Video Premiere: The Delines | “Pretty Perdita (Bonita Perdita)”
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“Pretty Perdita (Bonita Perdita)”—a song written by Barry Gifford and recorded by The Delines—was released as a limited-edition flexi-disc with the spring issue of SwR. The issue also includes a short note by The Delines’ guitarist (and one helluva fiction writer), Willy Vlautin. Here’s what he had to say:
The Delines are all big Barry Gifford fans. When we cut “Pretty Perdita,” Amy’s first comment was “Jesus, I hope Barry likes our version.” We’ve recorded a lot of songs, but I don’t think we’ve ever been more nervous doing one. Nervous because we wanted to do right by Barry. When I first played the band his song, they asked me, “Who exactly is Perdita?” And I told them, well, Perdita Durango is a cannibalistic murdering seductress. She’s a beautiful drifter on a rampage.
So we went into the recording session with that in mind. We wanted our version to be wild and a bit off, dreamy, and spooky. We recorded it at Bocce Studios in Vancouver, Washington, and it was produced by our good friend John Morgan Askew. It’s amazing to me that Barry is not only a great novelist but a brilliant short story writer, poet, and songwriter. I love his songs and this one in particular. We hope you like our take as much as we do. And remember, if you ever meet Perdita Durango, run.
The video features a montage of vintage footage of Chicago from the 1940s and 50s. In addition to being a nod to the time and place where Barry grew up, the video is an extension of the world he writes about in the two stories published in our latest issue. Order your copy here and watch the clip below.
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