal Let me tell you The struggle is real The struggle is real The struggle is real I pray one day We will heal The struggle is real The struggle is real The struggle is real I pray one day We will heal The struggle is real Ladies cross the street When they see me walking down my block If I pass near their cars I hear all the doors lock I’m only served The raw end of the deal Let me tell you The struggle is real Broadcast brutality On the TV news It hits a little different When you know it could be you Upset if you stand up Upset if you kneel Let me tell you The struggle is real The struggle is real The struggle is real I pray one day We will heal The struggle is real The struggle is real The struggle is real I pray one day We will heal The struggle is real (repeat) We’ve got to tear down These walls that we built ‘Cause I tell you The struggle is real

All songs written and arranged by Selwyn Birchwood
(Selwyn Birchwood Music admin. by Eyeball Music, BMI)

Selwyn Birchwood: Guitar, Vocals, Lap Steel Guitar
Regi Oliver: Baritone, Tenor, Alto and Bass Saxophones, Flutes
Donald “Huff” Wright: Bass Guitar
Henley Connor III: Drums, Percussion
John Hetherington: Hammond B3 Organ, Keyboards, Piano
Eli Bishop: Violin, Viola, Cello
Briana Lutzi & Taylor Opie: Background Vocals

Produced by Selwyn Birchwood
Recorded by Bob Frank at Baysound Studios, Sarasota, FL
Mixed by Zach Allen
Mastered by Richard Dodd
Design by Kevin Niemiec
Photos by Jayne Drooger (except swamp photos by Alla Kemelmakher & Jordan Smith)

Thank you to all of our fans that have supported this music from DAY ONE! We would not be able to do what we do without YOU! Thank you to my band for sticking with me for all these years and loaning their talent to this album—Regi Oliver, Huff Wright, Henley Connor, John Hetherington. Thank you to Bruce Iglauer and the team at Alligator Records for their continued support and expertise in getting our music to the people! Thank you to Intrepid Artists for putting us on the stages and in front of the audiences so we can share our music! Thank you to Maria Birchwood, Briana Lutzi, Taylor Opie, Zach Allen, Audrey Allen, Eli Bishop, Bob Frank, Andrew Gohman, Jim McKaba, Jon Buck, Josh Miller.

Booking: Intrepid Artists International, staff@intrepidartists.com, 704.358.4777

Selwyn Birchwood endorses Gibson Guitars