Sturgill Simpson issued a twangy new tune The Dead Dont Die, previewing Jim Jarmuschs upcoming zombie comedy of the same name. The breezy number serves as theme song for the film, which stars Bill Murray and Adam Driver.
A snippet from the track highlights a scene following policemen Cliff Robertson (Murray) and Ronnie Peterson (Driver) as they patrol their town of Centerville in a police cruiser. Peterson flips through civilian radio stations and lands upon the song, which finds Simpson musing on death in a non-zombie way: The dead dont die/Any more than you or I, the country artist croons over a back-porch acoustic strum and gentle fiddle. Theyre just ghosts inside a dream / Of a life that we dont own. A puzzled Robertson dead-pans, Wow, that sounds so familiar, and his fellow officer smirks as he turns up the volume.
Simpson also released the song as a stand-alone single. The songwriter, who produced Tyler Childers forthcoming albumCountry Squire, recently made his first appearance in four years at the Grand Ole Opry to play an acoustic bluegrass set.
The Dead Dont Die, out June 14th, also features Chlo Sevigny, Selena Gomez, Steve Buscemi, Tilda Swinton, Tom Waits and Danny Glover among its all-star cast.