Americana Highways brings you this song premiere of “Don’t Water My Whiskey Down” from Todd Burge’s upcoming release Your Reflection Will Kill You, produced by Don Dixon (James McMurtry, REM). The album features Todd Burge on vocals, steel string guitar, harmonica and ukulele; Ryan Kennedy on nylon string guitar and vocals; John Inghram on upright bass and vocals and Don Dixon on backing vocals too.
Achieving a unique sound throughout the project, the triadic foundation was Burge playing steel string guitar, with Kennedy on nylon string guitar and Inghram on bass with no drums; the album unfolds from this stripped down acoustic arrangement. “Don’t Water Down My Whiskey” is a lyrical tale of a parent whose offspring have become old enough to hear honest descriptions about some of the wilder truths of the family history; this all takes place in a spoken word-like lyrical style against standup bass rhythms. The result is a wry, hilarious effect while the musical fingers tickle at your own guarded memories.
Irish whiskey being my adult beverage of choice, this phrase just popped in my head one day, and I wrote a bunch of verses. As our kids get older, more and more I find myself talking to them like they are my friend, and I will sometimes think to myself, did I say too much? Did I just change their life for the worse by telling them that family story? It also talks about West Virginia, and how it has been oppressed for years. Our land has been raped and our people ripped off. Our water poisoned and our beauty diminished. In the song, I use whiskey as a metaphor for both strength and weakness
Pre-order your copy of the album here http://www.toddburge.com/ while listening right here: