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about
"A Carpetbagger’s Ode To Rocky" was born in a cop car in rural Alabama on Christmas Eve in 2018. Ruby Rose Fox, a powerhouse vocalist, and award-winning songwriter, had just been introduced to The Osborne Brothers’ iconic rendition of "Rocky Top" on YouTube by her mother's husband, mere hours before a terrifying altercation with her own family.
The catalyst for this incident was in finding a pamphlet suggesting that anyone spotted disrespecting the Confederate flag should be “reported” to an anonymous hotline- a grim reminder of the deeply entrenched old boy network upholding a “way of life” through subtle or overt violence. This propaganda would have been perfectly paired with Jason Aldean’s song, “Try That In A Small Town,” which left so many Southerners writhing with disgust.
In 2022, hailing from the north (Boston/Chicago), Ruby and her producer Colin Sipos were disheartened to land in East Nashville as Roe v. Wade was overturned. Again, Ruby found herself grappling with the question: "Does my body belong here?" Ruby Rose Fox did what she does best—she gave a thunderous voice to the unspoken-- which this time included herself.
Producer Colin Sipos encouraged Ruby to transform her own meaning of "Rocky Top" into a cinematic fever dream where gospel dirge meets Annie Lennox. His production invites the listener (and Ruby) to heed despair, and instead, suggests one should not only march and endure but create a new story for those who dare to challenge the status quo.
Ruby’s lyrics evoke Jonah, the biblical underdog, swallowed and redeemed repeatedly in every retelling like a heroic Sisyphus. Through all the darkness, the song's message is clear: the indomitable human spirit, though battered and bruised, cannot be swallowed, and it will always emerge with hope and resilience.
LYRICS
Seems so long ago
She became the Tennessee hills
A 45 and an open telephone
A stack of medical bills
Once she loved a bear named Rocky
They wrestled on a honky tonk mat
When it’s late and low in Gatlinburg snow
You can hear her talk about that
Tennessee you'll never be
Home to someone like me
Swallow me, Rocky
Rocky, won’t you swallow me
Black ink don’t fight in a town so white
Lovin on their civil war star
But the bodies pile and Dolly just smiles
And everybody goes to the bar
She fell in love for me in Tennessee
Now she’s everywhere
Lawmen feel her power
Preachers comb her hair
Tennessee I thought you'd be
A home to someone like me
Tennessee I thought you'd be
A home to someone like me
I will play Jonah, you play the Whale for me
So swallow me, Rocky
Rocky, won’t you swallow me
My animal is naked
It’s howling on the hook
I begged you for some water
And choked on your holy book
Tennessee I thought you'd be
A home to someone like me
Tennessee I thought you'd be
A home to someone like me
I will play Jonah, you play the Whale for me
So swallow me, Rocky
Rocky, won’t you swallow me
Swallow me, Rocky
Rocky, won’t you swallow me
Tennessee you'll never be
Home to someone like me
Swallow me, Rocky
Rocky won’t you swallow me
credits
released October 20, 2023
Written by Ruby Rose Fox and Colin Sipos
Produced, engineered, and mixed by Colin Sipos
Mastered by Anthony Gravino
Cover photography by Anna Haas
Cover design by Jeremy Fetzer
Ruby Rose Fox (lead vocals, backing vocals, choir, piano)
Colin Sipos (piano, synth, acoustic guitar, baritone guitar, lap steel, drums, percussion, programming)
Pat Sansone (Fender Bass VI, Wurly)
Jon Radford (drums)
Joe George (strings, synth) Austin Cannon (Moog, synth, FX)
Ruby Rose Fox sings soul-driven, edgy indie-pop. Her soulful and mesmerizingly low contralto is an otherworldly take on modern indie music, and her lyrics empower the powerless and take on crucial issues.
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