"Red Bird Morning," by S.G Goodman, is a preview single from the upcoming album "Old Time Feeling," produced by Jim James (My Morning Jacket), which comes out July 17 on Verve Forecast. Goodman has already received some well-deserved attention from a list of tastemakers that includes Rolling Stone Magazine, who spotlighted her as one of the "Women Shaping The Future," and NPR Music, who included her in the All Songs Considered podcast of artists they missed at SXSW.

Says producer Jim James: "Goodman is living proof that we can be whoever we want to be, no matter where we come from." The lyrics for this spellbinding acoustic track are inspired by Goodman’s experience volunteering at the Standing Rock protest against the oil pipeline (DAPL) in Dakota, and they tell the story of her journey to the camp, and the broken relationship she left behind. The music video was filmed on an iPhone by Goodman and her friend, Tim Johns, after the original shoot was cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. These bleak images were filmed a few days before stay-at-home recommendations were implemented, and they explore the dusky landscapes, the barren trees, and the fertile emptiness around Goodman’s home in Kentucky just before the onset of spring.

Set against a sparse and evocative backdrop of acoustic guitar and ambient electric tones, Goodman's voice pierces through the haze of melancholy with blinding intensity, delivering a story of spiritual longing and stoic reverence for the sanctity of nature and the tenacity of circumstance. The production style of "Red Bird Morning" stands as a testament to the power of subtlety and sonic purity, as Goodman's delicate vibrato and whispered vocal delivery push the chorus melody into uncharted harmonic territory, and we are left with the bittersweet aftertaste of a memory that was never ours. Her broken heart is our own, as we wait with both anticipation and sorrow for the end of another winter, and the start of something new.

And I thought it was a lovers' prayer
I said for you when I was there
But the sacred fire, it burned my hair
Before it hit the ground

Goodman's new record features her lifelong friends, Matthew David Rowan and S. Knox Montgomery, who helped create the record - providing guitars, and drums respectively. The album was mixed by Goodman, James and Kevin Ratterman at Bo Koster’s studio in Los Angeles. This song is featured on our Roots Collection playlist.