Phoebe Bridgers and Andrew Bird have teamed up today for a new single called “I felt a Funeral, in my Brain,” inspired by some slightly unexpected source material: the Emily Dickinson poem of the same name.
Dickinson’s words illustrate a harrowing descent into madness, and Bridgers and Bird channel that macabre energy in their musical rendition, with only rootsy string instruments backing them.
Bridgers’ featherlight vocals exchange phrases with Bird’s contrasting bold timbre, lifting their lyrics directly from the poem itself: “And when they all were seated/ A service, like a drum/ Kept beating, beating, ’til I thought/ My mind was going numb,” they sing.
Having shared his latest album Inside Problems earlier this year, Bird also recently visited the NPR office with Iron & Wine’s Sam Beam for a career-spanning Tiny Desk Concert. And as if she wasn’t already busy hanging out with the likes of Marcus Mumford and The 1975, Bridgers will also sing the part of Sally in Danny Elfman’s upcoming live-to-film concert stagings of The Nightmare Before Christmas.