Tell me how you make illegal something that we all make in our brain?
Singer/songwriter Sturgill Simpson's "Turtles All The Way Down" has that traditional country sound combined with a new-age feel, some very interesting lyrics and a psychedelic video.
There's a gateway in our mind that leads somewhere out there beyond this plane
Where reptile aliens made of light cut you open and pull out all your pain.
Simpson says the song "was written after reading Dr. Rick Strassman’s The Spirit Molecule, a book about the mystical encounters people have experienced under the influence of the hallucinogenic compound DMT. The tune embodies a spiritual essence mixed with thoughts of love and drugs."
Every time I take a look inside that old and fabled book
I’m blinded and reminded of the pain caused by some old man in the sky
Marijuana, LSD, psilocybin, DMT, they all changed the way I see
But love’s the only thing that’s ever saved my life.
Simpson recently told NPR, "I expected to be labeled the 'acid country guy,' but it's not something I dwell on. I would urge anyone that gets hung up on the song being about drugs to give another listen. To me 'Turtles' is about giving your heart to love and treating everyone with compassion and respect no matter what you do or don't believe. The cosmic turtle is from a much quoted story found in publications throughout modern physics and philosophy, even ancient theology, that now essentially serves as a comedic picture or expression of a much grander idea."
To drive this idea home, the Kentucky native has released a wildly psychedelic video (see above) for the song, directed by visionary software artist Scott Draves.
"Turtles All The Way Down" is off Simpson's sophomore release, Metamodern Sounds in Country Music, on his own label, High Top Mountain Records. Classic country meets mind-bending production and songs that don't focus on typical themes like heartache, drinking, tailgates or dirt roads. "I wanted to make a "social consciousness' concept album disguised as a country record," he explains.
Don't waste your mind on nursery rhymes
Or fairy tales of blood and wine
It's turtles all the way down the line
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