Zach Bryan isn’t the only one in the country music space with an anti-ICE song now. The surprise, early release of Mutiny After Midnight brought a multitude of political protest songs by Sturgill Simpson into existence. Though the manner in which the project arrived was surprising, the focus of the album was very much to be expected. Before it’s release, the “Swamp of Sadness” singer called the project  “a mutiny and open rebellion,” and that it was supposed to act as a protest And it’s not the type of protest people probably expected. Johnny Blue Skies went into detail about the time he’s spent around the French, and the admiration he has for how they spark change… which is mostly through “threatening injustice with a good time.” That’s why the new project focused on dance as protest: “There’s a simple goal we as a band set out to achieve: to make a dance record. So this protest, this mutiny is really more about the primary dance. The dance of all creation. To be clear, it is a protest against oppression and suppression, and the only tried and tested true antidote to that is pure, unfiltered, unapologetic, relentless disco-hedonism.” And considering half the album is about sex, it’s easy to see where that “unfiltered, unapologetic, relentless disco-hedonism” comes into play. However, one of the more blatant protest songs (besides the last track on the album, “Ain’t That A B***h”) was the second song of Mutiny After Midnight. It’s titled “Excited Delirium,” and if you’ve never heard that term before, it’s actually a controversial condition or syndrome (one that has been rejected by most medical associations) that can allegedly happen in when someone is being arrested. The FBI actually defines it as this: “Excited delirium syndrome (ExDS) is a serious and potentially deadly medical condition involving psychotic behavior, elevated temperature, and an extreme fight-or-flight response by the nervous system. Failure to recognize the symptoms and involve emergency medical services (EMS) to provide appropriate medical treatment may lead to death… These patients often die within one hour of police involvement.” So Sturgill Simpson was very surgical in choosing to write out an entire song around this term. The first verse of “Excited Delirium” hones in on police brutality, and paints a picture of someone being arrested and forced to the ground by police officers: “Boy, I’m trying to talk to you I can’t breathe and I’m turning blue What’s the problem, what did I do? I can not cooperate if you don’t want me to I hear you screaming telling me to get down I hear you telling me not to resist Hard to move with your knee on my neck Hard to have a conversation with fourteen fists” Once the song gets to the chorus, it condemns the authorities for citing “excited delirium” as something that could contribute to the cause of death of someone in police custody. It even references the George Floyd case (as it did in the first verse as well) with the last line of the chorus: “Call it excited delirium Call it whatever you need Somebody help, somebody do something Somebody call my mama ’cause I can’t breathe.” Then came the shots at the Immigration and Customs Enforcement agency. Johnny Blue Skies evidently thought that criticism of police brutality and ICE would pair nicely in one song, so the second verse told the story of someone getting detained by ICE agents. The lyrics went on to question the role of Immigration and Customs Enforcement, and inquired why the agents that work for the government agency cover up their faces with masks: “You got the wrong guy, got the wrong house You knocking down the wrong door You got a warrant to show me? Never mind, my hands are up and I’m down on the floor Why you dressed up like a soldier? What the hell are you wearing a face mask for? How the hell are you gonna protect the peace Running ’round looking like you’re going to war?” Johnny Blue Skies really didn’t hold back. Whereas Zach Bryan just held up a mirror to the modern political climate with his anti-ICE song “Bad News,” Sturgill Simpson got accusatory and angry about the current state of the world, and it all comes together in this fast-paced, two-minute-long track on Mutiny After Midnight. Track 2 – “Excited Delirium” The post Sturgill Simpson Takes Aim At ICE & Police Brutality In New Johnny Blue Skies Song, “Excited Delirium” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.