In the band’s own words: “We had such a great time doing the acoustic recordings down in Tulsa, Oklahoma that we ended up cutting Two Albums of our songs with the lyrics of Woody Guthrie.

“This one features guest performances by folk punk pioneers Violent Femmes, our friend Jesse Ahern from Quincy, Mass., and Jaime Wyatt.

“‘Okemah Rising’ is the final installment of the Woody Guthrie / Dropkick Murphys collaboration, so we wanted to bring it home with a bang. Whereas the goal of ‘This Machine Still Kills Fascists’ was to raise consciousness, ‘Okemah Rising’ intends to raise the roof. Sure, it has one or two tender moments, but all in all it’s much more of a party than ‘This Machine Still Kills Fascists’.

“Even a party record can have a message though – we’ve felt that on the road over the last few months as we’ve played ‘Okemah Rising’ songs ‘Gotta Get To Peekskill’ and ‘I Know How It Feels’ on tour all over the world. Every night, when the audience is singing along with Woody’s words, his steadfast defense of the working class, and his fight against social injustice and the abuse of political power comes across loud and clear. So as long as Dropkick Murphys are involved, Woody’s message will always be heard.”

‘My Eyes Are Gonna Shine’: “A song about dreaming of a brighter future and what it will take to get there. Musically diverse for us, yet still Dropkicks.”

‘Gotta Get To Peekskill’: “We had the privilege of collaborating with the Violent Femmes on this feisty track. Acoustic Dropkicks sounds a lot like the Violent Femmes in my opinion, so the collaboration is musically and symbolically fitting. And singing a song about fighting the Ku Klux Klan is always extra fun.”

‘Watching The World Go By’: “The worker, the drifter, the dreamer – a song for those who never got to enjoy the fruits of their labor.”

‘I Know How It Feels’: “What always attracted me to music and my favorite artists is the feeling that they were speaking to me or for me with their songs. They understood me, how I felt, and what I was going through. That is the very essence of this track.”

‘Rippin Up The Boundary Line’: “This song is about tearing down the walls that divide us, featuring a great guest vocal from our pal Jesse Ahern, the Roots Rock Rebel.”

‘Hear The Curfew Blowin’: “This song about a wanted man on the run would have fit well on ‘This Machine Still Kills Fascists’ with its eerie, haunting sound, but wanted to use it on this album to aid the transition from the darker ‘This Machine Still Kills Fascists’ to the brighter, more singalong ‘Okemah Rising’.”

‘Bring it Home’: “This one would have been right at home on any Dropkick album throughout our career. Foot-stomping Celtic singalong with our old pal Jaime Wyatt.”

‘Little Boy’: “We turned this one into a parent’s brutally honest lullaby to their youngster.”

‘Run Hitler Run’: “It may be acoustic, but we still rocked this one up real good. Because you

can’t do a song about hunting Hitler down any other way.”

‘I’m Shipping Up To Boston – Tulsa Version’: “Many people never realized that the lyrics for ‘I’m Shipping Up To Boston’ were written by Woody Guthrie, so we felt it important to include the song on this project and give it a proper home amongst the rest of our collaborations with his lyrics. We knew we needed to add some twists and turns to make this version special and fitting for this collection, so we gave it the Tulsa treatment.”