Turtle in a Chinese Food Box—Debut!
Or, how a date in the park becomes a marriage, becomes a song, over the span of 50+ years
Today is the release of the first single "Turtle in a Chinese Food Box," featuring Charlie McCoy from my upcoming new album, EVERY KIND OF UH-OH (8.30.24). Bam—that's the news distilled into a succinct sip!
Credits and lyrics below—but first a short story.
When you've been married for nearly 50 years, as we have, you develop family mythologies. One mythical fact concerns our first date—a bicycle rendezvous at Sam Brannan Park in Yuba City, California.
It occurred in the late Summer of 1971, between our freshman and sophomore high school years. Andi and I have spent the summer chatting on the phone for hours—we're moving from friendship to "going steady."
Recently 15, I'm now employed by W.T. Grants department store. Knowing Andi is pet-inclined, I buy a tiny turtle (red-eared slider) and tote it to the park in a Chinese food box. According to our mythology, this is the heart-winning, laughter-inducing gesture that stamps the copyright page in the story, which is still alive and being written today.
I memorialize the park chapter in the song "Turtle in a Chinese Food Box."
Let's meet in the park, that's where we'll start
I'll bring you a turtle, baby
In a Chinese food box
We'll talk for hours, the world will be ours
We'll have a good time, I'll make you laugh a lot
About the music—here's your liner notes . . .
Produced by Charlie Peacock & Sam Ashworth
Arranged and Engineered by Charlie Peacock
Mixed by Brandon Bell, assisted by Annie Petrik
Mastered by Eric Conn at Independent Mastering
Atmos/Immersive Mixed by Chuck Ainlay
Atmos/Immersive Mastered by Michael Romanowski at Coast Mastering
Additional engineering by Sam Ashworth, Bridget Ashworth, Dan Dugmore, Jerry McPherson, Annie Petrik, Katelyn Prieboy, Aaron Sterling & Bryan Sutton
Acoustic Guitar: Bryan Sutton
Drums: Aaron Sterling
Electric Bass: Scott Mulvahill
Electric Guitar: Jerry McPherson
Fiddle: Andy Leftwich
Harmonica: Charlie McCoy
Pedal & Lap Steel: Dan Dugmore
Fender Rhodes electric piano: Charlie Peacock
Female Vocal Harmonies: Ruby Amanfu
Male Vocal Harmonies: Sam Ashworth
Gospel Choir performance and vocal arrangements: Ruby Amanfu, Bridget Ashworth, Sam Ashworth, Vicki Hampton, Darwin Hobbs
Written by Charlie Peacock, It's Time To Art/Songs of Universal (BMI) ©2024
©2024 It's Time To Art, distributed by Universal Music Group
Charlie McCoy
A brief word about the featured guest on this song, harmonica legend Charlie McCoy. Charlie is indeed the real McCoy, a Country Music Hall of Fame inductee, member of the Grand Ole Opry, Grammy winner, and former musical director of the iconic TV show Hee Haw. In addition to his Elvis Presley and Ringo Starr credits, Charlie is known the world over as the bass harmonica player on Simon & Garfunkel's "The Boxer" and Bob Dylan's first-choice multi-instrumentalist on such iconic albums as Highway 61 Revisited, Blonde On Blonde, and Nashville Skyline. Cue Hall of Fame-level applause!
Your full press release is HERE courtesy of Milestone Publicity. These good people are your contact for booking interviews and podcasts surrounding the recording and upcoming memoir (2.04.25).
A special thanks to Melissa Clarke at Americana Highways for being the first to premiere "Turtle . . ." to the Americana music audience. Appreciate you!
“The music [‘Turtle in a Chinese Food Box’] is comfortable, arranged in a rich and easy Americana mode with soaring instruments highlighted in turns, produced in a bountiful but clear style.”
— Melissa Clarke, Americana Highways, August 1
Finally, a huge thanks to Andi for her encouragement, my co-producer son, Sam Ashworth, for all of his encouragement and musical help, the ridiculously talented musicians I'm blessed to work with, Mike and Jessica at Milestone, and Brad O'Donnell and the team at Re:Think/UMG headed up by the "on it" Keke Carter.
Download hi-res images, artwork, and bio here.
For press inquiries, contact:
Milestone Publicity
Mike Gowen | mgowen@MilestonePublicity.com
Jessica Bonner | jbonner@MilestonePublicity.com
FULL LYRIC: "Turtle in a Chinese Food Box"
Let's meet in the park, that's where we'll start
I'll bring you a turtle, baby
In a Chinese food box
We'll talk for hours, the world will be ours
We'll have a good time, I'll make you laugh a lot
There's no reason to think that anything but true love will bloom
'Cause we don't know what we don't know
The land we've been given is dirt made of hurt
Where the seeds of roses and weeds both grow
In the space of an inch, so closely entwined,
These two incongruent live to indwell our minds
Let's meet in the park, that's where we'll start
I'll bring you a turtle, baby
In a Chinese food box
We'll talk for hours, the world will be ours
We'll have a good time, I'll make you laugh a lot
You know you're in love when you ride your bike ten miles for a kiss
But you don't yet know how the wind will blow
The land we've been given, is dirt made of hurt
Where the seeds of roses and weeds both grow
In the space of an inch, so closely entwined,
These two incongruent live to indwell our minds
Make us beautiful and unkind
Who shall rescue us? Who shall rescue us?
Who shall rescue us? Rescue us, rescue us
Let's meet in the park, that's where we'll start
I'll bring you a turtle, baby
In a Chinese food box
We'll talk for hours, the world will be ours
We'll have a good time, I'll make you laugh a lot
I like to think that I made you laugh a lot
This is such a fun song. I have followed you since the 90's. Your voice is an comforting friend.
Lovely, hon. You know this song makes me dance!