Beautiful gatefold eco-case, with digital collage artwork and design by Scott Wolfson. Photos by Shameless Photography.
Includes unlimited streaming of World Brand New
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 3 days
$15USDor more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
Signed, limited-edition vinyl edition of "World Brand New," with full color jacket. Available for a limited time. Only 100 available. Digital collage and design by Scott Wolfson, photos by Shameless Photography.
Includes unlimited streaming of World Brand New
via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
ships out within 3 days
edition of 100
$35USDor more
about
MY COUNTRY
Written by: Ty Greenstein
Genre: orchestral folk, singer-songwriter
Tempo: Slow/ballad
Mood: pensive, wistful, sad, patriotism, hubris, hopeful
Similar to: Iron & Wine, Gregory Alan Isokov, Ani DiFranco
Backstory: Ty says, "In 'My Country' I wanted to personify America as an old friend who is looking worse for the wear. It’s a narrative that intentionally reflects the more personal themes of the album, and the tone is empathetic rather than judgmental: 'I know each one of us / Has lost somebody’s trust / Despite all we thought we’d be / Sweet lands of liberty / With poems etched on our sides / Of healing the great divides / And opening every door / To the tired and the poor.'
"I feel this incredible sense of anger and disappointment about how this country has not lived up to its ideals, and I realized that the way I feel about it is similar to how I feel about myself and everyone I love. We all start out with ideals, we all miss the mark, and we all deserve love anyway. And one of the central ideas of the album is that we are all capable of redemption: 'And now we may not be friends / But the long arc of character bends / Always towards the rising sun / So put down your 300 million guns / The enemy you fear / Is staring back in the mirror / And the battles still left to fight / Are the ones deep inside.'"
My country tis of thee
Deadbeat and divorcee
Of thee I want to sing
And mean everything
Is it unkind to say
You’ve seen much better days?
And if I tell the truth
I hardly recognize you
Oh but I knew you when
Your dreams waved in the wind
With stars shining in your eyes
Dying to show your stripes
Oh, you were wild and bold
At least that’s the tale you told
And we all believed it too
We believed in you
Cause way back when you were born
Someone said this one’s for
Toppling tyranny
Lifting a lamp to sea
So people could look and say
Hey, there’s another way
And they pinned every dream they had
On your new little head
Then life came in fits and starts
The booze and the broken hearts
You fell asleep on the job
And slept your way to the top
But oh what a grand decline
And then you ran out of time
And everyone gathered round
To see you go down
I know each one of us
Has lost somebody’s trust
Despite all we thought we’d be
Sweet lands of liberty
With poems etched on our sides
Of healing the great divides
And opening every door
To the tired and the poor
And now we may not be friends
But the long arc of character bends
Always towards the rising sun
So put down your 300 million guns
The enemy you fear
Is staring back in the mirror
And the battles still left to fight
Are the ones deep inside
So don’t you give up just yet
Go on now, get some rest
Wipe the centuries from your face
I’ll help you clean up the place
If you can’t be a superstar
Just be more perfect than you are
Ain’t it worth one last shot to be
The land of the free?
credits
from World Brand New,
released October 6, 2023
Ty Greenstein – lead vocals, acoustic guitar.
Ingrid Elizabeth – vocals, upright bass.
Michael Connolly – piano, Hammond organ.
Joe Chellman – drums.
Mai Bloomfield – cello.
Tania Elizabeth – violin.
JoshYenne – pedal steel.
With more than a dozen albums and over a thousand shows between them, Ty Greenstein and Ingrid Elizabeth of Mouths of Babes
are no strangers to the indie folk music scene. For years, their bands Girlyman and Coyote Grace captivated thousands of loyal fans as they criss-crossed the country. Now, as Mouths of Babes, they've distilled the very best of their previous groups into a new folk power duo....more
Our great musician / singer / performer / arranger. Champion for the unsung through song. Her finest album yet. Wonderful contributions from Francesco Turrisi as well. First couple of folk. Red Balloon Talk
This album speaks to the continuum of African diasporic culture that is central to the vibrant canon of Americana folk music. Bandcamp Album of the Day May 29, 2020
Durham, NC singer-songwriter Skylar Gudasz makes intimate Americana delivered with dry wit and stunningly precise vocal acumen. Bandcamp New & Notable Apr 14, 2020
