Song Premiere: Casey Neill & the Norway Rats, “My Little Dark Rose”

Updated:

September 17, 2013 2:28 pm

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Casey Neill & the Norway Rats are proud of their Portland roots. It was that hometown pride that inspired their track “My Little Dark Rose,” a message to the rest of the world that the city is not what people may think it is – it’s quite a bit more.

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“”My Little Dark Rose” is about the Portland underbelly that is rarely represented in modern characterizations of our city,” says Neill. “This is the Portland of grey rain on the industrial riverside, loud bands, street youth, and old man dive bars. The music has been inexorably tied to that part of life and the song name checks two of the greatest PDX bands ever – Dead Moon and Greg Sage & The Wipers. It’s a tribute to the shared history of people I’ve known and loved here.”

The track, an Irish drinking song gone post-punk, has roots of its own. “Some of the lyrics are derived from the Irish Gaelic song ‘Roisin Dubh’ which translates as ‘Little Dark Rose’,” says Neill.

Check out “My Little Dark Rose” below.