#these 13

These 13 (2021) … Jimbo & Andrew …

Former Squirrel Nut Zippers bandmates Jimbo Mathus and Andrew Birds recently released their collaborative album, These 13. The album is a collection of classic folk songs and ballads for fiddle and guitar. 

We based “Encircle My Love” from an old Scot/Irish ballad commonly called “Rake and Rambling Boy.” I first heard it from an old string band called The Skillet Lickers. They were active in the 1920s. I have copied their guitarist Riley Puckett for a long time. He had a very unique style that I studied back 30 some odd years ago.

The whole “Encircle My Love” line just sort of popped out when I was messing with the old ballad one day, fishing around for ideas to send to Andrew as we were preparing to record These 13. I thought it was evocative and poetic in a way I hadn’t heard before. Andrew responded with the bridge to it, and that really got our template together for how we would collaborate on composing this record. He elaborated on the rambling, nostalgic theme and included a finality to the narrative. — Jimbo Mathus